Lead round nose in 45 ACP

[nulfisin]

I have a box of these from Laser Cast. That firm's bullets work very well in my 45 LC and 44 sp. cases, but I'm getting an unreasonable number of jams in my 45 ACP. The bullet diameter is .452. I do NOT have this problem with a box of jacketed Rainier bullets in 45 ACP; I'm not sure what the diameter is on those.

I don't have much experience with lead bullets in 45 ACP. I'm getting a slight bulge at the base of the case, which I'm sure is the reason for inconsistent feeding. The sizer die is adjusted all the way down and I'm not using a big neck flare. Are these problems common or am I making a mistake that one of you can guess? Thanks.

 

[reloadn]

I had the same problem only with my 9mm. I seated them a little deeper and it fixed the problem. Hope this helps.

 

[45ACPUSER]

You may well not have the bullets seated short enough. Too long and the bullet may be engaging the riflling of the bbl with the shoulder of the bullet. Are you trying to Seat and Crimp in one pass? Skip that seating is one step and crimping is another. Your crimp at the case mouth should measure 0.469 to 0.471"

 

[243winxb]

I'm getting a slight bulge at the base of the case, which I'm sure is the reason for inconsistent feeding.

"Base" do you mean near the extractor groove Or at the bullets base? The maximum diameter is .476" on the body of a loaded round.

 

[Steve C]

Check you loads to see if they drop in and fall out from the chamber of a removed barrel. Compare a factory load to your reload to see if they fit the same, they should. Adjust OAL shorter if needed to get the proper fit.

Seat the lead bullet so that the end of the case mouth is at the start of the bullets taper or ogive. Dont apply too much crimp, just enough to take out the case flare and maybe a bit more.

 

[Sport45]

I load mine so that there is about a thumbnail's thickness (0.020" or so) of the driving band showing above the case mouth. The same amount that shows when loading 200gr SWC bullets.

After seating and crimping the first one, drop it in your barrel to see if it falls cleanly and fully into the chamber. If it does then you've found the right seating depth.

 

[Walkalong]

A little bit of budge is normal. The guys probably have it, seated a bit too far out. Use your barrel, as suggested, to check it.

 

[nulfisin]

Thanks, guys. I'll try these suggestions and get back to you.

 

[USSR]

The bullet diameter is .452. I do NOT have this problem with a box of jacketed Rainier bullets in 45 ACP; I'm not sure what the diameter is on those.

I don't have much experience with lead bullets in 45 ACP. I'm getting a slight bulge at the base of the case, which I'm sure is the reason for inconsistent feeding.

I cast my own. Using a .452 sizing die, I had the same problem as you, and changes to OAL did not change anything. Now, I have a .451 sizer and life is good.

Don

 

[MichaelK]

Actually, increasing the OAL cured my misfeeding 1911 problem. I shoot Lyman's 200 grain 452460 SWC, and Lyman's max OAL is 1.160". Every other round would fail to feed. After doing some research in the 1911 literature, I read that light SWCs tend to jam when the OAL is too short, not too long.

Did some tests and determined that my bullets were touching the rifling at 1.180". Found that 1.175 to 1.180" was the best OAL for feeding and I selected 1.175" as the standard for MY pistol and worked up a load based on the OAL.

By the way, I discovered a second problem after solving the first. Once in a while the cartridges would feed into the chamber, but the slide would jam just before locking into battery. I determined that my cast bullets were increasing the outside mouth diameter of the cases just enough to prevent full chambering. My Lee "modified taper crimp" die just wasn't removing the flare on the case mouths. A real Lyman taper crimp die totally solved my problem when I reduced the case mouth diameter to 0.470". Now I get flawless functioning with cast in my 1911.
Michael

 

[USSR]

...the cartridges would feed into the chamber, but the slide would jam just before locking into battery.

That's exactly what my Gold Cup was doing, and with the very same cast bullet. I tried varying the OAL, increasing the amount of taper crimp - nothing worked. So, I bought a Wilson Max Gauge to determine where the hangup was. Turns out it was the diameter of the case below the case mouth which encloses the bullet, where the taper crimp could not reduce it enough. If you don't want to tear down your pistol to see if your loads chamber easily, I highly recommend the Wilson Max Gauge.

Don

 

[PADutchman]

I use to have that problem with lead also. I started running them through a Lee factory crimp die and the problem went away.