Lead Bullet Seating Depth

[Catpop]

Should a lead boolit's grease groove/grease be covered when seated? I think it should to keep the grease clean until it is fired, but this also puts the boolit lower than the published maximum COAL which I usually use on all my reloads. (I'm loading 115 gr OT LRN at 1.120 to adequately cover the grease groove, max is 1.169)
What do you guys do? Thanks, Cat

 

[sexybeast]

I assume this is 9mm so yes it should be covered. I have found LRN 9's to be much shorter than FMJ 9's. The profile of the bullet is much different.
A 9mm cone may be closer to the OAL that is "published".
Have you done the "plunk" test? Make sure the finished round will chamber. Or use a case gauge?
There are quite a few different bullet profiles that would result with different OAL's in order for them to chamber. Make sure the finished round fits into your chamber. Then load from there.

 

[rcmodel]

You might as well ignore the published OAL unless you have the exact same bullet frm the same mold manufacture as shown in the data.

No two bullet designs or brands will have the same OAL.

rc

 

[Virginia John]

Wheather you are loading lead or jacketed, OAL should be determined by your barrel rather than the load data. If it passes the drop test, it will work.

 

[LiveLife]

OAL should be determined by your barrel rather than the load data. If it passes the drop test, it will work.

No. Working OAL/COL should be determined by the magazine and function test as it may be different from the Max OAL/COL which is determined by the barrel.

Reloaders should use the Working OAL/COL and not the Max OAL/COL. Also, the determination of the Working OAL/COL needs to be done BEFORE conducting the powder work up.

Barrel drop test or "plunk test" will determine the Max OAL/COL for the barrel which may exceed SAAMI and magazine max lengths. Once you determine the Max OAL/COL, next you need to function test to determine the Working OAL/COL by feeding the dummy round (no powder/no primer) from the magazine and release the slide without riding it - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=8864541#post8864541

Sometimes, Max OAL/COL will work as the Working OAL/COL but often the length of the cartridge will need to be shortened to reliably feed and chamber from the magazine. If you load for multiple pistols/barrels, you need to use the shortest Working OAL/COL to ensure your rounds will work in all the pistols. So even if longer than SAAMI max length will pass the barrel drop test, if you want your 9mm 115 RN loads to work in many pistols, you may be loading around 1.125" - 1.135" instead of longer than 1.169".

Once you determine the Working OAL/COL, then you can conduct the powder work up from published start charge. If the Working OAL/COL is longer than the currently published OAL/COL, you will be fine. If the Working OAL/COL is slightly shorter than the published OAL/COL (say by less than .005"), then the published start charge should be OK to use. For me, if I am using OAL/COL much shorter than published (more than .005"), I will consider dropping my max charge by .2-.3 gr or more, especially if Working OAL/COL is shorter by .010"+ as the bullet base will be seated deeper in the case neck and increase the chamber pressure.

 

[Hondo 60]

In short: yes, cover the grease groove.

I wouldn't want dirt, poop, sand, metal filings or anything getting stuck to the lube & then going down the barrel when the gun is fired.

 

[USSR]

Should a lead boolit's grease groove/grease be covered when seated? I think it should to keep the grease clean until it is fired, but this also puts the boolit lower than the published maximum COAL which I usually use on all my reloads. (I'm loading 115 gr OT LRN at 1.120 to adequately cover the grease groove, max is 1.169)
What do you guys do? Thanks, Cat

Yep, seat it deep enough to cover the grease groove. If it's too long, then shorten it until it's good.

Don