.40 cal. OAL

[RT]

So Im loading some .40 cal.....the instructions that come with the Lee dies says Max OAL 1.135" so thats were I set the bullet seating die and start loading... all is well. I stop and put the calipers on a few to check there all the same and they all within a couple thou. Then I figure just for kicks I will check some factory loads to see how close they all are, and find that they are about .20 thou longer than what Lee says is the max OAL.

I loaded up some dummies and they all seem to load just fine!

Am I missing somthin` here


Also there is about a .02thou. bulge in the case where the base of the bullet is in the case is this any concern?

 

[nognog]

I would help if you will specify what type of bullet head you are using; Brand, FMJ - truncated... round nose. semi-truncated..Casted??? etc.
What type of handgun will you be using your reloaded 40 SW?
The variations in OAL you mentioned is negligible as long as you are within the min OAL and you dont exceed the max recommended powder charge.

Your AOL will vary depending on the bullet head you use.

 

[WithoutWarning]

So, when refering to OAL in the data section of your
reloading manual, (not the diagram OAL) and there is
a figure listed for a certain bullet cal., weight blah blah,
To my understanding, that OAL is the MIN.,
not the max. rite ? I know there is a max. as well,
but the min. is more crucial as far as bullet seating is concerned.

...WW

 

[roberti11]

Oal

The variations in OAL you mentioned is negligible as long as you are within the min OAL and you dont exceed the max recommended powder charge.

Min OAL depends on the bullet and powder charge, decreasing OAL at the same powder charge increases pressure

The upper limit for the OAL is determined by your mag, and how well they feed, some high end IPSC guns need a long OAL for optimim feeding.