need advice

[johnd5412]

so ive been shooting a 1911 with lee 6 cavity 230 grain FN TL mold boolits. i size to .452 and lube them in my lyman 4500. my issue is these bullets jam my 1911 about 40 percent of the time and they are seated at 1.12, that seems quite tight.

im thinking that .452 is too large and i should size to .451 or should i just shoot 200 gr semi wad cutters?

any other suggestions?

[Rainier]

Hi John -
For what it's worth I've had great luck with the Lee 452-230 RN - my question is - what do you mean by "jam"? Are they failing to feed up the ramp or not "headspacing" into the chamber?
Rainier

[williamwaco]

It is highly unlikely that bullet diameter is the problem.

Remove the barrel and drop a loaded round into the chamber. If it drops in all the way with no pushing, the diameter is not the problem.

In my experience most jams are caused by the OAL being either too short or too long.

Experiment with a longer OAL but be sure you can fit them into the magazine before heading to the range.

[johnd5412]

thanks for the suggestion, i have failure to feed issues.

i got to a 1.12 seating depth by removing the barrel to ensure appropriate headspace. im at a loss for what to do other than to experiment wih a slightly highebseating depth or a new mold or .451 Sizing.

[coblake]

I've fired literally thousands of the Lee 452-230 RN in my 1911 since I started casting in February. No problems at all. When you removed the barrel, do they slip right in? If not, you may just need a bit more taper crimp. Someone with your mold will chime in soon.

[Rainier]

I'm still not sure by your post if we talking headspace issue or ramp feeding issue (I can be dense) - a 45 acp head spaces off the mouth of the case so case length is a really important number - the book I have calls out .898 max case length.
If your headspace is alright and the problem is feeding up the ramp it could be as simple as boolit shape - I've seen 1911s that wouldn't feed a conical shaped boolit but would feed a round nose and vise versa. Check your ramp and maybe give it a good shining - also, check your mags - with intermittent failure you could have a mag that is causing the problem - I've seen lips and followers on mags give people fits.
Hope that helps!

[johnd5412]

all good info, thanks for the help. looks like ill experiment with the coal first and go from there. ea of my mags contributed so i assume this is not the problem.

[bhn22]

You are seating the bullets in one step, and taper crimping them in a separate step aren't you? This makes a big difference in how semi-autos feed.

[Mike W1]

I can only tell you experience with my 2 1911's but you could have magazine issues. They don't all feed anything but hardball. Even with some of the same brand there may be one that works, one that doesn't. Just something to keep in mind.

[Rainier]

If mags aren't the problem, case length is fine and a case with a seated boolit drops into your chamber, that narrows it down to ramp and boolit shape - if you have a good polish on your ramp - try a different boolit - I probably have a few 452-230 RN I could send you if you can't find any local.
Let me know what you sort out - inquiring mind wanna know :)

[johnd5412]

I will try to taper crimp separately....that is a good idea that I was under the impression was only necessary (in separate steps) for magnum revolvers but I'll try anything. After more thought, I may very well have magazine issues...I've read that the Wilson's are a good alternative; I may have to try these.

[Rainier]

For what its worth I've had good luck with both Chip McCormick and Metalform mags - not saying I've never had to replace a follower on one - just that I've had good luck with both of them.

[DRNurse1]

Lots of good advice so far, but check the throat on your barrel, too.

The original throat is designed to feed round nose bullets. If the throat has been opened, it may feed SWC and RNFP boolits but the original throat does not like these shapes.

I run my competition loads @1.200 OAL and have had no FTF with SWC or RN in my throated bbl in 20 years, three bbls, and many thousands of rounds.

[w5pv]

Go to the gunsmithing section on tips for the 1911,they have most anything covered.I was having the same problem the fix there.I think it was a very simple fix but don't remember because I did a couple of things to the gun,