A little help on OAL please.

[NC-Mike]

Hey guys,

I'm about to load my first rounds and have some questions.

For some reason, (the price) I bought some surplus powder from wideners. It came with this load information for 9mm.

Charge Bullet Velocity Case/Primer Test Gun

5.7gr 115gr FMJ 1145 fps Win/Win SP Glock 19

I'm using Federal primers and mixed headstamp brass with a Winchester Metal Cased 115gr bullet. Obviously there is no dimension given for minimum OAL. The set of Lee dies I'm using has several different OAL dimensions for different powders and bullets. I measured some Remington factory rounds and they were all around 1.110 with variations + or - of 3 or 4 thousands.

So what OAL should I go for. I'm thinking 1.110 would OK.

Also a question about the charge. Would that load be considered a starting load, a midpoint or a max load?

Remington gives 1155 Muzzle velocity for their UMC ammo so I guess this is a mid-point load and not a starting load. I think it would be OK to load up 15 rounds with this charge and see how they go.

And yes I'll be getting a reloading manual soon...

TIA

 

[Walkalong]

I load the Ranier 115 Gr RN & Hornady 115 Gr encapsulated at 1.030 O.A.L. with excellent results.

 

[NC-Mike]

I load the Ranier 115 Gr RN & Hornady 115 Gr encapsulated at 1.030 O.A.L. with excellent results.

Looking at the Lengths that Lee gives, 1.110 seems to be on the short size but that is what my Remington UMC ammo measures.

Exactly how critical is this measurement for PLINKING ammo?

 

[Walkalong]

Load your bullet to an O.A.L. that your gun likes and don't worry about it. It will probably feed just fine over about a .030 or so window. Find what is too short and what is too long and split the difference.

 

[NC-Mike]

Load your bullet to an O.A.L. that your gun likes and don't worry about it. It will probably feed just fine over about a .030 or so window. Find what is too short and what is too long and split the difference.

All my pistols shoot the UMC ammo just fine so I'll stay with 1.110 for now.

Thanks,

 

[The Bushmaster]

Walkalong is flat on...Just to be different...I load 115 grain and 124 grain 9mm X 19, both plated HP and jacketed HP, to an OAL of 1.100.

 

[NC-Mike]

Well I loaded up those 15 9mm rounds. My first ever.

My impressions...

Reloading seems like a lot of work and a chore. What's better than opening a nice new box of shiny ammo and blasting away...

Of course the cost savings are going to keep me in it. I'm also going to play around with my Lee Auto charger and get it working because weighing out each charge is for the birds.

My OAL varied a few thousands, nothing horrible and very similar to the deviations of the UMC ammo I measured. I'm pretty confident I produced some good rounds. I only need to produce them faster. I have the Lee Classic Turret but right now I'm using it as a single stage till I get my legs under me.

I think when I have the turret press operating with the auto-index and I'm throwing good consistent charges with the powder measure and pumping out a lot of good rounds, I'll enjoy it a lot more. Right now I'm still rightfully cautious and leery of every step so that does take away some of the enjoyment of it.

 

[jcwit]

You'll get the hang of it, nothing like another hobby. Suggest the Lee manual or the Lyman one, both are loaded with LOTS of info. One word of caution, don't go working that lever on the press to fast, that ram pinches real fast and if you have an empty case well, Dam that hurts. You only doit once, sorta like a Garand thumb.

 

[1858rem]

you may want to load more than 15 at a time they will go fast lol. i load up 20 at a time for working loads and testing groups, i only recently got a scale so im fairly in-experienced too but shooting a 5-shot converted 1858 Remington with no ejector rod(yet) 20 rds can go quick! im using lee 3 set carbide dies, dippers, safety scale, and hand prime.... was using a classic loader for a while. i only have the lee single function press that came with the loading manual so i have to change out the dies every time, but best yet was 10 shots in a 3" wide and 4 1/8" tall group at 30yds!(actually 30 of my paces, and at a little over 6'4" i think they are 3'4" paces making an actual 33+/-yds) open fixed blade sights too i think i got a good load and i just set the oal with a round i had loaded@~1.543 i think

 

[The Bushmaster]

1.543? What calibre? What bullet?

Reason I ask is we are talking about 9mm X 19 and I have never heard of that measurement for 9mm.

 

[1858rem]

ooh yah, sorry .45 colt lol, got carried away about the shooting em up quick, 255 grainers too! so fun, but i cant even imagine how fast they would go in a semiauto! now im talking 9mm(semiauto part)

 

[NC-Mike]

Well I had some misadventures today.

When I opened the box of federal primers, of course some of them spilled onto the garage floor. I counted seven that dropped but found 8 and figured I didn't count right. As I was loading each round and then checking the seating depth, I noticed the primer had a strike mark in it and for a moment I though I had done that with the Lee Auto Prime.

This was like the forth round I had primed and was just a touch leery as I was using the federal primers and it was also the first time I was priming cases. I then realized I had picked up a spent primer from the floor when I found the others that had fell...

I also forgot to index the press and seated a bullet with the charging die...

It worked but it seated it too far.

Good thing I bought that inertia mistake fixer!

 

[The Bushmaster]

Aah yes...The Eraser. That walkalong doesn't need for he is perfect... He is my idol...

 

[TEDDY]

priming

Just take your time and think!and you will be all right.the poder measure disks
will measure light,dont load heavy just load to give your self a good accurate load.

 

[Walkalong]

Just to be different...I load 115 grain and 124 grain 9mm X 19, both plated HP and jacketed HP, to an OAL of 1.100.

I load all my 9MM TrFP and JHP bullets shorter than the RN ones as well.

I made a mistake posting my 115 Gr RN O.A.L. It is 1.130, not 1.030. :banghead:

I load 115 Gr TrFP's and JHP's anywhere from 1.030 to 1.060.