loading cast bullet question

[elhefe50ss]

im loading berry cast bullets 200gr flat tops with the blue band
my question is below the blue band and above it art what i would call crimp ridges . when i put the bullet in and crimp to proper OAL the top one still shows a but is this normal ?

[stand125]

Loading to the longest AOL that will reliably feed is what alot of people like to do, so if the crimp groove is a longer aol and the bullet still feeds smooth then you should have no worries about pressure. I never worried about the crimp groove on cast lead bullets if loading for Semi autos. The crimp groove is more for revolver rounds in cast lead anyways.

[Bill Steele]

What caliber and gun?

[Chief-7700]

Bill looks like he is loading .45ACP 200 grain LSWC.

[elhefe50ss]

Im sorry .45acp for my 1911

[elhefe50ss]

My other question is is it better to be as close to the max oal or is a lil short ok too ?

[Bill Steele]

Thanks Chief, I guess I should have decoded that

With the .45ACP you don't want to crimp into any groove, so just ignore those. The .45ACP round headspaces off the case mouth so it needs to be straight as it feeds into the chamber.

If you are indeed loading LSWC's, you want to seat so the round is 1.270" OAL. This should yield about .050" of the bearing surface above the case mouth. For the 1911, crimp so the case mouth measures .469"-.471" after the crimp is applied using a taper crimp.

If you are loading their RNFP then your OAL is usually more flexible from a feed perspective. Just pick an OAL that is above the minimum as specificed in your load data and feeds best in your gun. Again for the 1911, crimp to an OD of .469"-.471 at the case mouth for all lead and .45 ACP.

Steer clear of TC bullet profiles until you get some experience loading .45ACP.

[elhefe50ss]

forgive my ignorance "TC" ?

[wtkaiser]

Truncated Cone

[elhefe50ss]

these are the bullets i using

http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14808-c110-g8-b0-p0-Hard_Cast_.45_.452_200gr_RNFP.aspx

[bohoki]

i only use 200gn swc from bear creek and they work nice


they work in numerous 1911s a baby eagle glock 21 but wont work in a friends xd


i cast round nose and they work nice too in everything

[Bill Steele]

these are the bullets i using

http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14...00gr_RNFP.aspx

Those are pretty insensitive to OAL (from a feed reliability standpoint). Jut load them somewhere between 1.250"-1.260" OAL (as long as that is longer than the minimum OAL in the load data you are using) and you should be good to go.

Crimp to .468"-.471" OD at the case mouth and you should have a very reliable round.

Good luck, have fun.

[elhefe50ss]

thanks for all the advice i still believe that gun people are the most helpful around