9teenEleven
Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 186
I have some basic questions regarding pistol chambers as they relate to reloading. I am starting to reload for .45acp, but want to understand the function, rather than just following the numbers.
My first question involves the chamber depth, headspace, and the extractor. First, is dynamic headspace (as opposed to the static headspace of the chamber depth) determined by C.O.L. or case length?
If the answer is that the headspace is determined by case length, first, how does the extractor come into play? Second, why does C.O.L. matter for anything other than cartridge pressure and feeding?
Something that I ran across in my reading that is throwing me off is this picture:
The four different images imply that you can adjust headspace with your load. Should the bullet ever be touching the lands in order to obtain the ideal headspace?
This line of questions started when reading my loading manual and seeing that only max C.O.L. is listed not minimum (I am just getting started reloading). Assuming that max C.O.L. is the line you don't want to cross, how do you determine how much under max C.O.L.? Should I just forget about headspace as long as I am under max C.O.L., and worry about distance to lands, and pressure?
My first question involves the chamber depth, headspace, and the extractor. First, is dynamic headspace (as opposed to the static headspace of the chamber depth) determined by C.O.L. or case length?
If the answer is that the headspace is determined by case length, first, how does the extractor come into play? Second, why does C.O.L. matter for anything other than cartridge pressure and feeding?
Something that I ran across in my reading that is throwing me off is this picture:
The four different images imply that you can adjust headspace with your load. Should the bullet ever be touching the lands in order to obtain the ideal headspace?
This line of questions started when reading my loading manual and seeing that only max C.O.L. is listed not minimum (I am just getting started reloading). Assuming that max C.O.L. is the line you don't want to cross, how do you determine how much under max C.O.L.? Should I just forget about headspace as long as I am under max C.O.L., and worry about distance to lands, and pressure?