# over all length



## firewokey (Feb 18, 2008)

I was wondering if anyone knows why my oal keeps changes on my .44 mag reloads.About .006 + or -.I checked out some factory loads and they changed just as much or more so I am thinking this is normal. Any info. would be welcome.


----------



## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

This is my guess but I think it has to do with case length and so more or less crimp which seats the bullet at diffrent levels. I'm seeing a diffrence in thousanths on my .45ACP loads but I haven't really studied it much if at all. I'm using Lee's shell sizing and trimming equipment and it seems to keep all the shells within about .003 of each other. That is about the widest spread I've seen so far. I haven't really paid much attention to OAL thus far other than when I set the seating depth. I'll admit that in my earlier reloading days I was to poor to afford all the equipment I needed and never trimed my shells or checked their length. I still have those shells and eventually I'm gonna look at them just to see how far they were from spec. It could be scarey. They are 38's and 357's. The 357's should be interesting.


----------



## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

firewokey said:


> I was wondering if anyone knows why my oal keeps changes on my .44 mag reloads.About .006 + or -.I checked out some factory loads and they changed just as much or more so I am thinking this is normal. Any info. would be welcome.


If you are talking about while you are shooting then you are having bullet set back. It's caused from not enough crimp when you are making your cartridge. This can be very dangerous as it creates more preasure with in the shell and chamber. Most straight wall cases do not need to be trimmed. OAL (over all lenght) is important in automatic pistols not so much in revolvers. Just stay inside the dimension of the manual and you will be OK. Good luck.:smt1099


----------



## firewokey (Feb 18, 2008)

*aol*

I just thought it is odd that it can very at all because the bottem of the brass rests on the top of the reloader ram and the seater rod in the die rests against the tip of the bullet. These two measurements should always be the same.


----------



## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

If you are using lead bullets, clean out your seater, it can get gummy up there. Actually, chean it even if you are using copper.

Also, the stroke on your press can have an effect. Make sure you are using consistant speed and pressure. Is it a progressive? If it is, the first and last rounds loaded can have a little issues because the press is only pushing up against one side, whereas if the whole ring is full, it puts pressure on all sides.

Triming as mentioned is a good idea as well, just thought I'd throw out a few other areas to check.

Zhur


----------



## firewokey (Feb 18, 2008)

The press is a dillon rl450 and all bullets have been 240 gr jhp.I will try running and checking them fron the full press.


----------



## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

I never trim .38/.357, .44/.44mag or .45ACP and I shoot them till they split or I lose them. I check OAL on all of them and they all meet spec and have for years. I lose about 2 .45ACP's out of every 500rds or so as the base will give a little and they will not fit in the gauge freely. I break them down and use the powder and bullet over.


----------



## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

I was really suprised at the difference between the length of my 45ACP shells before and after sizing. When I bought my new progressive press I picked up the Lee zip trim and their trimmer guages for .38 Special .357 and .45ACP. Once you get the hang of the thing it works great. I found that after resizing, the shells were all diffrent in legnth. It only takes a couple of seconds to trim and champhor a shell and they all end up within .003 of each other. It makes for a more consistent round which should improve accuracy.


----------



## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

firewokey said:


> The press is a dillon rl450 and all bullets have been 240 gr jhp.I will try running and checking them fron the full press.


If you are using a compressed (but otherwise safe) charge of powder, sometimes the bullet will creep back out under pressure from the powder, even if crimped tightly. This is especially true if you are using mixed-brand or older cases, where some might have a tighter neck and/or higher neck tension than others in the same box.

One other thing to check might be bullet deformation. If the seating pressure is deforming any exposed lead on the JHPs, perhaps there is a little spring-back going on after the seating pressure is removed.


----------



## txpete (Nov 29, 2006)

DJ Niner said:


> If you are using a compressed (but otherwise safe) charge of powder, sometimes the bullet will creep back out under pressure from the powder, even if crimped tightly. This is especially true if you are using mixed-brand or older cases, where some might have a tighter neck and/or higher neck tension than others in the same box.
> 
> One other thing to check might be bullet deformation. If the seating pressure is deforming any exposed lead on the JHPs, perhaps there is a little spring-back going on after the seating pressure is removed.


+1... just for fun measure some brand new brass for the OAL.new out of the box there can be a difference.when I buy new brass I size and ck lenth and trim if it needs it.
pete


----------



## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

I had not trimmed brass till I bought some new Winchester .357 cases. They were cut with a .007 to .010 inch taper and didn't crimp worth a darn. Once fired are already squared up and that will be my next purchase.

:smt1099


----------

