Too much crimp as the bullet is being seated will do that.Are you using a taper crimp die?
Newbie needs help with .45 ACP
- Thread starter JJP161
- Start date
all357mag
Member
You're lengths are fine. Unless you waste your time trimming cases, those variations are normal. Sounds like you're doing a fine job. Have Fun!
marineimaging
Member
Testing Reloads for chambering
The powder through die will swage open the mouth. I have found that Lee's crimping die will close it back and will also tell me if the round is too large to chamber. This holds true on everthing from .380 and up. Even if the recipe doesn't call for crimping I will back out the lead screw and run it through anyway. If I get a bullet that has a lot of resistance I will examine it closely and usually find that it has a bulge problem that will probably cause problems at the range. I will sort those and recycle them later.
The powder through die will swage open the mouth. I have found that Lee's crimping die will close it back and will also tell me if the round is too large to chamber. This holds true on everthing from .380 and up. Even if the recipe doesn't call for crimping I will back out the lead screw and run it through anyway. If I get a bullet that has a lot of resistance I will examine it closely and usually find that it has a bulge problem that will probably cause problems at the range. I will sort those and recycle them later.
...
And, yes, I remember the time I shot my first reload. I was behind a tree and stuck my arm around it to keep the tree between me and my face.
Just a LITTLE nervous!
Seems that you are doing fine. We've all started that way. Also the photo's furnished by Skip Sachett show you what you need to know. I load alot and learned something from that picture. I am mostly a 9mm fan but I also shoot my 45 alot. Here are a couple of load that I have used and liked, Berry's plated 200g HPTC , overall length is 1.233 using unique 6.8g. It shoots very well in my 45, it is a stout load. Another load that is alot easier to shoot and most people don't use this powder for the 45acp is for a Nosler 185g HP Match bullet, O.A.L. of 1.233" , 4.4g of Tight Group. This the most accurate load that I have used. It is clean no smoke like Bullseye , just a nice load and easy on the hand. Good luck with your reloading, and keep on shooting.DS
45 ACP COL reloads
The COL can vary between brass, even new brass from different manufacturers, so you are within acceptable COL. The slight waist you see with your reloads (very slight coke bottle appearance) is also normal. When switching from ball to hollow point ammunition you could have failures to eject and/or feed, but the shape of the bullet has more to do with that than the COL.
The COL can vary between brass, even new brass from different manufacturers, so you are within acceptable COL. The slight waist you see with your reloads (very slight coke bottle appearance) is also normal. When switching from ball to hollow point ammunition you could have failures to eject and/or feed, but the shape of the bullet has more to do with that than the COL.
Hey everyone thanks for all help. I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I am using the Lee 4 die set with the factory crimp die, seating the bullet with seating die with no crimp and then crimping with factory crimp die. Well apparently I had set the crimp on the seating die as well and had it set way too short. I readjusted the seating die and the factory crimp die and so far that seems to have corrected the issue.
I'm planning on heading to the range in the morning so I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again everyone.
Joe
I'm planning on heading to the range in the morning so I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again everyone.
Joe
Dennis9,
Thank you very much I will Give both of those loads a try. I have heard good things about titegroup for .40 as well. I am hoping to come up with a good accurate load for target shooting with the .45 berry's 230 gr RN.
Xlearguy
Thanks for the insights on the COL that helps out a lot and gives me a better idea what to expect.
Thank you
Joe
Thank you very much I will Give both of those loads a try. I have heard good things about titegroup for .40 as well. I am hoping to come up with a good accurate load for target shooting with the .45 berry's 230 gr RN.
Xlearguy
Thanks for the insights on the COL that helps out a lot and gives me a better idea what to expect.
Thank you
Joe
I suggest you do some research on Titegroup and the 40 SW. There are better powders for that application. There are many threads on it here.
Hi everyone,
Just thought I would share an update. Finally made it to the range to shoot my first batch of reloads. All and all it went pretty well, had about 60 rounds or .45 ACP and and 60 rounds of .40 S&W. The 45 went really well.
I found two loads that did pretty good in my Ruger SR1911.
