Missouri Bullet 45 softball issues

[Charles Waterhouse]

Hi all. I am a new member here and a relatively new reloaded, so this may be a dumb question.

I got Missouri Bullet Company to send me 45 Hi Tek Softball 230 gr coated bullets. I loaded some used brass I had around with Unique in 5.4 and 5.8 gr and seated to OAL of 1.25.

I went to the range with a new-to-me RIA 1911 CS (it appears to have been barely fired, maybe a hundred rounds). It used Winchester factory stuff OK, with a few return to battery failures out of 50. It loved Sig HP. My handloads were EXTREMELY accurate and shot well, but failed to return to battery about half the time. The accuracy difference was night and day, so I want to figure the issue with it closing.

I measured the rounds at home and the handload length was right between the two factory lengths, so I doubt that was the issue. What did come up was the diameter around where the bullet was seated. The factory loads were .470" and mine were .475". Is this the issue and if so how do I fix it? Is my brass shot out, my pistol still getting broken in (likely part of it), or do I have bullets that I can't use?

Like I said, I am new to this, so any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[jak67429]

Are you crimping with the seating die? sounds like you are either not taking the bell out or are over roll crimping.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

I am crimping with the seating die in one step. I set the crimp just far enough to pass a "plunk test" with the barrel.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

Would it be worth checking out with a new Wilson Combat mag I just got? Could it possibly also be the factory mag? I noticed it didn't go away completely with the Federal factory FMJ, just did it less. Sig was the only one that was 100%, but that was just 18 rounds, so...

 

[Jack B.]

Do the plunk test on your rounds. Ogives are different with different bullet makers.

 

[BWB]

With the 1911 you really should be taper crimping, not roll crimping, and doing it as a separate operation from seating. Your seated and crimped case mouth should measure .470" There's nothing wrong with those bullets.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I use them with 5 gr of Unique. I used a factory 230 ball of some sort to get my die adjusted close. Seated one or two and plunked them in the barrel and may have made a depth adjustment or two....don't remember. Then went back and adjusted the crimp by eyeball and thumbnail. I seat and crimp in one step. I have never had a 1911 not run fine on them.

 

[lonewolf5347]

http://www.shootingtimes.com/reloading/reloading-tips-the-plunk-test/
I would not use the bullet seating to roll crimp
I like and use Lee taper crimp die

 

[Dudedog]

Welcome to THR, lots of great people here!

and doing it as a separate operation from seating

Makes it easier, but not necessary. by any means.

If all of the rounds plunk, then most likely it is either the mag or the OAL. (or new gun needing break in)
RNs usually are not super picky but some guns are picker than others.

If you are having issues with factory ammo I would tend to blame it on the mag.
It is also possible the gun is just a bit tight with low round count and things will get better in a couple hundred rounds.
I would be tempted to say lube the gun up real well (maybe a bit more than it really needs) fire a couple hundred more rounds and see if it gets happy.
Hate to be chasing ghosts in the fog if the gun just needs some break in. (some do, some don't)

Lyman lists start 5.5 MAX 7.3 of Unique with a 225 lead so at 5.4-5.8 it should be safe to play with the OAL a bit.
Not sure of the small ball profile, but if you are at 1.25 you might try loading maybe one mag at 1.21, 1.23, 1.27 (if 1.27 will plunk) and see if it makes a difference.
Maybe a bit more crimp.
MBC is normally very good but I would check the bullets just to make sure they are in spec, possible maybe a batch slipped through that are out of spec.
If they are I am sure MBC will make it right.

Hope you get it worked out, please keep us posted on what you find.

 

[venandi]

One more thing to consider is possible over expanding the brass. As a newbie to reloading handgun rounds I made that mistake about the first 10 rounds I loaded. Fortunately I only loaded 10 and chamber checked in my barrel (handgun disassembled). Almost drove me nuts at first but after a few minutes of contemplating what I could possibly done wrong I backed up my expander die and tried a couple. Low n behold that was it.

