45acp bullet bump

[johngunguy]

I have been reloading 45acp for some years but with the tighter chambers of the Lone Wolf barrel I am having problems with some brass showing a ridge at the base of the bullet. I quit using the seat/crimp die to do both and began using the seat die (RCBS) and the Lee taper and factory size die to crimp.

Seems that Remington brass doesn't have this problem much but Win, Fed and military seem to show the bulge and won't allow the slide to fully go into battery with the LW barrel. Glock barrels are more forgiving but I like to shoot cheaper lead bullets.

Any suggestions how to correct this would be appreciated. My buddy also has the same problems with his barrels.

thanks

John

 

[idahoglock36]

I would dump the Lone Wolf and go back to the Glock Barrel. I've never had a problem with lead and a stock Glock 45 barrel. I probably just started a fire...but this is just my experience. IMO Glock's have problems when they are not stock....as you are experiencing, every time I modify a Glock, or try to clean one really well I regret it.

 

[jr_roosa]

Pictures?

Maybe you're overcrimping and getting a bulge from smooshing the case a little? Maybe the ring on the FCD is hanging up on a slightly crooked bullet and leaving a ridge?

Try seating and then crimping with the RCBS die and see if that helps. Try to get your crimp to .470 ish and see if the bullet will drop in. If that fixes it, then you just need to figure out the adjustment on your Lee FCD. I don't have one of those, so I don't really understand how they work and how to trouble shoot them, but you should be able to make a .45ACP the old fashioned way to work in any barrel that is in spec.

Failure to return to battery for me is usually a crimp issue, but it's usually not enough crimp.

Another thing to check is your OAL. Maybe your new barrel has the rifling cut closer to the chamber than the stock one and the bullets are hitting the rifling. This seems unlikely since that problem would be independent of the brass.

-J.

 

[johngunguy]

I can't dump the Lone Wolf barrel as I am shooting a long slide and Glock doesn't make a 6" barrel.

I am going to check the OAL and see if that makes any difference as well as using the RCBS seating die in two different stages.

thanks

John

 

[ReloaderFred]

What you are experiencing is a tight chamber vs. thicker brass. We've covered this subject several times, but to review, here is some information you may find helpful.

In .45 acp brass, the thickest is Winchester, with Federal, PMC and most (but not all) military right behind. Remington is the thinnest brass in this caliber. I haven't checked Starline to see where it falls in thickness, so I can't give an opinion on it.

I prefer the thicker brass from Winchester and Federal for forming .400 Cor-Bon ammunition, since it lasts longer. I use Remington .45 brass for .452" bullets and the thicker brass for loading .451" bullets.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[LiveLife]

"Dump the Lone Wolf barrel"??? NEVER!!! I love the match grade accuracy and the ability to practice with the cheaper lead or any other bullet I reload (jacketed/plated/moly-coated lead). It keeps my Glock barrels in "factory new" condition too. With full life-time warranty, if you have any problem or "wear out" the LW barrel, free replacement.

I run LW replacement/conversion barrels in my G22/G27 and I love it. I leave the factory Glock barrels for SD/HD duty - after my range sessions, I drop in the factory barrels and I am good. Keep the LW barrel and work on the bulge problem.

As to your "bullet bulge" problem, LW barrels have just about the tightest chambers I know and if i do not press the flare of the case neck in "flat" it won't freely chamber in LW barrels. I use Lee taper crimp/bullet seat dies and do not have any problem chambering my loaded rounds in the LW barrels - actually, they have slight "play" and drop in freely with a "clink".

 

[Jim Watson]

Lone Wolf will ream your chamber to accept your ammo.
(They may just ream it to SAMMI specs from the stock "minimum match chamber" - actually undersize - which is even better.)

 

[LiveLife]

Lone Wolf will ream your chamber to accept your ammo.
(They may just ream it to SAMMI specs from the stock "minimum match chamber" - actually undersize - which is even better.)

