1911 Boolit Fit

[Good Cheer]

When choosing molds and loading cast in a 1911 is it better to have the front shoulder of the boolit press onto the rifling?

[Char-Gar]

I don't like the idea of pressing a bullet into the rifling in a 1911 pistol.

[RobS]

I have done it both ways and prefer that the boolit not have rifling on the nose as the firearm goes into battery however I will seat just shy of engraving none the less.

[DrCaveman]

Others (like char gar) have tons more experience on this issue than me, but ill add that loading so the front shoulder touches rifling hasnt worked out for me. Reliability issues popped up, particularly a failure to return to battery.

I tried it because of my successes loading rifle rounds that way, but it didnt work out. Seems the classic autoloader is a bit different beast. Plenty here can guide you to tremendous accuracy from loading within the cartridge & gun's intended parameters.

[KYCaster]

Weeellllllll, since the 45ACP head spaces on the case mouth...[smilie=1: ....any groove diameter boolit forward of the case mouth is going to interfere with chambering....RIGHT?.....yeah, right.

You won't know till you try it.

Jerry

[mroliver77]

Weeellllllll, since the 45ACP head spaces on the case mouth...[smilie=1: ....any groove diameter boolit forward of the case mouth is going to interfere with chambering....RIGHT?.....yeah, right.

You won't know till you try it.
Jerry

No. The chamber has a "step" that the case is supposed to headspace on. It then steps down to like .453ish and into the "throat". My H&G #68(full diameter portion) stick out of the case approx .125" but are a couple thou short of any resistance.
J

[DougGuy]

More often than not you have to look at the COL of the round you are assembling, then see if it will chamber in the pistol you want to fire it in. There are enough differences in 1911s that you should check yours on a one on one basis and see what it likes rather than load up a bunch of rounds and hope they work. Will it pass the plunk test? Will it feed from the magazine? How well does it group? Stuff like that needs to be addressed on an individual basis for every 1911.

[KYCaster]

No. The chamber has a "step" that the case is supposed to headspace on. It then steps down to like .453ish and into the "throat". My H&G #68(full diameter portion) stick out of the case approx .125" but are a couple thou short of any resistance.
J


Yeah, and I've seen a few 1911's that wouldn't chamber an H&G 68 unless it was seated flush with the case mouth.

You don't know till you try it.

Jerry

[Good Cheer]

My double cavity 452484 is really too heavy. It's one that Lyman sold off at cut rate back when they had the great booboo sale on out of spec blocks. It had the cherry a little deep. Don't know anybody that ever liked it except in '82 a guy with a long slide got great accuracy with it. But, if I'm gonna use it much it may as well get the HP treatment to lighten it up as much as practical. And get rid of the GC base while we're about it. Then I got to wondering about the front of the "shoulder" such as it is and whether or not it might be worthwhile to square it up where it would meet the rifling. Or maybe just square it up right at the case mouth. Settled on squaring it up even with the case mouth but thought yall would most likely have been down that road already. So thank you all for pitching in with the thoughts.

[Good Cheer]

Sent her off for modification. Not going to mod the shoulder or the base.
Just want to give it a flat front end and lighten it up so a hollow point is the way to go.
Will size .452 diameter. The gas checks will be .453 scrapers with lube in the rings in front of them.
Okie fine. :happy dance:

[22cf45]

The standard rule of thumb is to leave about a thumbnail or very slightly more shoulder protruding from the case. I definitely wouldn't have the bullet touch the rifling. Take the barrel out of the gun, the loaded round should drop in freely with the case head not protruding beyond the barrel hood.
FWIW
Phil

[prs]

I have two SR1911s that need the full step of the wad cutters to be flush with case. It seems they have a very abrupt leade.

prs

[22cf45]

prs
Are you saying you can't shoot any factory loaded SWC ammunition, since they are all loaded with a slight amount of shoulder prodtruding from the case? If that is the case, I would contacting Ruger to have the problem corrected.
Phil

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I've got a 452423 and I can't get it to chamber in my Colt's Series 70's 1911's. Of course my 1911's feed, cycle and spit 452374 without a hitch. I'm casting a mix of alloy from the local recycler lead bin and sizing .452.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I had a 452460, what a great mold but foolishly I agreed to sell it.

[Char-Gar]

I've got a 452423 and I can't get it to chamber in my Colt's Series 70's 1911's. Of course my 1911's feed, cycle and spit 452374 without a hitch. I'm casting a mix of alloy from the local recycler lead bin and sizing .452.

452423 was designed by Elmer Keith for use in the 45 Auto Rim revolver cartridge. It was never intended to be used in the 1911 pistol. There are much better shaped bullets for use in the autopistol.

That said, 452423 can be made to feed well in "most" autopistols, but quite often it requires careful attention to detail of the loaded round and the barrel throat/ramp. There are a few autopistols that can never been taught how to deal with 452423 in a satisfying manner. That is always the case, when we try and make something that it was not designed to do.

452460 was designed to be an accurate bullet that would feed in even USGI 45 Automatics. That is why it works so well in 1911 autopistols of most any kind.

Unless you want to nurse, pet and tolerate the eccentricities of 452423 in the 1911 pistol, you would be well advised to replace it with another 452460 or Hensley and Gibbs 68 clone.

Never, never every sell or trade a bullet mold. Sooner or later, if you live long enough, you will wish you had not.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

The 452423 is an excellent boolit which I load in new Starline .45 Schofield brass in the single action revolver. The Schofield's case capacity is great for smokeless powders for shooting in guns that are intended for the mid 800 fps velocities. Starline makes their brass with proper integrity and dimensions so my Schofield brass will likely last as long as .44 Special brass. I've loaded lots of 452374 in Schofield brass and shot in the SAA but the 452423 is an upgrade from the 452374.

Guess I'm getting off the OP, but had wanted to comment that I was not successful in loading the 452423 in the Series 70 when sizing .452.

[Good Cheer]

Anybody used the 452066? Works great in a Dragoon but I think that's about all I ever used it for.

[hound_dogs_01]

I seat my bullets to 1.200" so when i taper crimp slightly it goes over the shoulder of my Rcbs 201-swc bullets.

[22cf45]

The 452066/45266 is a bullet noted back years and years ago for producing excellent accuracy in the 1911. I used a modified version for years in bullseye competition until I became too lazy to cast the quantities I needed. If anyone is interested, I still have a SC 45266 mold in excellent condition I would sell.
Phil

[prs]

prs
Are you saying you can't shoot any factory loaded SWC ammunition, since they are all loaded with a slight amount of shoulder prodtruding from the case? If that is the case, I would contacting Ruger to have the problem corrected.
Phil

I can not say that, Phil. I have never purchased any factory loads for 45ACP. Nor any store bought boolits or bullets. Just don't know the answer you seek.

prs

[22cf45]

Prs
I'm just saying that it is standard for the shoulder to stick out of the case slightly just as the factories load ammo. If your 1911's won't function with ammo like that, irregardless of whether it is factory loaded or handloaded by you, something is amiss and I would be talking to the manufacturer to get it corrected. I would think that with no shoulder exposed, you might run into some feeding issues. Please don't misunderstand any of my comments, I am only trying to help.
Phil