[Gunner45]

Ok guys, I have a question for you all. What is the correct OAL for a 185gr. Rainier TCJ flatpoint? I was at our local IDPA style fun shoot last week when I had drop out due to ammo problems.

My Colt feeds every factory load I have ever tryed with out a hitch. But now that I am reloading I ran into my first problem with my beloved Colt.

I blasted through the first stage with no hang ups at all. I was quite happy with my self as I olny dropped 3 point on that whole stage. Then on the next stage loads would not chamber at all. It was like the flatpoint was hanging up on the shoulder in the chamber. Sorry I don't recall exactly what that part of the chamber is called. It's where the case headspaces. I ejected the round and let the slide sling shot back forward and the next round did the same thing.

My load was this 185gr. Rainier copper platted flat point in front of 5.0grs of Win231, Win large pistol primers and Win cases. OAL was 1.221"

Can a .45 be loaded to short? Does that OAL seem odd to any of you.

Now that I have cleaned the gun, the very loads that were giveing me trouble, hand cycle like a dream.

Gunner45

[dickwholliday]

i was having the same problem with a truncated cone bullet in my 40 S & W 1911 Para....i was seeing a mark on the side of the bullet where it was hitting the front of the chamber.......i kept loading them longer and longer and although the problem got better it did not go away totally.....a buddy said he had to load lhis shorter so i tried that and the problem went away totally......if i were you i'd try shorter.....DICK

[winwun]

Lube is the answer. 90% of feed problems with autos can be cured with a drop of oil in the right place. This is not to say that COL dimensions should not be observed. When I shoot autos (I'm not really fond of them for this reason) I keep a towell and a can of WD-40 handy.

As the Dope Bag Dope says, the "tip off" should have been that the offending rounds fed well after cleaning (and oiling, I'm assuming) the gun.

A general purpose lube I have settled on is Transmission fluid. It is better than any specific or dedicated lube I have found.

I have a little Beretta .22 with the tip-up barrel, and it seemed to have feed problems, and I discovered the cure was a drop of oil on each side of the mag follower every three or four mags full.

[Longbow]

Did you try firing it again after the cleaning? If it still giving you problem, try taking the barell out from the gun and drop one of your reloads in the chamber, if the cartridge rim is not flush with the chamber hood (cartridge rim sits higher), its too long. I think I use 1.215 when I used to load 185 gr. SWC. Also, check your crimp. Good luck!

[VOD]

I'll echo Longbow's warning about the crimp. When I first started out, some of my .45's weren't getting crimped quite enough. Fortunately, along with my other equipment, I bought a case gauge. I started tossing about every 5th round at that, and when it wouldn't go in, looked it over closely and found the problem.

[Longbow]

Yep, get a case guage! How did I managed to forget that in my first post?!:D It a worthwhile, cheap QA investment for us reloaders. Good luck!

[Old Fuff]

Your magazines may contribute to the problem. If the lips release the cartridge too late the nose of the bullet may be jammed against the feed ramp and then jam or stovepipe. If your favorite load has a short overall length you may have to have some magazines especially modified to reliably feed it.