45 FMJ RN - OAL vs Powder Charge vs Manual Rec

[craigkim]

Hi Guys,

SO, I got my Dillon 650 yesterday. Watching the setup video today. Seems fairly straight forward. I have one really unanswered question so far. I have researched it at length and can't get a definitive answer. I have found that the "head space" is ideally determined by the case length in 45 ACP and NOT the extractor OR the bullet contacting the lands...? I get that, so case length matters and that is why I'll check my brass for consistency. BUT, what I don't understand is this: Wilson recommends an OAL of 1.25-1.26.... The reload data I find for the Hornady FMJ RN I am starting with shows, in the Hornady manual shows, OAL as 1.21 for the round nose and using 4.3-4.8 grains of Titegroup and 700-800 FPS. So, what if I want to achieve 1.25 OAL instead? Can I just seat it less? If you do that...Would you expect that you would need another tenth grain of powder to achieve the same velocities then? As in starting with 4.4 as a beginning load?, or does it just mean, "Hey, we designed this bullet for 1.21, so use it at that length as this will be best regardless for our RN profile."

Overthinking this probably? Maybe just go 1.21"?

Sorry guys, I have no idea how I started a thread twice.

 

[Robert Richardson]

Load it at 1.250 and don't worry about it. You are reading too much into it.

 

[rg1]

Only thing I could add is that 45 ACP 230 gr. FMJ bullets all have different nose profiles. Some like Winchester 230 gr. FMJ's have a long and more tapered nose profile while others such as Hornady's have a rounder blunter tip. This different nose profile can effect overall length. I have one Colt that has a short chamber and long overall lengths won't let the bolt close. Most 230 gr. FMJ's I seat to 1.250" and Winchester 230 FMJ's to 1.260" but I would also recommend to use the bullet company recommended overall length. Also using the barrel removed from the pistol as a chamber gauge will show any possible problems.