I still consider myself new to reloading, even tho I loaded my first rounds 2 years ago, I don’t reload a lot and have not loaded anything since November. Yesterday I loaded some .357 Magnums for the first time in exactly one year. All my .357 loads so far have been with Western Bullets 160 Gr. SWCL gas checked. I had 13 bullets left and then started using some Matts Bullets 165 Gr. SWCL gas checked. The bullets were longer, hence I had to seat them deeper into the case and the crimp grove was not there, but a tapered area instead, so the area above the crimp area sticks up above the case unlike the Western Bullets seated flush with the case. Photo below describes what I am talking about better than I can describe. To me, the bullet on the right looks funny setting up higher. Seems like every time I try something different, all kinds of unexpected things change. Have I done anything wrong loading the 165 Gr. Bullets?

Right one is crimped in wrong groove,you got in grease grove and probably will not seat in cylinder.

Also your roll crimp is too shallow for my liking and the one on the left will crimp better with 10,000 more seating.

What 45cal said ^^^^^^^^.

Ditto for me too.

For revolver loads the cartridge OAL isn't as critical as on a pistol cartridge, as long as it fits in your cylinder. In the case of your two bullet selections, it appears that the length from the base of the bullet to the crimp groove is about the same, otherwise pressure will be different between loads using the two different bullets. As long as you seat and crimp to the crimp groove, not the wax groove, you should be okay, as long as you are using the correct powder charge weight for the bullet grain weight.

When loadong tevolver bullets, dont fret over oal. Load to the crimp groove. Those reounds will ahoot, just looks fugly.

These will be shot in a lever gun. I usually load lighter for revolver. The one on the right is definitely not crimped in the grease groove. Photo below has an arrow pointing to where it is crimped. It just looks wrong in the first photo.

These are charged with 14.0 grains of AA9. Max load is 14.9 grains.

So, these will be safe to shoot or do I need to pull the bullets and start over?

On a positive note, I think a shorter OAL might cycle in my Remlin 1894 better. .38 Specials load smoothly, but .357 Magnums turn the action into a very rough action, sometimes needing to work the lever 3 or 4 times to load a round into the chamber. Next time I’ll seat the bullet deeper so that it looks like the bullet on the left as long as this will not increase the pressure to an unacceptable amount.

From the above picture of the 2 bullets, it is obvious that the heavier bullet on the right will seat more deeply into the cartridge case if properly seated and crimped. That, plus the fact that it is a little heavier, will probably increase the pressure created when fired. One should therefore be careful to use loading data appropriate for the bullet (and reduce charges a little if not sure at first).

flashguy

Ok, looking at what I did more carefully, I was using load data for a 158 Gr. Jacketed HP. My reloading manual (Lyman 49th) never seems to have load data for what I have, so I use the closest to what I have. Max load is 14.9 Gr. I loaded 14.0 Gr.

In the manual:

It does have 155 Gr. Lead data. Max load 14.5 Gr.

It does have 170 Gr. Lead data. Max load 13.0 Gr.

So, it appears that the larger bullets may be loaded over max, tho seated about the same depth in the case as the 160 Gr. Bullet on the left.

I’m thinking these will be safe to shoot, but I certainly will think about what I am doing more carefully when I load the rest of these.

COL is real simple for a revolver:
1) the bullet can not extend past the front of the cylinder
and
2) when possible, roll crimp in the bullet's cannelure or crimp groove. If the COL with the case mouth crimped into the crimp groove is too long (the bullet sticks out), you roll crimp over the shoulder or along the ogive.
That is all there is to it.
Once you work out the COL, you start load work up FROM THE START LOAD. I prefer to check at least two sources and start at the lowest start load.