Lead vs FMJ... Reloads vs Store ammo for fighting?

[Karen]

My pistol likes FMJ more than lead. I want to buy a mold for round nose 230 grain. But lead sometimes sticks on the ramp. How do I fix this?

I have taken several classes and they all say to use store ammo for fighting murderers/rapists blah. But I can reload fmj and they work fine. Much cheaper. And I want to start making hundreds of my own. They said for legal reasons and for safety reasons, I should always buy ammo. So I won't get sued or arrested for having home made bullets. That sounds ridiculous because I can buy very powerful 45 ammo with hollow points. So why should I get arrested for having lead bullets? Makes no sense to me. Please explain.

[mooman76]

The use only store bought ammo is a myth someone started. I'm not saying it can't happen but there has never been a documented case. A couple things you can do for the feed ramp is to polish it and you can also water drop your bullets hot from the mould. They will come out harder and slicker. No reason you shouldn't be able to (with some load work) get you lead to shoot as good as jacketed ammo or at least real close.

[Duckdog]

I read somewhere that it really doesn't matter if you reload lead or FMJ. You'll be under scrutiny regardless. In my state, they just passed a castle doctrine to protect the shooter in your home or car. Some people make a big deal out of nothing. You can buy lead ammo, so there is no difference. I'll continue to carry with what I cast and load.

[Karen]

Yes, it does sound like a myth. But instructors like saying that.
Do I need to pay a gunsmith to make the ramp angle change?

Oh, my pistol is 1911 Kimber ultra carry II

[454gene]

Karen the feed ramp only needs polished, little to no material removed. I'm sure there are some good articles in the gunsmithing section.
With a little elbow grease this job is easily done.

[AndyC]

My pistol likes FMJ more than lead. I want to buy a mold for round nose 230 grain. But lead sometimes sticks on the ramp. How do I fix this?

There are typically plenty of fine horizontal machine-marks running across the frame feedramp - polish these out by using a dowel and some fine paper.

Now, a mirror shine is nice but not necessary - as long as you flatten down those marks, you should be good.

A few words of warning:

1. Do NOT change the feedramp angle - you're polishing it, not making major changes.
2. Do NOT round off or change the sharp angle at the top of the feedramp where it breaks over to the horizontal plane.
3. Try not to use a Dremel unless you know exactly what you're doing.

As for the "no reloads" wisdom - well, there was one recorded incident. A wife died from a gunshot wound, the husband claimed she committed suicide - but because there were minimal powder-burns, it looked like she was shot from further than contact-distance, indicating murder. However, the husband's defense was that the gun was loaded with light handloaded ammo (hence minimum powder-burns) - and it was impossible to recreate the effects distance-wise of some unknown powder charge. I believe the guy went through 3 trials over a number of years before finally being sent to prison.

The bottom line in that case was not that handloads are bad per se, but that their use could cast doubt on a person's innocence in certain circumstances.

Edit - found it: Handloads for self-defense: The Daniel Bias case

[Karen]

What number sandpaper?

[AndyC]

Karen, I start with 600 and then go up to 800 then 1000 grit, depending on how much I want it to shine.

You'll be polishing up and down the ramp (vertically).

[garym1a2]

My Kimber 1911 TLE/RL does fine with my 200 grain SWC. If I check rounds thru the barrel on setup it also runs 100% good with Wilson mags.

Some guns don't like Wilson mags with certain types of boolits.

What I like about cast boolits its it affords me the chance to practice my skill and shoot USPSA matches. Once you run 5K or more thru the gun you will get the skill to properly place rounds will you want them and I rather have the skill with the gun than have the ultra bullet. .My cast boolit is not the strongest or most powerful round but it has a high probality of hitting its target.

I would try different mags before sending it to a custom gunsmith. The polish job sounds reasonable also.

Yes, it does sound like a myth. But instructors like saying that.
Do I need to pay a gunsmith to make the ramp angle change?