 

[FROGO207]

You did not say what brand/type of dies you have but there should be a taper type crimp or taper crimp seating die in the set for 45 ACP. Those lead bullets might be a tad large and a smaller recoil impulse along with a new firearm could be slowing down the slide slightly. I would increase the taper crimp a bit and try the ammo and run a few hundred rounds through it that way if it feeds OK. Then try opening the taper crimp back up to where you had it at that point if you have accuracy issues. If not leave the crimp at the smaller size. Setting the crimp and OAL with a similar sized factory round will often work well for a starting point then adjust as needed for good feed and accuracy. There could be a component of limp wristing in there as well that might be a problem with the rounds feeding well. YMMV

 

[Walkalong]

The plunk test without popups.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...rel-find-a-max-o-a-l-with-your-bullet.506678/

The taper "crimp" should be adjusted to remove the belling on the shortest cases, which means the longest cases may get a hair of inward movement from it, maybe .001. No more is needed, and can be damaging.

Berrys 230 gr RN

 

[Walkalong]

Makes it easier, but not necessary. by any means.

Yep.

 

[PapaG]

.475 is a little big.

 

[gotboostvr]

My autoloader cartridges I barely crimp. Just enough to prevent push back.

Only my hunting rifle loads, and heavy magnum loads do I do anything more than just take the bell out of the mouth. The hunting and magnum loads get roll crimped pretty firmly.

 

[Walkalong]

My autoloader cartridges I barely crimp. Just enough to prevent push back.

Neck tension does this on auto rounds. Too much crimp can actually ruin neck tension.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

So I reloaded a new batch, some .451 JRN and some Missouri in .452. The .451 fed decently (although I had some fail to return to battery issues), but the .452 was impossible to get to feed right. It shot the first round (usually) but wouldn't feed the second.

In retrospect (new to reloading terms) , I am not roll crimping, just a slight taper crimp. With the .452 I can see the base of the bullet in the case, not with the .451. Is this .001 my issue? The gun is tight-ish (RIA) and I am using RCBS dies and press.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

I think the first batch I put a lot more bell than I should, but the setup for the last batch was identical for the .451 and .452, but the first worked a LOT better, but not perfectly.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

Also (if this is important) factory ammo seems to cycle and feed perfectly, including hollow point.

 

[Demi-human]

If they truly plunk in, do they fall out on their own? They must fall with nothing more than rotating the barrel upwards. If they do this, it is not the cartridge.

factory ammo seems to cycle and feed perfectly, including hollow point.

What do they measure out at? Are yours identical?
What do your loads measure at the two points indicated in Walkalong's photo? If the cartridges measure correctly, the chamber maybe a bit tight. Crimp a bit harder and see if they will fit.
If they are a lot less and still don't work, Rock Island can ream the barrel to the proper dimension. I have heard they have great customer service.
Do all of this with a spotlessly cleaned chamber. Upon function testing with a new round, do so with a thoroughly cleaned and well lubed firearm. There may be a bit of grit in the equation as well.

I wish you great luck! You'll get it! I learned on the venerable Fourty Five Auto, too!

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

They plunk in and out easily. I will make another few this evening and verify that and I still have some of the Missouri stuff around to test that too. I will also measure the cartridges that wouldn't feed right (nephew's birthday takes priority before that).

Maybe this is why I got the RIA so inexpensively... LOL. I won't have a chance to fire it for a few days.

 

[Jim Watson]

You say that Winchester and Federal factory loads sometimes fail to return to battery.
I agree with Demi-human, you may well have an undersize chamber and reloads with a larger diameter cast bullet just make it more obvious.

 

[Charles Waterhouse]

You say that Winchester and Federal factory loads sometimes fail to return to battery.
I agree with Demi-human, you may well have an undersize chamber and reloads with a larger diameter cast bullet just make it more obvious.

I may have not been clear. All factory ammo seems to run perfectly, although I have only shot about 100 rounds of it through the gun.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If all your ammo passes the plunk test it's not the ammo. Check your feed ramp and try a different magazine to start.

 

[Shimitup]

I'm a little curious as to how much out of battery, are you talking about. Just a little as in barrel not quite cammed up and disconnector not set or more than that. I ask because I've got a Ruger SR1911 that does that every once in a while running the MBC bullseye #1 bullets. When it happens is usually near the end of a session when the chamber gets a bit nasty, I just take my finger out of the trigger guard and nudge the slide with my thumb and I'm off and running. As others have noted that .475 figure is odd, I'd definitely study one of those rounds if you find some more, some unusually thick brass or some rounds found their way into the box that missed the sizing stage?