Loading .45 Auto at shorter OAL?

Cordur

Cordur

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Just started loading some .45 Auto for a Norinco 1911 I bought used from another forum member. Using new Hornady brass trimmed to .888 and sitting 185gr Hornady XTP bullets on top of 5.5gr of Titegroup. Checked the 7th and 8th edition of Hornadys book on this and it has a COL of 1.225" listed. At this length though the shoulders of the bullets sit on the landings before the case mouth seats fully against the headspace. So using the dummy round I had made I chambered it and it pushed the bullet back into the case giving me an overall length of 1.208"

Next I set a bullet into the chamber and measured from the back of the bullet to the back of the chamber for a length of .670 and measured the bullet which is .528" for a total overall length of approx 1.198"

So the question is, should I seat these bullets to the shorter length and let them just touch the lands? Or will this create too much of a pressure issue being that it is seated .027" further into the case than Hornady lists?

Or maybe the solution would be to purchase a different barrel?
 
Best to seat the bullet about 10 thou back from the lands. If that means a shorter OAL just back the powder off of max a bit and work up as usual
 
Thanks for the advice. I loaded up a small batch at min load seated just off of the lands to try out. I think the next batch I try will be with a slower burning powder that will be less likely to spike in pressure.
 
Titegroup is a good fast power for target loads. If you want more power and some flexibly, a medium speed powder like 231 would be easier to work with.

yes, seat deep enough to keep bullet off the rifling. This varies from gun to gun. This is why we have START loads and work up from there.
 
Another indicator of a bad OAL is "KEYHOLING". You will notice a keyhole instead of a rounded hole into your target. This is due to increased pressure before the bullet touches the rifling. Before crimping, simply drop your bullet into the chamber, make sure it barely touches the rifling. This is your OAL which varies depending on the firearm you are using even though they are of the same caliber.
 
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