Mix Brass Concerns

[schmeky]

I have noticed that on occassion when shooting my .45 acp, I get more recoil on a round or two out of 125-150 rounds. Thought my powder scale was to blame. It wasn't. I discovered, by a real fluke, that when the bullet hit the feed ramp, the bullet would be pushed back in the case.

I use mixed brass, and didn't identify what headstamp this occurred on. I have a Dillon 550 and a new Lee 4 die set. I think there is a dimension issue with an occassional case. I am a firm believer in a good crimp, but I do not trim my .45 brass.

Anyone else ever have this problem?

 

[The Bushmaster]

It's the fault of the Dillon press...No. Just jokin' blue people...

You didn't say what handgun you are experiencing this problem in. Or what bullet you are using. We need to know these things. It could be your feed ramp or it could be that the bullet is hanging up as it hits a ruff feed ramp or the ogive is not of a design that promotes good feeding in your particular gun.

I use many different head stamps when loading my .45 ACP and have not had an issue with set back on any of them that I couldn't trace to something else.

By the way. Make sure you aren't over crimping those rounds. .45 ACP does not require a crimp on most bullets. All you need to do is remove the bell and maybe a very light crimp beyond that...

 

[ReloaderFred]

+1 to what The Bushmaster wrote.

In addition, the expander plug also needs to be measured to make sure it's not expanding the case too much for good neck tension.

I use both mixed brass and sorted brass. For most of my .45 acp loading, I use mixed brass, but when I'm doing something special, I'll sort the brass. I only use Winchester and Federal brass for necking down to .400 Cor-Bon, since they're thicker and hold up better. I've never had an issue with bullet setback in any of the thousands and thousands of rounds of .45 acp I've loaded over the years. I shoot these in two 1911's, three Witnesses, and a Springfield XD, all without any problems.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Varminthound]

How many times have the cases been reloaded? The stretching and resizing may have worn a case so it fails to grip properly when reloaded. Combine this with a rough feed ramp, or being set-back under recoil might explain the situation. One cure is to cull the brass and another is to taper crimp the reloads slightly and see if that helps.

 

[Slamfire]

I have noticed that on occassion when shooting my .45 acp, I get more recoil on a round or two out of 125-150 rounds.

What's your load?

Some powders, like Blue Dot, give extreme spreads in the 200 to 300 fps range. I am going through a batch of Blue Dot loaded 9mm. The extreme spreads are noticeable when shooting. Some rounds almost short stroke the weapon, others knock the brass twenty feet.

I am going to stop using Blue Dot for anything, and go to Bullseye in 9mm. The extreme spreads with Bullseye in 9mm, 45 ACP are very low. I also have a bunch of W231 which I have been using in 45 ACP. The ignition is consistent, not as tight as Bullseye, but I have a bunch of it.

I shoot mixed case ammunition and the standard deviations and extreme spreads are more affected by powder than by case. Velocities are highly effected by primer type, and of course powder charge. I consider case affects a secondary, maybe tertiary effect.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I`ve never experianced the problem you`re having, but it could be mixed brass related.
Reguardless of the fact almost no one trims, or sees need to, with 45acp, there is some variation in OAL of my brass (~0.005"-.007"), and I`m sure in most others brass as well.
If you set your crimp with a case on the short side of the variance and then have mixed brass and happen to have used a thinner case in set-up as well..... a mix of longer and thicker brass could cause a overly tight crimp. This may cause the case to bulge behind the crimp actually loosening its grip on the bullet.
I don`t know this is happening, just tossing it out as a possiblity.