Oh, my pistol is 1911 Kimber ultra carry II

[Karen]

I would try different mags before sending it to a custom gunsmith. The polish job sounds reasonable also.[/QUOTE]



Mags are perfect. I use only stainless steel Kimber and Colt.

[Karen]

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/b...php?entryID=29

I wanted 230 grains but Lyman only has 220. hmmm

[35remington]

Pertaining to the self defense shooting:

"and it was impossible to recreate the effects distance-wise of some unknown powder charge."

I wonder why it was impossible to duplicate? Simply load his claimed charge and have at it.

Karen:

Let me be the first to suggest that "sticking on the feed ramp" nearly 100 percent of the time has absolutely nothing to do with how "polished" the feed ramp is.

This is the single most oversold fix ever suggested for a 1911.

Most problems involving the "feed ramp" involve the overall length of the cartridge (whether the cartridge is loaded to the proper overall length) the timing with which the magazine releases that cartridge, a spring issue with the magazine, a lack of proper taper crimp, insufficient barrel ramp/frame ramp gap, or an issue with the extractor.

Leave the frame's feed ramp alone for now. Please. It is very doubtful any roughness is the cause of your issues.

Describe, in considerable detail, exactly how the round hangs up. Exactly.

Rim under extractor? Breech nearly open or closed? Nosedive? Bullet against top of chamber? What bullet are you using? What overall length?

Please don't polish anything until you get this run down more specifically. Lead bullets of the proper shape, loaded correctly, are very reliable.

[Karen]

But it's only lead bullets that have a problem.

[AndyC]

Pertaining to the self defense shooting:

"and it was impossible to recreate the effects distance-wise of some unknown powder charge."

I wonder why it was impossible to duplicate? Simply load his claimed charge and have at it.

They did - problem was, it wasn't a consistent charge in each cartridge. Read the link I posted.

[leadedguy]

my 1911 had the same problem a quick polishing and now it is fed a steady diet of homemade 230 lead round nose boolits with great accuracy

[Pb2au]

I am currently having great success in my Kimber Compact with Lee's 230 truncated cone mold. Karen this might be an avenue to pursue.

[leadchunker]

No need to get scared. Feed problems have specific causes. Once clearly identified the problem can be eliminated, hopefully.

[35remington]

Andy, sounds like the shooting was already questionable. If the charges were all the same, would that have decided the issue in his favor, for certain? If so, that doesn't necessarily decide the issue for or against a handload being used. It just suggests he was a careless handloader that did questionable things in a shooting.

Karen, it's also how you load those lead bullets, and how they deviate from the FMJ you are using.

Please be specific.....which bullets are they? What style? What overall length are they loaded to?

Very, very, very few 1911's leave the factory with insufficient feedramp polish such that it causes a problem. A Kimber is very unlikely to be shipped with a rough feedramp.

Is this a short barrel 1911? These have issues related to slide travel, so telling us your barrel length would be helpful.

More specific information than "it jams" is needed. Exactly how does it jam?

The specific location of a cartridge in that jamming event often gives valuable clues as to the cause of the jam. Please tell us the location of the cartridge in the gun when it jams, whether the rim is under the extractor, and other pertinent details.

Simply advising you to "polish the feedramp" does you no favors, and your attempt to correct the issue may make it worse. The feedramp likely is not the issue.

Be extremely leery of the "polish the feedramp" advice.

[AndyC]

Andy, sounds like the shooting was already questionable. If the charges were all the same, would that have decided the issue in his favor, for certain? If so, that doesn't necessarily decide the issue for or against a handload being used. It just suggests he was a careless handloader that did questionable things in a shooting.

The case is what it is - I'm not going to argue it with you, I just posted it for reference value.

[Karen]

The jam occurs when I use round lead bullets only, ammo bought in store with round lead. The pistol works fine for a few shots. But there is lead on the ramp immdeiately. Then the lead bullet sticks on the ramp and the whole cartridge is perfectly straight. Level with the slide. The lead just gets stuck on the ramp. But even with lead on ramp, FMJ bullets go right in. So I think the spring is strong.