Bulge buster for 45acp - does it work?

Never used a bulge buster. I have resized ''glocked'' brass without one. What i found to work on tight chambered guns. Is the Lee factory crimp die.

Bulletski said:

Hi All:
I have recently picked up a Kimber Competition 2 in 45 where I continually get failures to feed. From what I gather, the tolerance on the Kimber chamber is tight and that's the cause. I reload and have done so since the 70s and never had such a problem with .38s and 9mm, so this is a first. I did some research and read that 45 cases will bulge at the head hence causing the problem; and the cure is the Lee Bulge Buster.

I'd like to know what you guys think of the Bulge Buster and does it work? I don't want to spend the money and then find out I still have the same problem.
Thanks for replies.

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I have it and it works for certain IF the problem you have is a bulge in the case.

As I understand it a bulge comes from unsupported barrels like in a Glock. Once a case or round has been run through, it won’t need it again IF it’s not fired in an unsupported barrel.

Now, if you already have a Lee 45acp Factory crimp die, you really have the bulge buster too. The busting is performed by pushing a case or finished round all the way through the die (with the crimping stuff removed of course).

Have you plunk tested your rounds? If the plunk test is not familiar search this forum for instructions.
Did you make dummy rounds and test cycle them in the Kimber? You may have to change the seating depth to help them cycle.
You might also try different magazines.
- Mike

I use it on a 10mm that's been shot in a Glock so I can run it in other guns good results.

I have used the Lee Bulge buster and it does work. It’s fairly inexpensive, you will also need the Lee factory crimp die to make it work. Other things to check are your sizing die to make sure it’s set up correctly. Also check how much bell you put on your casing. To much can also cause a problem.

Bulletski said:

I have recently picked up a Kimber Competition 2 in 45 where I continually get failures to feed.

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Fully describe "failure to feed" or show us photos. This is not enough detail.

I’ve had so much FTF on my STI .40 2011 (same as 1911)

1st. problem, magazines need toning
1st. problem magazines are too expensive to mess up a bad tone job

Yes, it works but Glock brass that I have often has blown primer pockets too. I have a RIA 10 mm and I’ve given up on trying to work with any brass fired out of a Glock.

I have a Kimber Stainless LW in .45 and experienced the same problem with my reloads. My problem however also included factory ammo, and it was the first round 99 percent of the time. I ended up calling Kimber, they provided an overnight shipping label and I sent the gun off on a Thursday afternoon. The following Monday I received an email that my gun was shipping back to me second day air. I had the gun back in a week which I thought was pretty remarkable in this current market. The accompanying note said a gunsmith refit the barrel, polished the feed ramp, reamed the chamber, replaced the disconnector. Under the heading "complimentary repairs" they replaced the hammer and sear as well. All of the work and shipping was at no cost to me, and I don't understand exactly why the hammer and sear were replaced or how it related to my problem, but I shot a 150 rounds through the gun yesterday, a mix of factory ammo and reloads and it ran very well. My reloads are Acme SWC bullets which seem to be a little particular about seating depth and crimp. I have altered my reloading process to start with depriming the brass, cleaning it, resizing it then running it through a case gauge before proceeding. Cases with the Glock bulge are discarded at this point. When a factory crimp die and bulge buster become available I may try that route but at this point I am harvesting mostly my own brass so discards are usually the odd stray picked up at the range.

Most likely the failure to feed is due to another issue, but if it is due to bulge the bulge buster will fix it.

As mentioned earlier do the plunk test.
Color up a round with a sharpie all over. Take the barrel out and see if the round plunks. If it doesn't look to see where the color has been "scratched".
If it fits the odds are it is your mag.
If you are using SWCs small changes in OAL can make a difference between good feeding and failure.
Some 1911s are less picky about SWCs than others, some just don't care for SWCs.
(more info about the load would help us help you)

I’ve been been using the Lee BB die for 45 acp brass for years now. I look upon this die as a “uniforming” die. I only shoot range pick-up brass with no known history, and therefore uniforming these cases is important to assure smooth cycling. The die works fine for me, and all of my 45 acp brass gets bulge busted after sizing.

Bayou52

Field strip the gun

take the barrel and see if your reloads will drop in the chamber fully without effort.

"plunk"

if they don't, adjust your crimp and overall length

derek45 said:

Field strip the gun

take the barrel and see if your reloads will drop in the chamber fully without effort.

"plunk"

if they don't, adjust your crimp and overall length

View attachment 993158

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Crimp and OAL won't correct the Glock bulge.

loneviking said:

I have a RIA 10 mm and I’ve given up on trying to work with any brass fired out of a Glock.

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Have you tried a Redding G-Rx die?

Bayou52 said:

The die works fine for me, and all of my 45 acp brass gets bulge busted after sizing.

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Is that the sequence recommended by the die mnfr, size then bust? Redding instructs bust then size.

No, I haven’t. Too many of the primer pockets are blown out and you can’t fix an enlarged primer pocket.

Sefuller5741 said:

Crimp and OAL won't correct the Glock bulge.

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I've never seen a Glock bulge on a 45ACP. it's a low pressure cartridge

Bayou52 said:

The die works fine for me, and all of my 45 acp brass gets bulge busted after sizing.

Bayou52

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I 'Bust' then size. Bulge busting will move brass around to bring the base back into compliance, then size the case with the sizing die.

derek45 said:

I've never seen a Glock bulge on a 45ACP. it's a low pressure cartridge

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Must be magic. Others clearly encounter some sort of bulge and the buster fixes it.

WeekendReloader said:

I 'Bust' then size. Bulge busting will move brass around to bring the base back into compliance, then size the case with the sizing die.

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That’s a lot of work.

Bayou52 said:

I’ve been been using the Lee BB die for 45 acp brass for years now. I look upon this die as a “uniforming” die. I only shoot range pick-up brass with no known history, and therefore uniforming these cases is important to assure smooth cycling. The die works fine for me, and all of my 45 acp brass gets bulge busted after sizing.

Bayou52

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That’s a lot of busting. I use only range pickup brass too, but after I use it, it becomes mine and after I bust it once, it never needs busting again. Not so with you?

Lots of folks start with the “plunk” test (if they won’t plunk, no need to go any further) and use the barrel and still have mystery malfunctions because every round plunked fine. Then someone suggests a case gauge because the barrel doesn’t check the rim where a case gauge does.



It’s just a matter of ignoring the fact that the round has to go into the breech face and slide under the extractor in your 1911.



A push through die, like the bulge buster will make sure the rim will drop into and fall out of a case gauge. I use roll sizers though as they iron out the extractor groove as well.



I automated the one I used the most to eliminate the “lots of extra work” problem.

jmorris said:

Lots of folks start with the “plunk” test and use the barrel and still have mystery malfunctions because every round plunked fine. Then someone suggests a case gauge because the barrel doesn’t check the rim where a case gauge does.

View attachment 993248

It’s just a matter of ignoring the fact that the round has to go into the breech face and slide under the extractor in your 1911.

View attachment 993249

A push through die, like the bulge buster will make sure the rim will drop into and fall out of a case gauge. I use roll sizers though as they iron out the extractor groove as well.

View attachment 993247

I automated the one I used the most to eliminate the “lots of extra work” problem.

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Yes, we’ve seen your factory before.

Before the panic, I bought a few thousand processed/once fired from an outfit that roll sized each round as part of their processing. Makes for a nice case.

derek45 said:

I've never seen a Glock bulge on a 45ACP. it's a low pressure cartridge

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I'd be happy to send you several examples