[RedPepper2]

Was reading on the internet somewhere? and this fellow said the Winchester white box 95 gr bullets were .94 in length and they worked great in the lcp. I measured several kinds of other manufactured bullets and they are all .96, .97 and .98 in length. This gentleman was shortening his bullets. Is this feasible?

 

[DesertPunisher425]

From a reloader's standpoint, sure it's feasible. But it's not really advisable to change the seating depth of factory ammo. That ammo is made to specs and should stay within specs. But, generally +/- a hundredth, MAYBE two... isn't a reason for concern. You've also got a concern of damage you could cause by simply pushing the round deeper after the crimp is set. If it's simply a matter of different types of factory ammo being different lengths... they work up the formula for the load and I can promise you... Federal, Winchester, Remington and the likes are going to put out ammo that is safe and reliable in virtually all modern firearms.

Honestly, I wouldn't be all that concerned about length. I've not had any issues in my LCP due to OAL. Of course I haven't shot a ton through it. It all boils down to this... it's a pocket pistol, not a competition pistol. If it functions fine with what you're using, don't worry about what this guy and that guy said.

 

[HowardCohodas]

There is more variation in factory ammo than you might think. I had a reference, which I cannot locate at the moment, covering this issue. Here is another reference you may find helpful.

http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/lom/articles/125511-GearCheck-Weapons-ammo-inspection-tips-that-can-protect-your-life/

An officer's life depends on serviceable equipment. It's the responsibility of all officers to properly care for and check their gear, especially firearms and ammunition. A few minutes spent on inspection, cleaning and maintenance go far toward reducing the possibility of failure at a critical moment.

This article illustrates different methods to ensure proper function by inspecting and testing ammunition, magazines and firearms. All mechanical devices are prone to failure, usually at the worst moment. Always develop a backup plan and backup equipment. The old saying "forewarned is forearmed" is more true today than ever.

 

[Ooben]

I noticed right off the bat that my LCP would not quite go into battery with some Speer Gold Dot HP's. I dropped a few into the barrel and found out some would headspace ok, some would not. I measured the rounds I had left, there was 3 or 4 thousands difference in OAL. That was just enough to keep the slide from going fully into battery with the longer OAL. I called both Speer and Ruger about this, as we all know now, Ruger deepened the throat on the barrels, really wasn't a problem, I picked out the shortest rounds of the bunch to carry. With the new barrel...no problem.
Mike

 

[RedPepper2]

I'm supposed to take delivery of my Ruger LCP tomorrow so I'll shoot at least 4 different kinds of factory ammo with the different OALs and report results shortly.

 

[habanero]

There is more variation in factory ammo than you might think. I had a reference, which I cannot locate at the moment, covering this issue. Here is another reference you may find helpful.

http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/lom/articles/125511-GearCheck-Weapons-ammo-inspection-tips-that-can-protect-your-life/

An officer's life depends on serviceable equipment. It's the responsibility of all officers to properly care for and check their gear, especially firearms and ammunition. A few minutes spent on inspection, cleaning and maintenance go far toward reducing the possibility of failure at a critical moment.

This article illustrates different methods to ensure proper function by inspecting and testing ammunition, magazines and firearms. All mechanical devices are prone to failure, usually at the worst moment. Always develop a backup plan and backup equipment. The old saying "forewarned is forearmed" is more true today than ever.

Great article Howard! Thank you-

 

[freetoe]

I have found that Fiocchi 90 gr jhp are too long to fit the mag in my lcp. The first and second load OK into the mag and the next round jams the first round down in the mag resulting in having to tap the mag to get them to release and feed up. I have tried 2 different mags with same problem with Fiocchi. In comparing the lengths with wwb and Remington 88gr jhp there is a noticeable difference in length. The Fiocchi is about a 1/32 to 1/16th " longer and the nose shape different which causes them to wedge in. Remington loads and feeds just fine.

 

[MNBud]

Was reading on the internet somewhere? and this fellow said the Winchester white box 95 gr bullets were .94 in length and they worked great in the lcp. I measured several kinds of other manufactured bullets and they are all .96, .97 and .98 in length. This gentleman was shortening his bullets. Is this feasible?

The downside to trying to shorten aol is you can easily bulge the brass if they are crimped tight. If you read any reloading forums it won't be long before you hear about bulging cases and most of the time it is due to getting into the crimping portion of the seating die before you have finished with the seating of the bullet.There is a proper procedure to prevent this but most reloaders just resort to a separate taper crimp die and use one more step.