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I just obtained a SA Loaded 5" and went to the range today. It was fantastic (my first .45)!
Anyway, I shot a bunch of Winchester White Box 230gr ball and a good number of reloads, testing various bullets to see how they fed and performed.
I had good results with both Berry's and West Coast Bullet 200gr Round Nose, SWC, and Round Shoulder and with Berry's 230gr Round Nose.
The problems came with Flat Points, both in Berry's and WCB. Most of my other test loads were an OAL of 1.225 (except the SWCs) and fed without problems. NONE of my Flat Points would load even though they were below the max OAL and passed the cartridge gauge test.
After getting home, I stripped the gun and found that all the rounds were too long for the SA barrel, even though they were 1.225. By experimentation (slowly shortening the OAL) I discovered that I had to reduce the OAL to 1.150 (almost completely up to the shoulder of the bullet) in both the Berry's and WCB to get them to fully seat . Obviously I won't shoot these bullets with their current powder charge unless I get some data for this OAL.
Is an OAL of 1.150 normal for this type of .45 ACP bullet? These are standard Flat Points (.451 diameter, WCB .525 length, Berry's .539). (Note: The cases from the pulled bullets fit fine.) I've never noticed such a difference between FPs and other bullet shapes in my other pistol calibers.
Thanks.
Anyway, I shot a bunch of Winchester White Box 230gr ball and a good number of reloads, testing various bullets to see how they fed and performed.
I had good results with both Berry's and West Coast Bullet 200gr Round Nose, SWC, and Round Shoulder and with Berry's 230gr Round Nose.
The problems came with Flat Points, both in Berry's and WCB. Most of my other test loads were an OAL of 1.225 (except the SWCs) and fed without problems. NONE of my Flat Points would load even though they were below the max OAL and passed the cartridge gauge test.
After getting home, I stripped the gun and found that all the rounds were too long for the SA barrel, even though they were 1.225. By experimentation (slowly shortening the OAL) I discovered that I had to reduce the OAL to 1.150 (almost completely up to the shoulder of the bullet) in both the Berry's and WCB to get them to fully seat . Obviously I won't shoot these bullets with their current powder charge unless I get some data for this OAL.
Is an OAL of 1.150 normal for this type of .45 ACP bullet? These are standard Flat Points (.451 diameter, WCB .525 length, Berry's .539). (Note: The cases from the pulled bullets fit fine.) I've never noticed such a difference between FPs and other bullet shapes in my other pistol calibers.
Thanks.