Let's say you have a pistol that will run just about any length round you feed it, which my Beretta LTT 92 seems to do.
This means that for a given bullet and desired muzzle velocity, I can vary the seat depth to whatever I want and still achieve the that velocity as long as I adapt the powder volume appropriately.
In this scenario, what information do I use to select the bullet seat depth? Why would I pick one seat depth (and corresponding OAL) over another?
Here are my thoughts / questions / what I've read so far. I'd love to hear the experts confirm or deny these claims!
- Larger powder measurements should have less variance (as a %) from the powder drop, resulting in more consistent velocities
- Larger internal volume will reduce pressure, putting less wear on the gun (not sure this matters if you're loading minor power factor)
- Smaller internal volume increases pressure which helps burn cleaner if you're running really light loads
- I read that loading short and getting near peak pressure (but with the same velocity) makes the gun feel softer shooting. Is this true or urban legend?
- I suppose at some point you need enough seat depth just to hold the bullet properly. But I'm thinking if you're within any reasonable range this is a non factor?
Am I missing anything? And does any of the above really make a significant difference? Or is it the case that if your gun can run any length, just pick something in the middle and never think about it again?