Ruger .45 acp Cylinder -problem Solved

[BoCash]

Model: Ruger Stainless Flat Top .45/.45 Convertible Lipsey model 5.5 inch:


A few weeks ago, I had trouble with stuffing .45 acp into the auxiliary Ruger convertible cylinder while at the cabin.

Most were stopping at about 90% "in" and had to be pushed in with a lot of thumb force........ and some of them stopped so far out that the thumb attempt was useless.

Well, I addressed that today and am convinced that Ruger .45 acp cylinders are exceptionally tight and chamber holes actually tapered near the ends. (At least this one is).

First, I was using Lyman T/C dies I purchased around 1970 and have no idea how many thousands of rounds have gone through them.

So............I decided to replace the nearly 50-year-old Seating/Crimping die with a new RCBS of like character............ordered from Fleabay two weeks ago.

Today, I ran an assortment of 60 brass fired several times and kept a micrometer on the table as I "tuned" that new seating die.

I also took time to fine tune the sizing and belling dies while at it.


SUCCESS!! Here is the scoop:::::::::::::::::::

Factory specs call for the shell diameter at the mouth/crimp after seating to be: Point 473"

I pulled several loaded rounds out of a few boxes loaded earlier, all with the same 200 gr. SWC.

I was getting a diameter of anywhere from .472 to .474" from shells loaded earlier.

I pulled the .45 acp cylinder out of the revolver and placed it on the bench. I would attempt to place previously loaded shells into it. Those that were .474 would go in about 3/4ths of the way and stop - - without thumb pressure. Those that were .473 would go in almost 7/8ths of the way. Those that were between .472 and .473 had to be stuffed "home" with pressure from a thumb.

OK..............so I kept messing with the seating/crimping die until each Newly Crimped shell was right on .471 diameter at the case mouth. THESE would fall out of the chambers of that cylinder when I turned it upside-down. ALL of the others above had to be punched out with a dowel.


Switch gears: I have never had in my memory a .45 acp shell to jamb or NOT go into battery in any 1911 I have had and probably had around 15 over the years and still own 6. This tells me that all of my reloads coming from those Lyman dies are fine for the 1911, even if they are a 1,000th over at the end.......maybe even 2/1,000 over.................

I might could have tuned that Lyman seating die further but lost confidence in it. Besides, it has earned its keep over 49 years.

Now I have around 1200-1500 rounds of loaded .45 acp ammo that may be too fat on the ends to use in this Flat Top Ruger.........but are still fine for the 1911's.

I loaded the 60 brass from start to finish and the end diameters where right at Point 471 - - - 2/1000ths less than factory specs. I am now convinced that this cylinder is not only tighter than specs but also has tapered interior walls.

THEN................. I pulled out 4 boxes of previously loaded 200 swc ammo and ran every one of them through the new RCBS seating die and stopped to measure quite a few of them to make certain they were squeezed down to Point 471.

So now I have 5 boxes I know will feed into the Flat Top and I stuck a bright yellow sticker on each of the 5 boxes that read: "RUGER OK"

I hope someone on the forum will benefit from this experience.


Y'all take care, Bo in western NC


PS: By the way, having several 3-screw Rugers, I am not crazy about the "new" models, but.............. this NM Flat Top is crazy accurate with the .45 acp cylinder. Seems so-so with the .45 Colt but scary with the acp. Go figure!!

 

[Qc Pistolero]

Thanks for passing the info along.I'll keep an eye on my reloads for my Acp cylinder Blackhawk.

 

[BB57]

I've encountered similar issues in other cartridges and firearms, and the reasons can vary.

In a snug chamber an over sized cast bullet can lead to an over sized diameter on the finished cartridge and it may or may not matter, based on the chamber.

.32 ACP is a common example due to different dimensions for bullet diameter and case wall thickness in the US (.311 bullet and thin wall case) and Europe (.308" bullet and thick wall case). When you combine a .311 bullet, or in particular a .312 cast bullet, with a European case, you get a round that may or may not chamber in some .32 ACP/7.65 Browning pistols. My FEG 7.65 pistols have generous chambers and don't mind a bit, while my Walther PP pistols absolutely refuse to chamber those rounds.

Given that I load 2000 cast bullets at a time on a progressive press and I'm not inclined to sort by head stamp, use seat the bullet with no crimp on the third station and then crimp with a Lee factory crimp die on the 4th stage.

For cartridges where there isn't a suitable factory crimp die, I post size the round if I have one or more firearms in that caliber that have tight chambers.

 

[msauter]

I have had the same problem with my .45 flat top ACP cylinder. When I originally bought the revolver, I was using Xtreme 230 gr plated RN bullets. These bullets would pass through the cylinder throats easily with finger pressure, so I did not ream the .45 ACP cylinder throats. I did have to ream the .45 Colt cylinder throats. I was loading the Xtreme bullets at 1.274 OAL and they would chamber easily. I then switched to the Zero bullets 230 gr FMJ bullet, and when at the same 1.274 they would not chamber, as described in the original post. I compared the bullets, and they had a very different profile. I started experimenting, and found that if I loaded the Zero FMJ to 1.24 OAL the problem disappeared and these rounds chambered fine in the revolver and also work fine in the 1911.

I have been told by a very reliable source (Iowegan, on the Ruger.net forum) that the problem is tight throats on the .45 ACP cylinder. I tried to push the Zero bullets through the throats with finger pressure, and found the throats are indeed a smidge too small, although the Xtreme plated bullets would pass through, so I suspect Iowegan is indeed correct. Even though I have the reamer (and know how to use it) I am reluctant to ream the throats on the .45 ACP cylinder because it is scary accurate as it is, and I am reluctant to dork with it ...

 

[SLT223]

This is useful, thank you. I have a 3.75” Bisley Blackhawk convertible and have not used the ACP cylinder yet. You likely saved me a weekend of head scratching.

 

[bigedp51]

The Lee factory crimp die with the carbide ring in its base will fix any bulging crimps.

This is a common problem on cases not trimmed to the same length. Because the longer cases will bulge below the crimp.

Are you seating and crimping in the same operation or crimping separately?