Smudge on cases after firing

[27 Man]

I recently loaded some .45 ACP cases with 4.5 grains of Bullseye and 200 grain plated bullets. Upon firing I noted a dark smudge on the side of each case and in the area of the chamber of my gun. The powder is the older Hercules brand but I have used it in the past without issues. Any idea what is going on here? Thanks in advance.

[BLUEDOT37]

That's normal especially on low pressure loads. That load is probably only around ~12K CUP. If it shoots good ignore it & enjoy.

.

[Nevada Ed]

+1;
Probably not enough pressure to seal the case to the chamber
like a medium pressure load would.

Sometimes just .1 or .2 more grains of powder will clean it up
if using a FAST burning powder.

Slow powders need more maybe .4 grains, as I found out with
the real slow HS-6 powder in my 9mm, with light loads.

When the WHOLE case has "Soot" all the way around it, you know you
need MORE powder. Just one side is not bad at all.

Good shooting.

[Ivan the Butcher]

Try changing different brands of primers, The now defunct Al-can primers were much hotter and usually burned cleaner on light loads.

But like stated above: If it works, DON"T FIX IT!

Ivan

[27 Man]

Thanks for the feedback. When I started reloading back in 1972, Al-can primers were all I could find in the town where I lived. Used many 1000s of them. The loads described above used CCI-300 primers. I'll kick up the powder .1 or .2 grains and see what occurs. Thanks again.

[WR Moore]

Plated bullets appear to have a much lower coefficient of friction than lead (they're more slippery). So, the pressures you may have developed with lead bullet loads are going to be lower, which can cause incomplete powder burn.

5 gr Bullseye used to be a standard ball duplication load with a 230 gr LRN back in the day. With 200 gr bullets, you're way light.

[27 Man]

Good information. I had similar experience with some plated 148 grain wadcutters in .38 Special. My standard load of 2.7 BE produced some smudging but not to the extent of my .45 Loads. Sounds like same issue. Too slick. Accuracy in both Loads was disappointing.

[m657]

" Accuracy in both Loads was disappointing."

As a corollary to your discovery about perhaps 'too light a load', I have been slaving to find a 10mm load that I can shoot accurately enough to not miss the hillside behind the target.....I've recently happened upon a load that is a bit faster velocity than the bulk of my previous recipes.

The plated mfg of my 155 RN states "1250 fps maximum" which I've managed to avoid. My best load so far is published at 1143 fps with N350. .2g steps above & below that so far have not been as accurate.

More field work to continue. Good luck in your own ballistic discoveries.

[SLT223]

As already stated, you are bellow normal pressure. Ball load in 1911ish was 5.0gr Bullseye and a 230gr Jacketed RN. You are running less powder and a lighter, easier to squeeze, bullet. I run the same load you are in a revolver, and get the same results. Heat it up, and the burn marks on the wrong side of the brass go away. Nothing wrong with what you are doing, though. If it's accurate and pleasant for paper work, feel free to continue.

[Forrest r]

Interesting:

Lead/lubed/greased bullets are always more "slippery" than their copper plated counterparts.

Bullseye shooters have put countless 1,000,000's of rounds of the h&g #68 200gr cast swc/3.6gr to 4.0gr of bullseye down range for decades. My latest nm 1911 likes 3.8gr of bullseye pushing a cast h&g #68 clone.


No smudges on the sides of any of the cases from that load.

There's something going on with the case neck tension/crimp of your reload. Not enough short start pressure to get a good burn on the fast burning powder/bullets moving too soon.

[BE Mike]

I shot bullseye pistol matches for decades. I used Bullseye powder and light loads. I got smudges on the sides of my cases and unburned powder on the bench. You are worried about nothing, as long as you loads are accurate and function the pistol reliably.

[27 Man]

Forrest r--my old BE load was 3.7 gn BE with a Lyman 452460 and a CCI 300 primer. Never a smudge and accurate out of my old Goldcup. That is why I was befuddled with the smudges on the brass using 4.5 gn BE and the plated 200 gn bullet. Think I am going to gas them up another .5 grain or so and try again. I'll put a tighter crimp with the taper crimp die too. Otherwise, back to what I know best--lead.

[BE Mike]

Originally Posted by 27 Man

Forrest r--my old BE load was 3.7 gn BE with a Lyman 452460 and a CCI 300 primer. Never a smudge and accurate out of my old Goldcup. That is why I was befuddled with the smudges on the brass using 4.5 gn BE and the plated 200 gn bullet. Think I am going to gas them up another .5 grain or so and try again. I'll put a tighter crimp with the taper crimp die too. Otherwise, back to what I know best--lead.

I had a Series 70 Colt Gold Cup back in the day. It wouldn't group worth a hoot at 50 yards. After I sold it and a couple of other guns, I got a Clark Heavy Slide. It shot inside the 10 ring at 50 yards, even with cases that were blackened on the side!