Cast and 45acp load questions please

[milprileb]

Two questions for your consideration please. 45acp loads for 1911A1 pistols.

1. First is lube residue. Regardless of loads, I get accumulation of black crud on face of my slide all around the extractor and recesses where the case head mates to the slide. My usual load is 220 SWC under 5.1 gr of WW 231 but have had this happen with 228 gr RN with BE or PB powders. I shoot 200 rounds minimum per range visit and the accumulation of crud is such that I usually just run a paper towel over the chamber area and face of slide a few times during shooting to keep black stuff to a low level. It takes tooth picks to take the deposits of oily black crud out slide face. I have always considered this a product of shooting cast bullets as its always done this with any 1911 and any cast bullet load. Am I right in this or am I shooting too low a load and brass is not sealing in chamber correctly? [smilie=p:

2. Flat base vs. bevel base bullets. My 228 flat base RN bullets when sized and lubed in Lyman 450 do not accumulate lube on bottom of bullets very much. However my super accurate 220 SWC bullets are dropping out of the Lee mold with a bevel base which is nice for seating but I get this ring of lube around that bevel base which I wipe off but its a nuisance. I have adjusted the Lyman 450 for hours trying to get the bullets to seat,lube and size without this ring on the bevel but its not working. Changing lubes did not help either. So .... is this just part of life with bevel bullets that I got to live with or is there a solution to keeping
this ring around the bullet base from happening? :holysheep

[Lizard333]

As far as #1 I believe it's just part of shooting cast. The same thing happens with my 1911, as I have a similar load. I use a cleaner called gun scrubber that works really well at getting that taken care of. It comes in a spray can. Nit cheap but works great.

#2 happens to me as well. I have the 4500, but same thing. Someone here suggested a disc made from cardboard to put under your Booker but I have yet to try this trick yet. When I am resizing I check the base of every boolet for lube, as I had a squib old happen on my 44 red hawk, from excess of lube on the base of the round that melted into the powder. Not a fun day at the range.

[milprileb]

Iizzard 333

Would the hard carnuba red lube have prevented that squib you experienced ?

I see you are in Arizona so maybe any lube in that heat can be a drama ?

I wipe off bullet bases as contamination of power bothers me although its more a fear than having seen it or experienced it in 30 yrs of shooting cast bullets.

Have not used the hard carnuba but am considering it in the believe it does not smear and stays on bullets better but I have no experience that it does either.

[Echo]

I keep my 1911's wet with Marvel Mystery oil, when shooting. A drop on the barrel/slide interface (forward end of chamber section), a drop on each side of the slide/frame interface, and a drop on the bottom of the slide where it massages the hammer. Repeat every 2-3 magazines. Might get a little splatter during firing, but no malfunctions.
When I get home, the slide is locked back and the gun is lowered upside-down into a 50 cal ammo can half full of mineral spirits and allowed to luxuriate in the bath for a couple of hours. Normal cleanup afterwards, followed by a spray of WD40.

[Char-Gar]

1. Sounds to me like you just have powder trash in your pistol. It never occurred to me that a pistol should not get black and dirty when fired. I just scrub out the areas with a good solvent on a tooth brush, dry and forget about it.

2. Bevel base bullets are PITA with the lube around the base.

3. Put a gas check on the die ejector rod and that will cut way down on the gunk.

4. I got rid of my last bevel base mold for just the reason you mentioned. They are not worth the bother.

[snuffy]

I'll have to go look at my SA 45 1911. I don't pay much attention to how clean or dirty it is/was when I finish shooting. BUT I just started shooting Lars-carnuba red so I can report on how the slide looks. I DO know that the barrel shows NO signs of leading even with dead soft lead MP hollow points.

5.1 of ww 231 IS a low pressure load. My standard for lead 225 Lyman RN has always been 5.5 grains-WW-231. It's a full power load, shoots great!

You didn't say what lube you're using now, so we're in the dark as to how to answer.

[mdi]

Perhaps the bevel based bullets are the cause of the lube/ash/gunk blowback? Mebbe the lack of a square based seal allows some gasses to escape around the case, blowing the extra lube accumulated around the base out and into the action? How does the brass look? Any soot/gunk present on the outside?

[MtGun44]

BB is a PITA unless you make a custom ejector pin for your Lyman/RCBS type, but this
is not too difficult if you have a lathe or a friend with one. It cannot be adjusted
away as the BB passes the holes before the lube groove. I avoid BBs or only lube them
on my Stars. You can have Erik at Hollowpoint Services remove the BB. Don't try it with
a drill - it will ruin the mold instantly. I have never tried the GC trick, might work.

As to the crud, this is shooting. . . . . guns get dirty. Scrub occasionally with toothbrush
and Hoppe's #9.

Bill

[casterofboolits]

1.Yup, yer gonna get crud build up. I tried seeing how long my match, comp gun woulld go before it would malfunction and require cleaning. My load was an 185 grain H&G 68 lubed with Magma lube with a bit over 6.0 grains of 231. I would put a couple drops of CLP Breakfree on the barrel and slide rails. After a thousand rounds, I had to clean it as it was spraying everyone in the vicinity with gunk!

2. I use only H&G BB boolits. Of course, I put them thru a Star or a Magma Lubemaster. No problems.

[David2011]

Sounds just like my 1911 and STI with cast boolits. They get dirty but they clean easily with Hoppe's. Your brass will tell you if it's not sealing. If it has soot around the mouth of the case it's not sealing well. Increasing the pressure will not help the gunk that builds up just aft of the chamber. Poor sealing will lead to carbon buildup in the chamber and it will eventually get bad enough that you can't chamber a round if you don't use a carbon remover occasionally. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have any risks other than making the gun dirty. The carbon buildup is very, very hard and can be a chore to remove if neglected. Like MtGun44 Bill said, lube BB boolits in a Star. They can be adjusted to only put lube where you want it.

231 is one of my favorite powders because it burns so clean. I use 2400 for my .44 Mag Contender and when I'm finished one round of .44 Special charges with 231 leaves the bore clean. I only shoot cast in the .44.

David

[fredj338]

Changing lubes & powders can give you less gunk, but it is the price you pay for shooting lead/lubed bullets. Try switching to WST for your 45acp. Runs really clean, makes BE look like black powder, not as smokey as W231. I use CarRed & 50/50 ww/lead alloy & can run 500rds easy in my 1911 w/o cleaning.

[Bula]

I use a sharpened (ie chamfered until sharp) .45 acp case to stamp out discs from a styrofoam egg carton, then seated them in the base of the stem inside the size die, works ok.