doulos Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 In my first 100 rounds of .45 Acp loaded on my new 550 I have noticed some of my completed rounds had a variation in OAL. I checked the die and it was tight. Some were about .003 longer. Is this from me short stroking it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98sr20ve Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 .003" is insignificant. If you loaded any with out a full shellplate they will actually vary a lot more then that (compared to the ones loaded on a full shellplate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay870 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 .003" is insignificant. Agreed. I pretty routinely see a variance of .003-.005. Remember, the seating die "pushes" on the ogive of the bullet, not the tip, so any variation in the ogive shape from bullet to bullet will cause the OAL to be a little off. Some brands of bullets are more consistent than others in this regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsupglock Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I had preconceived notions that I would be able to load every round to the same spec when I started loading. Those notions are gone. A few thousandths of an inch isn't anything to wory about. Just make sure your powder is dumping close to the exact same charge each time, monitor your oal for big changes, and just load away. Don't sweat the small stuff. It will drive you crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 In my first 100 rounds of .45 Acp loaded on my new 550 I have noticed some of my completed rounds had a variation in OAL. I checked the die and it was tight. Some were about .003 longer. Is this from me short stroking it? Not to worry, the OAl will never be 100% exact round to round. + or - .003 is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankfan79 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Agreed. Even factory ammo doesn't have the same OAL every time. Matter of fact, you will find that factory ammo have very little QC invovled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 You using the same headstamp and all the same times fired brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulos Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 (edited) .003" is insignificant. If you loaded any with out a full shellplate they will actually vary a lot more then that (compared to the ones loaded on a full shellplate). these were all once fired magtech brass i actually loaded more than a few without a full shell plate and I measured the rest and the variance is up to .005. Why does it matter if the shell plate is full or not? Edited March 11, 2011 by doulos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98sr20ve Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 The case opposite the one being seated supports the shellplate and changes the oal a small amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ryder Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I just started reloading recently also with that pre-conceived notion of exactness. Nothing is perfect and life is not fare!Some variation is completely normal and will impact Power Factor insignificantly. Just case/barrel check and mag check then shoot them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron59 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Measure a sheet of paper. I think that's .005", maybe .003". That's how far off you are. It's not going to affect your accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ryder Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I had preconceived notions that I would be able to load every round to the same spec when I started loading. Those notions are gone. A few thousandths of an inch isn't anything to wory about. Just make sure your powder is dumping close to the exact same charge each time, monitor your oal for big changes, and just load away. Don't sweat the small stuff. It will drive you crazy. ^Yep! What he said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlepig Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Remember that most folks measure OAL and the bullet is actually pushed down by the guts of the seater die that don't contact the bullet on the tip. It makes contact on the rounded portin called the ogive. Any variation bullet to bullet (ESPECIALLY with lead) will look like a large variation, where the seat die actually loaded both projectiles exactly the same.... the diff being in the bullet itself. The variance you are seeing is small indeed. In high volume loading you will actually see trash and lube build up in the interior of the seat die and start messing up your seating depth. The above post about the shell plate being full or empty was right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Alexander Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 .003" is insignificant. Agreed. I pretty routinely see a variance of .003-.005. Remember, the seating die "pushes" on the ogive of the bullet, not the tip, so any variation in the ogive shape from bullet to bullet will cause the OAL to be a little off. Some brands of bullets are more consistent than others in this regard. He is loading 45ACP, pistol seaters push on the tip of the bullet, rifle seaters dont push on the tip, but not far enough down to touch the ogive. in any case a.003-.005 variation wont be noticed in a handgun. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkjr Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 check your OAL die. You can take the die apart very easily. Remove the die, and take out the take out pin on the side, be careful because the guts will fall out. The seating cup is actually universal, takes round nose bullets on one side, and you can flip it over to a flat nose or a hollow point. If you are loading Round Nose and the flat nose plate is what is actually sizing it, then flip it. Also it is good to clean it out every once in awhile. Pay attention to how the guts come out, because it goes back together exactly how it came apart. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Such a small variation is insignificant, especially in the 45acp. Like was said loading on a full shell plate or not will cause slight variation. Even same head stamped brass will have slight variations in neck tension which would cause the slight difference in oal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro-Pain Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Measure a sheet of paper. I think that's .005", maybe .003". That's how far off you are. It's not going to affect your accuracy. To notice this, you obviously have calipers. Open your calipers up to .003", or even .005" and see if you can even see through the crack. If you can, chances are it's negligible. As others said, any variation in any of the components can cause this. Make a mark on your seating die with a pen. one line over both pieces. Make sure it doesn't wiggle loose and the line is together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosa Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Don't worry about it you're good! Start shooing it through a chrono and see how it groups.. Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyL Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 As everyone else stated, don't worry about it. Those 45 bullets are not made to exact tolerances and there will be some variation in COAL due to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfwobbly Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 In my first 100 rounds of .45 Acp loaded on my new 550 I have noticed some of my completed rounds had a variation in OAL. I checked the die and it was tight. Some were about .003 longer. The 550 has a special circumstance where the first cartridge through will vary widely from the rest. This also occurs on test cartridges you run through the press by themselves during setup. The case in the seating position simply needs to be balanced out by a case in the sizing position. On my 550 this usually comes out to exactly .005" difference for some reason. Watch for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan R. Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I went crazy when I first started reloading...I purchased a tool head bolt down kit. Got the head all bolted down and guess what...still had OAL variances!!! As previously stated, as long as it's minimum, shoot 'em up!! Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadapple Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 That's really not bad at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 pistol seaters push on the tip of the bullet, rifle seaters dont push on the tip, but not far enough down to touch the ogive. in any case a.003-.005 variation wont be noticed in a handgun. Larry I don't know where you're getting your seating stems, but I have plenty of them that push on the side of the bullet....and I'm loading for a pretty broad range or cartridges. Dillon dies come with two stems for this very reason...so you can pick the one that will contact the side of bullet, rather than the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Alexander Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) pistol seaters push on the tip of the bullet, rifle seaters dont push on the tip, but not far enough down to touch the ogive. in any case a.003-.005 variation wont be noticed in a handgun. Larry I don't know where you're getting your seating stems, but I have plenty of them that push on the side of the bullet....and I'm loading for a pretty broad range or cartridges. Dillon dies come with two stems for this very reason...so you can pick the one that will contact the side of bullet, rather than the tip. After reading your post I checked my 45 and 9mm seater stems (my dillon dies came with one stem that is reversable, one end for ball and one end for flat/hollow point bullets) both bottom out on the tip of the flat points I am loading, dont have any ball bullets to check. Now on rifle bullets I agree with you, the seater presses on the upper part of the ogive. Larry Edited May 2, 2011 by Larry Alexander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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