COL and Cannalure?

[anythingelse]

I'm loading up .357 Mag for the first time, playing around with some dummy carts to get a feel for it. I was told to get it so the mouth of the case was at the center of the cannalure when seating. When I do this I get a COL of just about 1.58." However the data states a COL of 1.61." I haven't actually tried a 1.61 COL yet (about to) but I think it might be at the very bottom of the cannalure or the cannalure might be in front of the case mouth.

So what should I try to get closest to? The manual's COL or getting the cannalure lined up?

For reference these are light target loads with Clays powder and a 158 grain SWC.

 

[Blue68f100]

Set up for the cannalure and let the OAL lay where it be. All bullet mfg seam to put them in a slightly different spot. So you have a about 0.050" of wiggle room.

 

[Gadawg88]

+1 you will be fine

 

[Sam1911]

Yup. Load it where the cannalure or crimp groove wants it to be. As long as you aren't running a heavy compressed load that won't cause you any trouble. You'll still be working up from a starting load, right? So you'll be watching for any pressure signs as you step up toward the top end loads.

If you load cast lead, many times they'll have a tapered crimp groove that will more-or-less set the bullet's depth for you as you crimp. You don't get a say in the matter. So don't worry about it.

 

[Walkalong]

Crimp into the center of the cannelure. That is the correct OAL for that bullet.

Adjust the load in tune with the difference in OAL. (Guesswork of course, but it will help it we take the difference into account, along with the case size and pressure the round operates at.)

A difference of .031, 1.58 vs 1.161, is enough to make a difference. In 9MM with a short case at high pressure that would be a very large difference. In .357 we are still operating at high pressures, but we have a lot more case to work with. Nevertheless, we need to take the shorter OAL into consideration when working up the load.

I would stop short of the max data in full loads. How much? Hard to say.

A light target load with Clays short of max data? It probably will not be a problem, but watch for any signs of problems.

 

[anythingelse]

Hey thanks guys for the help. With a little tweaking the final loads are average 1.595, each one within a thousandth or two of the next. That's only about .015 off the book value for the load. Either way the minimum is 3.2 grains and I'm loading these 3.3 so we should be safe. Hitting the range in an hour or two, I'll report back.

 

[gamestalker]

There is little to worry about with roll crimped / canelured bullets. crimp just over the bottom edge of the canelure to prevent bullet jump, and your good to go.

GS

 

[anythingelse]

It was snowing and cold but everything worked just fine. Perfect light target load. Accurate too at ~12 yards offhand.