My 2 favorite
Berry's Plated 230 gr RN HP-38 5.0 @ 1.250"
Berry's Plated 230 gr RN HP-38 5.3 @ 1.250"
Of the two loads the 5.0 grains seemed to be the best. The only problem out of all the .45 ACP was one squib. Everything else worked.
Now on to the .40 S&W. I didn't really find a load I liked that well. The one that was the best was still only mediocre on group size.
Hornady 180 gr FMJ-FP Longshot 5.9 @ 1.125"
All in all not bad with the .40 had about 7 rounds that would not feed properly even though they had passed the plunk test. Other than that they all fired.
So all things considered I had a lot of fun and was very pleased with my results so far. Can't wait to get some more reloading done.
Thank-you guys for all your help. I really appreciate it.
Joe
Just thought I would share an update. Finally made it to the range to shoot my first batch of reloads. All and all it went pretty well, had about 60 rounds or .45 ACP and and 60 rounds of .40 S&W. The 45 went really well.
I found two loads that did pretty good in my Ruger SR1911.
My 2 favorite
Berry's Plated 230 gr RN HP-38 5.0 @ 1.250"
Berry's Plated 230 gr RN HP-38 5.3 @ 1.250"
Of the two loads the 5.0 grains seemed to be the best. The only problem out of all the .45 ACP was one squib. Everything else worked.
Now on to the .40 S&W. I didn't really find a load I liked that well. The one that was the best was still only mediocre on group size.
Hornady 180 gr FMJ-FP Longshot 5.9 @ 1.125"
All in all not bad with the .40 had about 7 rounds that would not feed properly even though they had passed the plunk test. Other than that they all fired.
So all things considered I had a lot of fun and was very pleased with my results so far. Can't wait to get some more reloading done.
Thank-you guys for all your help. I really appreciate it.
Joe
Joe, whenever you experience a "squib" you ought to know why. Your .45 loads look just where they should be so unless you had a faulty component (primer?) or you did something wrong, you shouldn't have a squib. You don't want those - at all. Could be dangerous to you and your gun. If you can, find out why.
That's right. 1st rule of reloading is the ammo has to be reliable. It HAS to go bang. Everything else, such as accuracy and power takes a back seat to reliability.
Hey guys,
I have admit I am not sure why I had the squib. I was using CCI large pistol primers and the primer appears to have worked. It went bang, but had no recoil and did not eject the case. So would that have been a really light charge? I was pretty anal about weighing being these were my first reloads, I weighed almost everyone. Used a lee pro auto disk and it was spot on for almost every charge and never varied more than .1. The ones I did not weigh I still checked visually. So did I miss one and drop a light charge or no powder at all somehow?
Thank-you,
Joe
I have admit I am not sure why I had the squib. I was using CCI large pistol primers and the primer appears to have worked. It went bang, but had no recoil and did not eject the case. So would that have been a really light charge? I was pretty anal about weighing being these were my first reloads, I weighed almost everyone. Used a lee pro auto disk and it was spot on for almost every charge and never varied more than .1. The ones I did not weigh I still checked visually. So did I miss one and drop a light charge or no powder at all somehow?
Thank-you,
Joe
JenniferG
US Veteran
Sounds like your load was under loaded with powder, a blocked flash hole. Sometimes with both new and fired brass you'll find brass burrs from the flash hole partially blocking the flash hole. I would deburr all my cases with a deburring tool. Then look at your powder drop to make sure it consistantly drops the correct amount it's set to. About every 10th round weigh the powder dropped into the case to establish the reliablity of your system. Attention to detail is paramount.
It's also possible that a weak primer may not have been completely seated in the pocket and it didn't have enough power to set off the charge. That's a stretch though.
It's also possible that a weak primer may not have been completely seated in the pocket and it didn't have enough power to set off the charge. That's a stretch though.
In all likelihood you left out a charge. Most of the time, that's the culprit. When this happened to me I saved the round and took it apart on the bench. Clean as a whistle on the inside!
JenniferG also has a good explanation. When you take it apart check the condition of the flash hole.
JenniferG also has a good explanation. When you take it apart check the condition of the flash hole.
