.357 OAL and crimping on cannalure or too short

[Chevelle383]

Hi! I'm new here. I reloaded for 5 years about 9 years ago, then the kids came and life and I'm just now getting back into it. Mostly I loaded rifle rounds anyways.

I've been reading on this issue and cant find a clear answer.

Accepted OAL on .357 is around 1.058 and 1.059 in every book I have.

I loaded some 158 grain sjsp and seated the bullets to a length of 1.058 and some change.

But...the bullet is just barely shy of being seated in the cannalure. I read some opinions that say seat in the cannalure no matter what and some that say go with the OAL and ignore the cannalure, just crimp lighter.

As I'm typing this in realizing the OAL in the book shows a rounded tip bullet.and these of course being flat like a semi wadcutter....of course they are shorter overall length. Right?

Damn. Are these going to shoot ok? This is what happens when you give up a hobby for 9 years.

 

[Chevelle383]

 

[Chevelle383]

The crimp is pretty light, what happens if I try and seat the bullet further into the cannalure and then re crimp? Possible?

 

[Ruger 15151]

you want to load .357 to wherever the cannelure is. Bullet jump on revolvers is not as critical as it is in riffle. The books are generally tellign you that velocity they saw based on the loading data they used. It doesn't mean that you can't load to a shorter COL. Different bullet manufactures have their cannelures in different places which creates a different COL anyway.

Based on your pictures, I would seat the bullet deeper so you are able to crimp into the cannelure. In addition, it looks like your crimp is very light.

The are several threads on THR that will help you know how deep to seat a 357 bullet and what a medium and heavy crimp should look like.

Good luck!

 

[RKRCPA]

1.59" is the maximum C.O.A.L as determined by SAAMI. Individual bullets within a caliber will have varying overall lengths but will not exceed 1.59. Crimp in the cannelure, that is the proper length for that particular bullet.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The OAL in the data is useless to you unless you use the same exact bullet and the same exact brass trimmed to where they trimmed it.

When loading revolver ammo you should crimp in the center of the cannalure provided by the manufacurer, that is the correct crimp location for that bullet.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[.308 Norma]

Accepted OAL on .357 is around 1.058 and 1.059 in every book I have.

I loaded some 158 grain sjsp and seated the bullets to a length of 1.058 and some change.

Howdy Chevelle383. Welcome!
I might be wrong, but I'll bet if you look in a reloading manual for that brand and type of bullet, it will list Tested C.O.A.L. a little bit shorter than 1.058" and 1.059" - short enough so that you can crimp into the cannalure.
For instance, my newest Speer Manual (#14) lists 357 Mag Tested C.O.A.L.s at 1.570" and 1.575" using their 158gr jacketed bullets. You want to roll crimp into the cannalure regardless.

 

[RodII]

I crimp in the canelure for revolver bullets, and I never measure OAL for these rounds.
As a matter of fact, I do not obsess over OAL in most all of my reloading. I will make sure they chamber or work in the mags, but I do not worry over a few thousands one way or another. I will also add that I seldom load to the max on most of my reloads.

 

[Old Stumpy]

You want to crimp into the cannelure. As mentioned COAL is affected by your actual case length, which is most often less than the SAAMI measurement. Seating depth affects pressure, but unless you are shooting near max loads with heavy bullets, minor variations should be no problem. One thing to watch for are bullets which offer you two cannelures to choose from. These are usually with heavier than standard JHP or JSP revolver bullets. Depth and pressure may be critical here, so be absolutely sure which cannelure they are using in the recipe. If possible load the cartridge long, using the rear cannelure. Also, you need to keep in mind COAL with regard to lever actions. You need to use bullets where the crimped-into-cannelure length results in as close to SAAMI factory loads as possible. Too short or too long may cause jamming.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Crimp in the cannelure and ensure it fits in the cylinder. (Colts are a tad short.) Shorten if needed. This advice applies to all revolver loads. And welcome aboard.

 

[Chevelle383]

Thanks fellas... I kind of figured a bit too late. (Story of my life)

So now my question is should I try and seat these lower? I think I probably can.

And as one fella mentioned earlier, these bullets did have 2 cannalure's, using the lower one however would have made the bullet outrageously long. I cant image that being reality.

 

[Chevelle383]

On a side note, man these fourums are truly amazing aren't they? I have friends that have taught me loading and hunting but really I'm the only guy in my large family I consider an outdoorsman.

What a pleasure to be able to tap into resources like this.

 

[Walkalong]

What a pleasure to be able to tap into resources like this.

Something I discovered some years back. While I knew more than the average Joe, I knew next to nothing compared to THR as a whole.

This is what you want to see in a crimp into a cannelure.

 

[FROGO207]

You probably can seat the bulletin further with your light roll crimp I see. IIRC the lower cannalure is for using 38 SPL brass in a 357 chamber so it will not form carbon rings. Also it can be used when using the shorter brass to positively assure feed in a lever gun.

 

[Chevelle383]

Ok that makes sense.

I'm going to seat them deeper and see if I can get a little tighter crimp. Totally get the .38 thing and the carbon ring too.

Thanks a bunch

 

[joneb]

Accepted OAL on .357 is around 1.058 and 1.059 in every book I have.

I hope you are better measuring weight than length.
The 1.590" is a max COL, your bullet may require a shorter COL to get the case mouth jiven with the cannelure. Always use the starting load and work the up. Some load data like from Alliant only gives the max load data, so reduce their data by 10% and work up.
Check the lengths of the sized brass it can vary over .01" if you don't trim your cases to the same length set your dies up for a longer case.

 

[rfwobbly]

You want to load .357 to wherever the cannelure is. Bullet jump on revolvers is not as critical as it is in riffle. The books are generally telling you that velocity they saw based on the loading data they used. It doesn't mean that you can't load to a shorter COL.

Exactly. The OAL given in the load data is part of their REPORT. It is not a recommendation.

They are simply reporting... This is the load data we used and the results we got. No one got killed. Now go make something similar work for you.
.