Cannalure bullets

[iratollah]

What difference will it make for reloading to have cannalure bullets vs. non-cannalure? Assume same bullet weight.

Also, lead core vs. steel core in the same weight bullet, what differences can I expect in performance?

Application is range/plinking ammo or perhaps zombie attacks.

[WildBill]

The cannalure will be an indication where to crimp the bullet so you don't have to worry about OAL length. Unless you are a benchrest shooter, I don't think there is any difference in performance. I have used steel core bullets and they are just as accurate. Of course, steel core bullets won't expand in zombies.

[retrieverman]

I am relatively new to reloading, and I have never seated any of my rifle round to the cannelures. I always seat my bullets to where they are just off the lands.

[Oldgringo]

I am relatively new to reloading, and I have never seated any of my rifle round to the cannelures. I always seat my bullets to where they are just off the lands.

I think that is the correct procedue for rifle bullets (that's what I did), I'm not sure that's correct for handguns. There's bound to be an expert here somewhere. What about it?

[Houston1944]

In handguns the cannalure is for a roll crimp that is needed to hold bullets in place for firing in revolvers and to help hold the bullet stationary while the slower burning powders ignite. Pistol bullets do not have a cannalure because they only need a taper crimp which removes the bell from the case, allowing the round to feed consistently from the magazine into the chamber. This is why typical revolver caliber bullets have a cannnalure and typical pistol calibers do not.

Semi and full auto rifles need the roll crimp to both insure proper feeding and to prevent bullet set back. Bolt action rifles do not need a crimp, lever action rifles do. The cannalure is located so that when seated for crimping in the cannalure the round will function in any rifle manufactured to standard industry specifications. I only have bolt action rifles so I never crimp my rifle loads.

Some of my rifle loads are .005 off the land, some are as much as .040 off the land. It just depends on what works best for any specific rifle. Developing the perfect location off the land is a fine tuning process, not a step that will take a 2" group down to 1/2". I have found that in the pecking order of group improvement, bullet, powder selection, powder charge, and primer are way more important that the location off the land.