Seating Depth Question

Timothy · March 2, 2002, 10:04 PM

Until now the only semi-auto I have loaded lead for is .45ACP. I loaded 230gr. LRN and seated them just behind the forward shoulder of the band located just to the rear of the ogive ahead of all grooves and the OAL is just fine. From what I've seen, this seems to be the "normal" amount of exposed bullet. Well......I thought I would give .32ACP a try and bought some 77gr. LRN from National Bullet. Lyman says the max. OAL is .984. I seated at .975 to get ahead of the lube groove have the foreward groove and band exposed. I used the min. powder charge (1.5 gr. 231). About every 5th. round caused a FTE, no jam, just not enough oomph to cycle. I loaded another 28 rounds and seated to around .940.This time I had only 2 FTE out of 28. I'm pretty much convinced that the loads are too light but before I increase the powder I would like to seat the bullet further just like the .45's mentioned above. If I do this the OAL will be .910. I know this could possibly cause a feeding problem but I can deal with that issue later. Right now I'm concerned about pressure. I will be .074 shorter than the max. OAL. If I stay with the 1.5gr. of 231, do any of you guys see a potential problem?

Thanks

tonyz · March 2, 2002, 10:24 PM

Maybe. Why don't you just up the charge to about 1.8Gr to 2.0Gr of W231.

Tony

michiganboy · March 3, 2002, 01:49 AM

I was looking through my winchester components catalog and it says 2.5 grains is max for .32 auto so I would agree and up the charge to around 2.0 grains and go from there. You can check at winchesters web sight for other loading information.

Good Luck!

March 2, 2002, 10:04 PM	#1
Timothy Member Join Date: November 26, 2000 Posts: 97	Seating Depth Question Until now the only semi-auto I have loaded lead for is .45ACP. I loaded 230gr. LRN and seated them just behind the forward shoulder of the band located just to the rear of the ogive ahead of all grooves and the OAL is just fine. From what I've seen, this seems to be the "normal" amount of exposed bullet. Well......I thought I would give .32ACP a try and bought some 77gr. LRN from National Bullet. Lyman says the max. OAL is .984. I seated at .975 to get ahead of the lube groove have the foreward groove and band exposed. I used the min. powder charge (1.5 gr. 231). About every 5th. round caused a FTE, no jam, just not enough oomph to cycle. I loaded another 28 rounds and seated to around .940.This time I had only 2 FTE out of 28. I'm pretty much convinced that the loads are too light but before I increase the powder I would like to seat the bullet further just like the .45's mentioned above. If I do this the OAL will be .910. I know this could possibly cause a feeding problem but I can deal with that issue later. Right now I'm concerned about pressure. I will be .074 shorter than the max. OAL. If I stay with the 1.5gr. of 231, do any of you guys see a potential problem? Thanks __________________ "There ain't no use runnin' if you're on the wrong road."

March 2, 2002, 10:24 PM	#2
tonyz Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Location: Wa Posts: 922	Maybe. Why don't you just up the charge to about 1.8Gr to 2.0Gr of W231. Tony __________________ Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

March 3, 2002, 01:49 AM	#3
michiganboy Junior Member Join Date: February 20, 2002 Location: Gaylord, MI Posts: 6	I was looking through my winchester components catalog and it says 2.5 grains is max for .32 auto so I would agree and up the charge to around 2.0 grains and go from there. You can check at winchesters web sight for other loading information. Good Luck! __________________ Ruger P89, P90, P944 Mini 14, 10/22, SP101 Baby Eagle 40 S&W Sig P226 40 S&W Glock 23C 40 S&W