COAL problem with .45 ACP...

[Smokey Joe]

Guys, I need some help here. Am loading up a batch of .45 ACP target ammo, using the usual run of cases, i.e. mixed manufacturer, my own previous reloads plus range pick-ups.

Am loading a 200 grain lead SWC over Win 231. It's a low-pressure target load.

Now the problem: In seating the bullets, the bullets go into the cases with varying degrees of resistance, and I'm having trouble maintaining a consistent seating depth. One bullet goes in and the COAL is right where it should be, at 1.270" or 1.271". The next goes in and the COAL will be mebbe 4 or 5 thousandths greater. The very next goes in and the COAL will be mebbe 4 or 5 thousandths LESS! :banghead:

I've separated the cases by manufacturer and that seems to help, but I'm still getting a lot of variation in the bullet seating depth.

Am loading on a Rockchucker (my Hornady Projector is not working presently) using a Dillon seating die, and crimping as a separate operation.

So, the question is: (1) is this kind of variation in seating depth significant, and (2) if it is significant, what can I do about it? By significant, I mean will it cause a dangerous condition in firing, and will it affect accuracy.

I'm certain that a high-volume reloader wouldn't be giving this much attention to each case as it gets its bullet. My background is rifle reloading, where you load far fewer cases and give each one much TLC.

So, what am I doing wrong here??? Any comments appreciated.

 

[rcmodel]

Could be a couple of things, or more.

Mixed brass is always going to have different case-neck hardness.

And it can vary quite a bit even on cases of the same make & model due to:
Firing & re-sizing work hardens the brass. The more times it has been re-sized, the harder it gets.

So, you are very likely getting varying case neck tension / seating pressure with your hodge-podge of mixed brass.

Other things to check:
Bullet shape fit the seating stem right?

Bullet lube building up inside the seating die?

An .008" to .010" variation in seating depth will not create any safety problems with light to mid-range loads like yours.

But you could probably do better with brass of the same make & model that has been reloaded the same number of times.

rc

 

[Dean Williams]

Using lead SWC's, I wouldn't be surprised at this. Depending on the shape of your bullet punch and the design of the SWC, plus the variations a lead bullet often shows, I think you can expect some difference in the OAL.

To answer your question, it's not significant, and 5 thou won't overpressure your gun using mid range loads.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Not enough to hurt anything...If you were seeing more then +/-.010" then I might have to look for a problem...

 

[RandyP]

Even a slight variance in the actual shape of the nose of bullets from the same package can affect OAL slightly. Not that it would necessarily affect OAL, though I reckon it could, I suspect that doing a random check, the OAL of bullets would show variance of a few thousandths too.

A .001 here and a .001 there, a few grains of powder between the case and the shell holder and just what is "uniform"? I calipered (if that's a word) a sample from a box of Winchester White Box a while back and it too had noticeable variances in OAL.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I would first look at the bullet nose to seating stem fit as the culprit. If the flat of the bullet nose isn't squarely contacting the flat of the seating stem, then compression of the lead edges of the nose can cause variations to seating depth.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Smokey Joe]

Thank you, all!

And my, what a fast response!

To respond to a couple of possibilities: Bullet seater was especially selected to fit these bullets. Seating die not crudded up.

Very glad that y'all feel that there is no safety concern here.

The different manufacturers' brass sometimes had a different "feel" to it in seating the bullet--but not consistently. I suspect that RC Model is correct: Different numbers of firings, reloadings, and work-hardenings.

I have noted a slight variation from one to the next in the nose of each bullet--these are commercially cast, and there can only be just so much QC.

Every target-shooting reloader with whom I've talked has a rule about .45 ACP brass: Shoot 'em, pick 'em up, police ALL the brass, reload it all until you lose it or it splits.

I'll take this set of reloads to the range and shoot 'em--have already segregated the short OAL's from the others--and will see if there is a significant difference in POI.

Thanks very much!