It don't fit...

[mdr8088]

So I'm kind of new to the 1911 and .45acp world. Last week I finally after 4 years of searching, out of stock, and an operation costs that freaken much after insurance setbacks I finally got my hands on a Taurus pt1911. I know it's not American made, but it fits my rather lean budget. I loaded up a bunch of rounds before I even got the gun. The first trip to the range went great. No malfunctions even with all my test loads with cast and powder coated loaded all over the place. It ran everything I threw at it. I now understand why people like 1911s. I am having some problems with the Horned xtp bullets I purchased to use in my carry ammo. The Lee 2nd edition reloading manual gives a Minimum OAL for the 185 grain jacketed bullet with 8.0 grains of Unique as 1.275. Which is also the maximum OAL. You can load about 5 rounds in the magazine before they start hanging up and binding in the factory magazines. The load data with the Lee dies give a Minimum OAL for the 185 grain xtp round as 1.200. I've set the OAL back a couple of times to 1.258 and can get 6 rounds in the magazines now before they seem to bind up. Why the discrepancy in the load data? If I set them in farther will the magazines work? The round nose cast and powder coated didn't have any problems, but I wasn't near max load either so playing with them didn't bother me. I'm using the factory magazines that say Taurus on one side and mec gar on the other. I've ordered 4 of these mec gar magazines because they were on sale at Midway. I hope it's not the magazines fault. I can't quite swallow $30 magazines when the same one's are $16.49 on sale without the Taurus stamp on them. Being new I thought I'd ask before just blindly setting them back and causing pressure problems. My Lyman manual gives an even shorter OAL like 1,175, they also give a max load of 7.6 grains. Since I had great accuracy at 8.0 grains and 1.275 I'd like to stay at 8.0 grains of Unique if possible. The brass looked good after firing. The xtp bullets are hollow point, so that might make the difference between the Lee reloading data and their Minimum Oal. I just don't want to damage a new gun that took 4 years to acquire. I would like to put more than 6 rounds in a magazine. Even 8 seems small compared to 17 in my Taurus 92 magazines I've carried for a long time. Thanks for any help in advance.

[DougGuy]

SAAMI specs call for 1.190" min to 1.275" max for hardball so you are within specs for OAL, and I don't think the Mec Gar mags are any smaller than for a standard 1911 so I would suggest to seat deeper in the case until they cycle through a magazine freely.

Have you gotten any of the commercially available Hornady factory ammo with the XTP bullets?

I have some factory Hornady 230gr +P XTP that are all 1.2440" might want to give this a try as it cycles in all my 1911s.

[CHeatermk3]

If you cut back on the powder a bit you can safely go with a shorter OAL. You may discover (as I have) that half a grain of powder less in the acp case will not significantly affect accuracy. You don't need fancy bullets in the 45 acp anyhow but go with whatever floats your boat.

The Taurus mags are mec-gar mags. Any 1911 mag should work including GI, Wilson Combat, etc.

[35remington]

The OAL suggestion in the Lee manual is the max OAL for the ACP cartridge and utterly incorrect for that bullet configuration. In point of fact most 230 FMJ is more correctly loaded to about 1.265." Correct is 1.200-1.220" for the 185 JHP. Shorter OAL's start to become inconsonant with the 1911's design.

I have considerable use of Unique with that bullet under my belt. 8 grains is indeed max at my suggested OAL. Work up to it and verify over a chronograph. Do not exceed 1150 fps from a five inch. This would be acceptable pressures, but Plus P.

Practice loads should be lighter and use cheaper bullets. Use said loading only where needed. For example, such loading is legal for short range deer hunting under 50 yards, and meets the Nebraska energy requirement. I have employed it as such and have several deer taken with it. For frequent use load something else.

[tazman]

My Hornady manuals(4th, 9th, and 10th editions) list the recommended OAL for the 185 grain XTP to be from 1.210 and 1.245. Each manual lists a different OAL the longest being the newest manual..
None of them list data for Unique with that bullet.
I would suggest you play with the OAL in this range with lighter loads until you get your feed/magazine problems worked out. Then work with your powder charge to get the velocity and accuracy you want.

[lefty o]

best thing you can do is throw that lee manual in the garbage. not all bullets use the same oal, as the ogive and overall shape of different bullets is not surprisingly different.

[Texas by God]

I always set OAL by the gun's mag and chamber throat. I couldn't give you the OAL of any round that I 've ever loaded. Case length I do pay attention to. If I load ammo for others; I insist on access to their gun to check fit.