45acp col question

[skyline]

Hello everyone i have been reloading for about 2years i have a dillon 650xl press with dillon dies
I just setup my 45acp and i cant
Seem to get the col measurements
For a x-treme 200gr bullet round nose i made a couple of bullets and they are at 1.274 and they fit well in my dillon case guage they dont stick out at all my hornady book reads col 1.275 max but my speers reads 1.200 dont know who to trust any advise is much appreciated

[1badlvn]

My Speer manual states 2.70 as Max coal too. I've loaded 200gr plated at 2.60 at first and everything was fine but I noticed that it would jam ever so often in my 1911. I now load to 2.45-2.50 and that has solved the feeding problem.

[drdarrin@sbcglobal.net]

Your manual is not specifying the length they have to be, it specifies the average OAL that their loads were. That's why you work up your own. As long as they feed and fire reliably, are not over pressure and are consistent in OAL, you are good to go.


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[sofbak]

12345. That's 1.23 for .45.

At 1.27 you might want to see if they fit your mag. Anything over 1.25 won't go on my sig mags.

[JMP]

Start with the longest length that functions reliably in all your 45 ACP guns, then work in to find a desired load.

[NiteQwill]

12345. That's 1.23 for .45.

At 1.27 you might want to see if they fit your mag. Anything over 1.25 won't go on my sig mags.

I agree. 1.27 is quite long for 45.

I load my 200 gr bullets to 1.235

[skyline]

Thank you all for your feedback looks like i am going to go with you recommend col of 1.2 and try out

[pacrat]

http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/45%20Automatic.pdf

SAAMI says 1.275" max. But they only set standards for firearm and ammo manufacturers. Reloading manuals and SAAMI are both used as REFERENCES by reloaders.

If it works in your pistol. Why give a crap what a book says? A given load may even stick out of a cartridge gage a bit and still be ok in a given pistol.
ONLY a given firearm can determine what MAX COAL is for that firearm.

I load several different bullets, to several different lenghts, in several different 45 ACP pistols. Same goes for the 4 different 9mms I own.

Leave the gage in a drawer somewhere until it is needed to help diagnose a problem, once a problem exists.

JM2c

['ol shooter]

Thank you all for your feedback looks like i am going to go with you recommend col of 1.2 and try out

I tried some Xtreme 200gr. RN at 1.200, same profile as the 230gr., and they would not feed well in mine and my sons 1911's. I usually go with 1.260, and they feed flawlessly. 1.230 sounds like a good spot to start.

[JagerDog]

1.23 -1.25

Something as ubiquitous as 45 ACP has no business being loaded to some length "only" your gun likes/fits.

[stilly]

Thank you all for your feedback looks like i am going to go with you recommend col of 1.2 and try out

Yeah, like others have said, many times those numbers for COAL are the SHORTEST that you can be.

I load for my 1911s and all .45 acp to 1.249"-1.253" and they all seem to work fine. Some of my others tend to go a bit shorter like my 150gr Dardas (swc) and my 160gr nubbins (rnfp)...

But most of my .45 that I will make will most likely be around 1.249"

I think too that some books like Lee will list the shortest length because to be shorter would mean that you might build up more pressure than your gun could take. (moreso in higher pressure calibers like .40 and 9mm though, not .45 lol) Then you start having signs of high pressure and then there is nothing left of you but an eyeball and teeth...

[Fishslayer]

ONLY a given firearm can determine what MAX COAL is for that firearm.

^^^ This. All my semi autos came with a handy case gauge located inside the slide. FWIW I determined that my RIA had the shortest freebore (is that the correct term?). 1.24 -1.25 for the RN bullets works in everything I own.