Is it OK to load Revolver ammo long

crimsondave · December 13, 2009, 01:15 PM

as long as it will fit in the cylinder? I've always done this in bolt action rifles, but never in a handgun. I'm loading some .357 gold sabres and I'd live to seat them within the back band.

ClarkEMyers · December 13, 2009, 02:41 PM

The general rule for pressure is that powder space may be increased safely but never reduced.

For revolvers, as opposed to pistols, feeding is an entirely different issue but bullet pull raises its ugly head. That brings up the question of crimping. Often a roll crimp is used and that pretty much demands a crimp grove or crimp over the front of a driving band as the case may be. A bullet seated so as to lie all the way forward in the cylinder is likely a lockup waiting to happen - a bad thing in a loaded gun. Folks have played around FREX with .38 S&W Special cases and .357 Remington Magnum cases to get the case mouth to fall in an appropriate place on the bullet for crimping to fit a particular cylinder length.

Again for internal ballistics a bullet seated out is unlikely to raise pressures but may raise other issues - need to reflect and decide.

bluetopper · December 13, 2009, 07:31 PM

Yes....go ahead.

SL1 · December 13, 2009, 08:18 PM

Revolver bullets tend to creep forward due to recoil. Even with a big roll crimp, a bullet may still go forward a few thousandths until the back edge of a canelure or crimp groove gets pushed firmly against the crimp. And, if the recoil is really hard, it can go a little farther than that without actually "jumping crimp" and starting to walk farther out the cylinder with each shot. So, it is best to leave a little space between the bullet's nose and the end of the cylinder. Some folks recommend at least 0.03", while others push it a little farther out to accomodate some favorite bullet. If you are pushing it, you should check for bullet movement after each shot until you get the mouth tension and crimp right to hold the bullet frimly enough. Otherwise, you may get a bullet so far out that you can't rotate the cylinder, and it will jam-up your gun.

If you need to get the bullet a little farther into the cylinder, you can always trim a few cases to less than the "minimum" so that they give the necessary overall length when crimped onto the bullet in an available groove. But, remember that this leaves less space for the powder than would be there if the bullet was crimped into the same goove in a case of normal length. So, if the DATA that you are using calls for a normal-length case crimped into that same groove, then you would need to reduce the maximum charge. (There are some Speer bullets that have had data published with several different case lengths, for instance). But, if you are actually still seating the bullet farther out than was used to create your data, say by crimping in a different groove in a slightly shortened case, then the published maximum would be safe and could even be increased a little.

There are calculations that can be made to adjust maximum data for different seating depths. If you need to do that, ask on this forum and some of us would be glad to help with the calculation if you aren't sure how to do it.

SL1

Russ5924 · December 13, 2009, 08:39 PM

What is the reason to do this. If trying to lower the recoil cut back on powder.

crimsondave · December 14, 2009, 12:32 AM

Has nothing to do with recoil. Gold Sabres are wider at the back of the bullet than at the front. Some people load them with a slight gap at the front, but I don't want to.

December 13, 2009, 01:15 PM	#1
crimsondave Senior Member Join Date: September 30, 2009 Location: North Augusta, SC Posts: 490	Is it OK to load Revolver ammo long as long as it will fit in the cylinder? I've always done this in bolt action rifles, but never in a handgun. I'm loading some .357 gold sabres and I'd live to seat them within the back band.

December 13, 2009, 02:41 PM	#2
ClarkEMyers Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2004 Location: PacWest Posts: 455	Maybe, maybe not. The general rule for pressure is that powder space may be increased safely but never reduced. For revolvers, as opposed to pistols, feeding is an entirely different issue but bullet pull raises its ugly head. That brings up the question of crimping. Often a roll crimp is used and that pretty much demands a crimp grove or crimp over the front of a driving band as the case may be. A bullet seated so as to lie all the way forward in the cylinder is likely a lockup waiting to happen - a bad thing in a loaded gun. Folks have played around FREX with .38 S&W Special cases and .357 Remington Magnum cases to get the case mouth to fall in an appropriate place on the bullet for crimping to fit a particular cylinder length. Again for internal ballistics a bullet seated out is unlikely to raise pressures but may raise other issues - need to reflect and decide.

December 13, 2009, 08:39 PM	#5
Russ5924 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Posts: 1,874	What is the reason to do this. If trying to lower the recoil cut back on powder. __________________ Russ5924

December 13, 2009, 07:31 PM	#3
bluetopper Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2005 Location: Northeast TX Posts: 1,197	Yes....go ahead.

December 13, 2009, 08:18 PM	#4
SL1 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2007 Posts: 2,001	Revolver bullets tend to creep forward due to recoil. Even with a big roll crimp, a bullet may still go forward a few thousandths until the back edge of a canelure or crimp groove gets pushed firmly against the crimp. And, if the recoil is really hard, it can go a little farther than that without actually "jumping crimp" and starting to walk farther out the cylinder with each shot. So, it is best to leave a little space between the bullet's nose and the end of the cylinder. Some folks recommend at least 0.03", while others push it a little farther out to accomodate some favorite bullet. If you are pushing it, you should check for bullet movement after each shot until you get the mouth tension and crimp right to hold the bullet frimly enough. Otherwise, you may get a bullet so far out that you can't rotate the cylinder, and it will jam-up your gun. If you need to get the bullet a little farther into the cylinder, you can always trim a few cases to less than the "minimum" so that they give the necessary overall length when crimped onto the bullet in an available groove. But, remember that this leaves less space for the powder than would be there if the bullet was crimped into the same goove in a case of normal length. So, if the DATA that you are using calls for a normal-length case crimped into that same groove, then you would need to reduce the maximum charge. (There are some Speer bullets that have had data published with several different case lengths, for instance). But, if you are actually still seating the bullet farther out than was used to create your data, say by crimping in a different groove in a slightly shortened case, then the published maximum would be safe and could even be increased a little. There are calculations that can be made to adjust maximum data for different seating depths. If you need to do that, ask on this forum and some of us would be glad to help with the calculation if you aren't sure how to do it. SL1

December 14, 2009, 12:32 AM	#6
crimsondave Senior Member Join Date: September 30, 2009 Location: North Augusta, SC Posts: 490	Has nothing to do with recoil. Gold Sabres are wider at the back of the bullet than at the front. Some people load them with a slight gap at the front, but I don't want to.