Problem loading 45acp

[wallacem]

I loaded up some cast bullets and went out to the range today to try them in my KahrCW45. Just made 30 to test for function and grouping. Took the Kahr and also a Ruger P9o just in case I wanted to shoot it,. They would not fully close in the Kahr. The slide stopped about 1/4" from home. Put them in the P90 and they shot fine, Came hime and got out the mike, and found my reloads measure .472" dia up front where the bullet is inside. To the rear they measure .467". I grabbed some JHP reloads off the shelf and measured them as the same. Then tried some factory rounds and they measured .467" front and rear. Evidently this Kahr has a tight chamber and will not accept the larger reloads but my other 45's will. Would someone tell me if my dies are the problem or do your reloads measure same as mine? Thanks, Wallace

[C. Latch]

I loaded up some cast bullets and went out to the range today to try them in my KahrCW45. Just made 30 to test for function and grouping. Took the Kahr and also a Ruger P9o just in case I wanted to shoot it,. They would not fully close in the Kahr. The slide stopped about 1/4" from home. Put them in the P90 and they shot fine, Came hime and got out the mike, and found my reloads measure .472" dia up front where the bullet is inside. To the rear they measure .467". I grabbed some JHP reloads off the shelf and measured them as the same. Then tried some factory rounds and they measured .467" front and rear. Evidently this Kahr has a tight chamber and will not accept the larger reloads but my other 45's will. Would someone tell me if my dies are the problem or do your reloads measure same as mine? Thanks, Wallace

Your dies are probably fine. Your Kahr is probably simply tight-chambered.

What bullet design were you using? What OAL were they loaded to? What size were they sized to before loading?

If the chamber of your Kahr is too tight, and nothing else is wrong with your ammo, send the barrel to DougGuy and he can fix it for you.

[Blackwater]

Sounds like it's another case of a crimp problem to me, or at least a good possibility of it. How did you crimp them?

If you seated and crimped in the same stroke of the handle, two things are possible. One is that in seating, the bullet is still being shoved down inside the case as the crimp is applied. This bends the case mouth into the sides of the bullet while also being shoved down into the case, and this shoves up a little sliver of lead just in front of the case mouth, which on firing, gets pressed into the forward part of the chamber, which then keeps the round from chambering due to the buildup of lead at the front of the chamber.

The second is, by your measurements, probably more likely. Here, if your seater die is screwed down a little too far, it can press down on the case mouth a little too hard, and bulge out the crimp just enough to interfere with chambering. If your Kahr does indeed have a chamber on the tight side, this will be noticed more, and the same ammo may work in a gun wth a little more generously dimensioned chamber.

One way to find out is to load some more - I'd suggest @ 50 to make sure - seating and crimping in separate steps. To do this, loosen the lock ring on your seater die, and screw it up a little. This will prevent any crimp from being applied. Then screw the seater plug down to the OAL you want, and seat all 50 bullets. After that, screw the seater plug back up so it doesn't contact the bullet, even when you lower the lock ring again. Then screw your seater die down on a loaded round until you feel the crimp contacting the case mouth. Then turn it 1/8 of a turn or so until the loaded round just shows a little turning in of the case mouth. You want it to be just barely noticable. Any more than that and you risk bulging the case mouth out, and having the same problem again.

Once you've got the just like you want it, put the loaded round back in the shell holder, and screw the seater plug down until it fairly firmly contacts the bullet nose again, and you MAY get by with seating and crimping in a single step. If not, you'll really need to seat and crimp in separate steps, and a dummy round with no powder or primer, kept in your die box with the dies, will help speed this up quite a bit. Just sit the dummy in the shell holder and run it up, and then screw your seater plug down and seat, then back it off and screw down the crimper and do that after your bullets are fully seated. This is the best and most reliable ammo you can load for an auto. Seating and crimping in separate steps, it's been many years now since I have had a failure to feed, or for the slide to not fully close. It really matters. I don't do it because I like doing a little extra work, but because my life might depend on my gun's reliability.

Just hope this helps.

[swmass]

Cant speak for 1911s as I'm pretty new to them, but it sounds like a tight chamber or short chamber issue. My m&p wont fully close on 0.357 bullets unless theyre really short. You may be able to find a bullet profile that is loaded a little shorter or try a smaller diameter bullet. Also, maybe give the lee FCD a try. It catches a lot of flack but it just might work. Its helped me a few times in similar situations. A different bullet profile that can be seated shorter to use in the 1911 as well as the ruger would probably be the easiest route if it works. But I'm sure theres others on here that are a lot more learned on it than me! I seat and crimp in the same step for my 1911 and havent had any problems but it probably angers the handloading gods..maybe im just lucky[smilie=l:

[Der Gebirgsjager]

If you don't have one, I can't recommend the Lee Factory Crimp Die highly enough. It has a carbide ring like a sizing die, and the loaded round passes through the ring on the way into the die body to get crimped, and again on the way out. Lee says that if your reloaded round will fit in and out of the Factory Crimp Die it will fit in a standard chamber. So, if your reloads will pass through a Factory Crimp Die, but won't fit in your Kahr you will have isolated the problem for sure.

[runfiverun]

I'd measure a case you fired in that gun it will give you an idea of what you can do.
the fired case is just under the size of the chamber so you have a picture of what it'll take to get a loaded round back in it.

[knifemaker]

If you have taper crimp dies, RCBS 45 acp dies are normally taper crimp. You can seat the bullet and in a separate step screw your bullet seating- taper crimp die down until your case mouth is at .470 and see if that will cure the problem. I had one match 1911 that I had to do that for reliable feeding, and another 1911 would accept a .472 case mouth.

[bangerjim]

Had the same problems. Went with .451 sizing and a FCD and all problems solved.....100% chambering and cycling! Every time! Also bought a max case gauge to measure/check loaded rounds BEFORE going to the range!!!!!! Non-working home loads are definitely embarrassing! No more for me these days!

banger

[bobthenailer]

I currently have two Kahr's in 45 acp a PM45 and a TP45 had a CW45 , these guns are of the short stroke designe and may not work reliably with cast bullet ammo that works well in every 1911 in 45acp that ive tried them in, here is what I have found .

use close to full power loads, don't back of more than 1.0 gr of powder
keep a semi tight grip on the gun
works best with a loaded COL of 1.225 or even better if shorter.
they are all somewhat tight chambered and the rifleing lead is cut for jacketed bullets.

The best two bullets I have found are the Lee 230gr tc @1.185 col and the Saeco 185 gr swc @1.165 col
I have tried the Saeco 068 ,063 and the rcbs 230 rn all have a col too long to work reliably in my Kahr's.

[Bayou52]

I also use the Lee Factory Crimp Die, and as indicated in previous posts, this die not only applies a crimp but also post-sizes the bulleted cartridge via a carbide ring at the mouth of the die.

I set the Lee FCD to apply a crimp of .0470" to the 45 ACP rounds.

Bayou52

[mdi]

I would suggest you find out why your chambering problem is happening, rather than covering it up with an FCD. Measure fired cases. Seat and crimp in separate steps. Try a slightly smaller bullet. Check/sort by headstamp to see if one mfg. has thicker case walls. Don't own a Kahr, but it sounds like it has a "tight" chamber...