Reloading .45 ACP

[kbm6893]

Decrease the crimp.

SO I have too much crimp in the pics and I should reduce it.
And the rim of the case should be more flush with the bullet? It's sticking out too far?

I ordered plated bullets. Might want to wait till the get here. Last question for now, if I disassemble the dummy round and resize, re-expand,re-seat, and re-crimp, or should I chuck this case and start with a new one?

 

[reddog81]

I wouldn’t waste my time disassembling one screwed up 45 ACP round. Either shoot it or toss it in the trash.

The crimp should be around .469 to .470. For OAL the vast majority of the time the bullet will have a small amount of the bearing surface sticking out of the case just like 99% of factory rounds. It looks like the bearing surface on that round is seated completely in the case.

 

[kbm6893]

I wouldn’t waste my time disassembling one screwed up 45 ACP round. Either shoot it or toss it in the trash.

The crimp should be around .469 to .470. For OAL the vast majority of the time the bullet will have a small amount of the bearing surface sticking out of the case just like 99% of factory rounds. It looks like the bearing surface on that round is seated completely in the case.

I just measured the crimp. It measures .471. So wouldn't that mean not enough crimp?

 

[fredj338]

I just measured the crimp. It measures .471. So wouldn't that mean not enough crimp?

If it is 0.471" right at the case mouth, you are close. In your pics inpist 32, oal still looks short. I am betting 1.250" is cloer to correct. A crimp around 0.470" will usuLly work with most bullets.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Hodgdon has good load data, most of the time..........

but that load looks a wee bit short, to me.

As mentioned, I like to see a little body/cylinder of the bullet, above
the case, as my minimum OAL on any Auto pistol loading, no
matter what type of bullet I an using..........

unless it is a .38 Special HBWC.

Have fun with that "Plunk test".

 

[kbm6893]

Made some adjustments. New round is 1.250 with a crimp of .471. I do notice I feel some resistance when I crimp but I think that's the lead bullet. Nothing major, just a bit of a hang-up as I crimp as the bullet enters the die. I ordered copper plated.

 

[fredj338]

Made some adjustments. New round is 1.250 with a crimp of .471. I do notice I feel some resistance when I crimp but I think that's the lead bullet. Nothing major, just a bit of a hang-up as I crimp as the bullet enters the die. I ordered copper plated.

Now we are getting someplace.

 

[kbm6893]

Now we are getting someplace.

Sounds good. I'll leave it alone and load up maybe 20 rounds for when the gun comes. Thanks for your help.

 

[MichiganScott]

Sounds good. I'll leave it alone and load up maybe 20 rounds for when the gun comes. Thanks for your help.

The pictures I have seen of the CMP 1911's indicate that a good share of them are reparkerized. I would not load more than 20 rounds without shooting them in the gun. Fresh Parkerizing has the smoothness of fine sandpaper. You may need to shoot a bunch of hardball to smooth things out.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Sounds good. I'll leave it alone and load up maybe 20 rounds for when the gun comes. Thanks for your help.

I wouldn't load up any ammo for a pistol I didn't have on-hand to do the plunk test for. Your initial COAL of 1.200" is what I'm limited to in my Colt 1911 Mk. IV, for most bullets, but my S&W 3rd Gens have a generous leade & don't have that restriction.

I like to seat my pistol case bullets out as much as possible too. If it'll pass the plunk test, feed in the magazine, & not exceed SAAMI COAL" max., I'm good.

.

 

[smoothshooter]

I tend to load 200gr SWC for my 1911. Honestly, I don't remember the COAL. After I purchased it (my Colt) in the late '70s, I had it throated. My Springfield Armory Trophy Match has not been throated, but has always fed SWCs with little difficulty. In almost 45+ years of reloading, I have yet to reload any 230gr FMJRN, but that will probably change when my Ruger CMD comes home.

What has always helped is that back in the '80s when you could pick up a complete 1911 barrel with link and fitted bushing, I did, which makes the plunk test easy!

Personally, I would hold off on ammo production until your 1911 arrives. Pulling bullets that won't feed reliably can be a PITA!

What is the plunk test?

 

[mike campbell]

There's nothing wrong with .470 or .471, but I don't see anything particularly desirable about it either. None of my thousands of rounds for multiple 1911's has ever measured less than .471. SAAMI spec is .473.

Anything less than .473 "plunks" in my Wilson and EGW gages (which are different) as well as all my chambers (given acceptable OAL).

Bottom line, as has been implied over and over ... the particular chamber is the final arbiter of what's right.

And, IMO, anyone who measures bullets and cartridge diameters with a caliper is fooling themselves. $10 is enough to spend on a set of calipers for believable measurements of x.xx ... I have 6-8 scattered around my various benches. But if you want to measure bullets, etc. where .001" might be important, spend $40 for a digital micrometer. They are also extremely useful for checking and finding the occasional caliper that can actually be trusted to measure x.xxx

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Plunk Test for a semi-automatic pistol

What is the plunk test?

This is how you do a "plunk test" but for me it's most important, and accurate, how the assembled "test" round sounds, and feels, when you drop it in the barrel's chamber, as much as where the rim is in relation to the hood. (The rim should not extend beyound the end of the hood.)

When you drop the round in the removed barrel's chamber, it should make a nice metal to metal clink, "plunk", sound.
(Make sure you've added a minimal (taper) crimp that's just enough to remove any case flare from the sample round before, otherwise the results are deceiving.) That's the case mouth hitting the chamber's shoulder, where the cartridge headspaces on. If the bullet is seated out too much (long) then the bullet's ogive hits the rifling & you don't get the same sound, but rather a dull thud. Additionally, if you rotate the round in the chamber it should be nice & smooth (case mouth on chamber shoulder). If it's too long, it'll feel rough because the bullet's ogive is rubbing against the rifling. (Remember, eliminate any flare before checking.)

Initially, seat the bullet out farther than needed & slowly adjust your seating die deeper, doing a plunk test between adjustments until you get the proper results. Then set your final crimp & double check the results before continuing loading. Verify fit in magazine too.

It doesn't take long to get the right adjustment & once you record the OAL", for that specific bullet, you can use that measurement next time & forego the plunk test, if you like. Make sure it's at or below the SAAMI max. OAL" for that cartridge. (I like to load mine as long as possible while still passing the plunk test & not exceeding max. OAL")

Also, different guns have different amounts for freebore/leade (space between the chamber shoulder & the start of the rifling), so one gun's barrel that can handle a max. OAL" assembled cartridge may find it not to be ideal for another's, due to bullet shape, so double check if in doubt.

I've never seen the need for a case gauge (for pistols) as the barrel/chamber already acts as the "custom gauge" that you are trying to match. Also, I have no idea how they could indicate if your particular gun's leade would interfer with the bullet you were loading for. It only takes a minute to remove & use the barrel in question & eliminate any doubts.

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