I decided to load up some .45 ACP today. I used the same dies, set up the same way they were from my last session. I ran through 150 rounds or so of a mixture of brass from Winchester, Federal, Aguila, and a couple others. I'm using the same bullets I've been using. Grabbed three random rounds and went out to show a friend how my Silencerco can worked. The first round cycled just fine. The second jammed the Glock 21. Got it apart and inspected the round. It was an Aguila case and it failed the plop test. Went to the bench and tried another - same issue. Went through every round. 90% or more of the rounds that fail to drop into the chamber are Aguila cases. Not sure what's going on. I pulled some of them, ran them through the sizing die again, skipped the flaring die, chamfered the case mouth, powder, bullet, and into the seating die - same issue. Pulled, repeated, but dropped the seating die down some more to get a better crimp - sort of worked. Problem is that every 5th round or so ends up with a crumpled case right below the bullet. Tells me the crimp is getting set before the bullet is fully seated. I'm using Hornady Custom Grade dies. At this point, I'm thinking of using the Hornady die to seat the bullet and adding a Lee factory crimp die. Anyone else experience issues with Aguila? Never had a problem with their 9mm.
.45 ACP Aguila brass issues
- Thread starter Armymutt
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Howland937
Member
I haven't loaded any .45 or Aguila brass...but I ran into problems when I was seating and crimping in the same step when I first started trying to load .38 Super. I started doing those steps separately and life was easier. I've learned how very little flare I need and set the Lee FCD to remove the flare and not really do anything else.
When you're sizing, do you notice if the Aguila brass seems to have more or less resistance than Win or Fed? Are you putting a lot of flare on the mouth?
Other guys here are smarter than me, so someone will come along with better answers. I still like to learn and try to be helpful though.
When you're sizing, do you notice if the Aguila brass seems to have more or less resistance than Win or Fed? Are you putting a lot of flare on the mouth?
Other guys here are smarter than me, so someone will come along with better answers. I still like to learn and try to be helpful though.
entropy
Member
Measure an empty Aguila against a Winchester. Bet they're longer. I've had no problem with them, but I do the 'plonk' test on every .45 ACP I load with an old barrel.
Don_P
Member
.....and heavier (thicker brass)
I've loaded plenty of Aguila .45 acp cases with a variety of different bullets, never an issue, but I seat and crimp (Lee dies) in two separate actions.
Yup, they are .001-.002 longer. Just trimmed a few, ran them through the press and they dropped right in the chamber. I must have set up the die with a shorter case. Since this is just range ammo, should I reset the die with the longer case or trim all those cases?
Once fired brass? All failures with the same headstamp brass?
Any time there is a fit issue, measure. Check case length prior to reloading. Measure the diameter in a few places along the body (looking for bulges, remaining flare, etc.). Measure the OAL and checking for bullet ogive hitting end of chamber, etc.). This will solve 98% of plunking problems...
Use this method for the brass with the most problems.
There are several reasons for reloaded rounds not chambering and one of the most important steps is inspecting the brass before starting. Check necks for splits. Check bodies for any bulges ("Glock Smiles"). Check rim for dings. Check case head for any over pressure bolt imprints. It only takes seconds per case and will save hours of searching/trouble shooting problems later. Plunk the first 10 or so rounds and maybe one out of 8-10 afterwards so you don't wind up with 50 questionable rounds...
Any time there is a fit issue, measure. Check case length prior to reloading. Measure the diameter in a few places along the body (looking for bulges, remaining flare, etc.). Measure the OAL and checking for bullet ogive hitting end of chamber, etc.). This will solve 98% of plunking problems...
Use this method for the brass with the most problems.
There are several reasons for reloaded rounds not chambering and one of the most important steps is inspecting the brass before starting. Check necks for splits. Check bodies for any bulges ("Glock Smiles"). Check rim for dings. Check case head for any over pressure bolt imprints. It only takes seconds per case and will save hours of searching/trouble shooting problems later. Plunk the first 10 or so rounds and maybe one out of 8-10 afterwards so you don't wind up with 50 questionable rounds...
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DocRock
member
Don’t know why you are chamfering 45 acp brass, or putting much of a crimp on them. Neither of these actions are doing you any favors.
lordpaxman
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Ditto. The only trick is making sure you setup the crimp stage with a close to spec case. I don’t trim semi-auto and use range brass so there’s a range of case lengths to deal with. The crimp only removes the bell and allows the round to gauge. Good luck.
rdnktrkr
Member
I also seat and crimp in 2 different stages, 4 hole turret, I think consistent case length is important, if not trimming cases maybe separate into short and long cases
Not so much a crimp as removing the flare. The chamfering was just a test and it made them feed.
higgite
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If you haven't already done so, before you trim any cases, you might try setting your seating/crimp die for the longer Aguila cases and then run some of the shorter headstamps through and see if they plunk okay. It has worked for me with mixed brass.
DocRock
member
Got it. Just keep in mind that a chamfered case mouth and a tight crimp will give you a round that plunks...and head spaces on the extractor.
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