Adjusting COL

[cbourbeau32]

How much oal adjustment is ok? I am loading the 41 mag and was wondering if it was ok to adjust the oal down just enough to allow a longer bullet to chamber in the cylinder. What are the variables? Thanks, Charlie

[mjbgalt]

in a revolver, as long as the bullets don't come out of the case during recoil or cause the cylinder to not be able to turn, then don't worry too much.

[Sweetwater]

COL has to fit chamber in cylinder of revolver, chamber and magazine of autoloader and any repeating rifle. They have to be correct length to feed from the magazine AND correct length to fit chamber. Only other restriction is the length of the bullet. Some short and long bullets have a tough time in some situations.

[sgtt]

Watch your pressure.

[wncchester]

Seating deeper in small cartridges using fast powders indeed has the potential to cause significant pressure increases.  Pistol cartridges are small, almost by defination.  But those as large as a .357 and up aren't tiny and they tend to use slower powders so seating a bit deeper won't be a problem, not unless you get silly.   Seat your .41 so you can rotate the cylinder and don't worry about it.

[cbourbeau32]

Well I got my mold in yesterday from Ranch Dog (a Lee custom TL411-255 RF) and cast a few (they cast 260 grains) to see how deeply I would have to seat these to get them to chamber in my blackhawk. The reason I started this thread was regarding the 240 SWC's I have been using need to be seated a little deeper than what the book shows to chamber. So I was a little concerned going into this deal with the TL411255 because of its lenght and wide meplat. I was right I will have to seat them to an OAL of around 1.485 or 1.490 to get them to chamber. Is this safe? Thanks, Charlie

[wncchester]

" I was right I will have to seat them to an OAL of around 1.485 or 1.490 to get them to chamber. Is this safe?"

It will be if you start low and only work up to book max OR until you get over-pressure signs.

[PA-Joe]

Some powders do not like being compressed. That is why you will want to reduce your load and work back up.

[cbourbeau32]

Thanks PA-Joe and wncchester, I think H110 is a good powder for that bullet weight. I guess I should start at or a little below starting load then correct? I'm only looking for 1000-1100 fps anyways. Thanks, Charlie

[stimpylu32]

Charlie

If your only wanting 1000 to 1100 fps , DO NOT use H110 , the starting load Per Hodgdons is 19.5g @ 1410 fps , to get down to 1100 you would have to reduce way too much for a safe load .

Look at either Titegroup or Auto Comp , both start at around 1050 fps .

stimpy

[Sweetwater]

Charlie-
I bought into that same mold buy from Ranch Dog. His data sheet on his webpage; you will find he lists 19.5gr of H110 with your bullet at 261gr, as a max load @ 1580fps - out of his Marlin Rifle. Need to remember he designed this bullet for the Marlin rifle. He shows OAL @ 1.59"

Your post indicates a revolver is being used. I have both several revolvers and a Marlin rifle. Got my mold yesterday, but have yet to locate a set of handles to fit it.

You are going to lose around 250fps (my Chrony notes are in my truck and I'm on crutches) in the revolver. I'll also assume that you cannot push this bullet through your cylinder - correct? How does your cylinder dimension stack up with your barrel dimension? These bullets are suppossed to be fat for the rifles which tend to be oversized. Could be a bit of a squeeze in a good fitting revolver. If you do not have a rifle, or if all barrels you are going to use this in are more correctly .410"/.411", you could possibly get where you want to go by sizing the bullet accordingly. His drawing shows a.411" nose diameter and if you can't push one all the way through, it's probably a tad tight for your cylinder. Somewhere I read his bullets drop at .413", perfect for a .411 rifle, too fat for my Blackhawk at .4095", so I will probably end up with two sizing sessions. One for the revolver and one for the rifle. I really want them in the rifle, and may end up simply dedicating them to the rifle and staying with a 220-230gr for the revolver.

IF you only have a revolver to use these in, run em through a sizer that fits your revolver ie .001"-.002" over your barrel dimension. Another option would be to run them into a sizer upside down and simply reduce the nose dia a few thousands.

Stimpy's warning to not use H110 is to be heeded for the velocity you want with this bullet, though I'm not sure he realizes how heavy your bullet is. All Ranch Dog shows is max loads, so you will have to do some figuring to get your lower velocity. I'd use something a bit more forgiving to get started like 2400. Also, you can find heavy bullet data on the Cast Performance Bullet website. 250gr, 255gr and 265gr in the 41mag flavor.

Best of luck. Will be a couple weeks before I can join you in this journey. Look forward to where you go with this and your reports.

[cbourbeau32]

Sweetwater is there no chance I can shoot this bullet without sizing it? I guess I would have to slug my barrel and cylinder right? If I can't use this bullet without first sizing it I may just sell the mold and stick to the .410 240 SWC that I bought used. I shot some of those this afternoon at the local indoor range. I had one really good group with 8.1 grains of Unique. I was hoping to get a 250-260 grain bullet I could use in my revolver. I guess maybe the cylinder is too short for long enough of a bullet to be that heavy. I'm satisfied with the 240 grainer though if need be. Thanks, Charlie

[Sweetwater]

I don't believe your cylinder is too short, that bullet only has a .300 nose on a 1.29" case length, that's right at 1.59" per Ranch Dog's specs. I used to have a 282gr mold on a SSK design from NEI. There was no length issue with that one. I think your new bullets are too fat for your cylinder or there is some buildup inside your cylinder - just a guess there. Another thing you can do, is fire lap the cylinder. That's kind of fun as you do it at the range. Get a jar of JB Paste, run the loaded case through the paste and stick it in your cylinder. The JB Paste will hone your cylinder and make a better fit.

Curiosity - what happens when you seat to 1.59"? Do they stop going into the cylinder or just get super tight?

Another question - what is your aversion to sizing? 99% or more of my cast bullets have gone through a sizer. It's easier for me than the mess of hand lubing or 'cookie cutting' and I've done a bunch of that, also.

[cbourbeau32]

When seated to 1.59 they are still about .08 or so from the bullet going all the way into the cylinder. The cylinder itself it plenty long for me to seat out to like 1.7 or so its just that it tapers down in size not far after the case lenght distance into the cylinder. I'll get it out and get some measurements off of it. Thanks for the reply. Charlie

[Sweetwater]

Along a different line, if you cast from a harder alloy, your bullets will be a tad smaller.

Have you tried pushing a bullet through the cylinder? There isn't much of any taper in those cylinders, just a step at the end of the case for the chamber mouth.