When I talked to Lone Wolf Distribution on the phone, they said they would perform any work a customer specifies - no charge, either requested at the time of order or after the purchase.

They asked what bullets I shoot and what I wanted done to the barrel. They can loosen the chamber (even loose like Glock's), ream the chamber/rifling transition area, cut the ramp/angle deeper, etc. They confirmed the barrels come with full life-time warranty and replaced for free.

I shoot all of my barrels as they come from LW without any problems. I full-length size and make sure the flare is taper crimped back in for the tight chambers. They all fall freely into the chamber with a "clink".

Another great company with great products and great customer service!

 

[idahoglock36]

Hey John,

Go check out this thread.....I think it has some good info for you, especially the parts about sending you barrel back to Lone Wolf....

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1197708

 

[johngunguy]

Thanks to everyone for the kind and informative replies. Great info.

John

 

[Sport45]

I have been reloading 45acp for some years but with the tighter chambers of the Lone Wolf barrel I am having problems with some brass showing a ridge at the base of the bullet.

Do you just mean you can see a bulge where the base of the bullet is seated? That may not be a problem at all if the round chambers easily.

 

[Tilos]

johngunguy: What bullet Diameter??

You never mentioned that bullet diameter of the cast bullets and it is important for chambering.

Drop in barrels (mine's a Storm Lake) are tight for accuraracy, afterall the Glock barrel is for defense and function, not gun games or paper punching.

BEFORE opening up the chamber try pushing those cast bullets through a Lee sizing die.

I had the exact same problem, except in 9mm, and the $15 Lee sizing die works for me.
These dies are used to size the bullet prior to loading.
I actually bought 2 dies; a .356 diameter and a .355 diameter and I know Lee makes 45 caliber dies in .001 increments also.

These dies fit any single stage press and I'm able to resize 500 cast bullets in about 20 minutes.

Just sayin' Tilos

 

[LiveLife]

Do you just mean you can see a bulge where the base of the bullet is seated? That may not be a problem at all if the round chambers easily.

Sport45, johngunguy posted the rounds won't chamber completely so the slide won't fully go into battery.

Win, Fed and military seem to show the bulge and won't allow the slide to fully go into battery with the LW barrel.

Tilos, I agree.

johngunguy, I am assuming factory rounds don't have any problem chambering in the Lone Wolf barrel?

I would first try to get the rounds "fixed" to see if that would solve the chambering problem. Perhaps decrease the flare to minimum and rework the taper crimp? It took me some tries before my rounds freely "fell in" to LW chambers (9mm/40S&W). At first, too much flare was the problem. I reduced the flare and gradually worked on the taper crimp until the rounds freely fell in. And I don't even have to use the FCD - no need.

 

[Sport45]

Sport45, johngunguy posted the rounds won't chamber completely so the slide won't fully go into battery.

Oops, missed that in the OP.

 

[Sapper771]

I too have had issues with loading lead in the LWD barrels. Just from my limited experience: I know that the LWD chambers are tight. A good taper crimp to remove the neck belling is a must due to the tight chamber, or other wise it won't fully chamber. The bullet's ogive may be wider than normal, and the OAL may be too long, then the bullets are actually contacting the rifling and not letting the slide go into full battery.

What has helped me the most was backing off of the neck belling. Use just enough to get by. Once I did that, a lot of the small nit-picky issues went away. I taper crimp to 0.470".

Using Precision bullets, I have to seat my bullets down to 1.185" OAL just to get my Glock 21 w/ LWD barrel to go into full battery. Using the Black Bullet International 45 bullets I do not have to seat the bullet so deep due to the bullet nose design. When I first had problems , a gentlemen advised me that my barrel may be "short chambered". You may want to look into LW reaming your barrel out to accomodate the bullet, should that show to be the problem.

 

[johngunguy]

Going to try the OAL variations to see if that makes a difference as well as adjusting the bell to just accept the bullet base. I hate to get the LW barrel reamed as my 10mm barrel from them is exceptional when it comes to accuracy and without as much seating issues.

John