Having trouble with .45 acp

[lbrowning]

I cast some flat nose 200 grain .452 and powder coated them. When seated to the crimp groove and taper crimped, they won't go into battery. I'm not exactly sure how to diagnose the problem. I can't tell if it's the nose or lower part of the case that is hanging up. Thoughts?

[BigAlofPa.]

I have a 1911 that wont go into battery with cast, without using a Lee factory crimp die. If you have a FCD try it,

[44MAG#1]

THOUGHT: Make sure bullets are SIZED appropriately. Make sure sized case will drop into the chamber and headspace correctly and will drop out when the barrel is turned up to drop out the case. Flare the case and seat the bullet into the case as far as deemed appropriate. Straighten out the crimp, drop the cartridge into the chamber as see if it will drop out under its own weight. If not seat it slightly deeper and try it again. Repeat this process until you accomplish the chambering and the dropping out of the cartridge under it own weight. If it will , double check headspace by dropping the cartridge in again and seeing if the headspace is correct. DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING. Then load to that length and taper crimp separately.
Be sure to take the barrel out of the gun which is given.
Make sure cartridge will work in the magazine too.
Waalaa.

[GhostHawk]

I'd be pretty surprised if it is the brass.

Try a dummy round with a plain cast bullet no PC coating. See if it goes into battery, and when you pull it out look carefully for rifling marks.

Sounds like something is too big.

[Texas by God]

Remove the barrel from the pistol and plunk one of your loads into the chamber. The problem should show up. With RFN bullets the fat nose can be the culprit. Crimp groove and .45 ACP aren't usually kosher. If SWC'S- you need just a fingernail of the front driving band outside of the case mouth.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Dieselhorses]

Are you checking the COAL? I assume you resized cases? Did you run bullets through bullet sizer? Roll crimps aren't exactly recommended for ACP-light taper crimps are though. When you say "flat nose", is this wad-cutters or truncated cone or semi-wad cutters? (Texas you did it again and beat me to it! I type too slow I guess)

[samari46]

The plunk test is all that you have to do to make sure your rounds are long enough to fit in your semi auto's barrel and the case head is at the end if the barrel hood facing the breechface. Now you can rule out the case and primer. So the only thing you now have to worry about is the bullet. You may not have seated the bullet deep enough, or powder coating is too heavy. Try using your coal with an uncoated bullet and if the plunk test fails then you are seating your bullets too long. When you reach the ppint where the back end of the case is even with the back end of the barrel hood you know the seating is ok. If not try seating a little deaper.Once the case is even with the barrel hood That is the seating for your barrel and that particular bullet. Now try to increase the seating depth of your powder coated bullet and try the plunk test. if the case head is not level with the barrel hood, your powder coating is the last suspect in the lineup. And check your bullet diameter sprior to reloading them. Nominally .451 & .452 are standard diameters. So your problem is your poader coat. Hope this helps. Frank

[tazman]

I am going to assume the boolit you are using is the Lee version, but this info will work for any RNFP boolit. When you sized the boolits, did the sizing die leave marks above the crimp groove? Those sizing marks will tell you how far up the boolit the full diameter is running. Quite often, the full diameter is above the crimp groove.
If so, you must seat the boolit deep enough that those marks are inside or right at the case mouth. If those marks are outside the case mouth, the boolit will jam into the rifling and cause the pistol to fail to go into battery.
I have to watch for this with both the 45 cal and 38 cal RNFP from Lee.
The only other option is to have the barrel throated.

[Gtek]

A no primer no powder assembled round would be the safest, but-. Having removed barrel from piece completely color round side and nose with black Sharpie. Stand round on piece of board and push barrel straight down till hood hits table (no body parts over end of barrel just cause), tap out and work on shiny spot. Work till good plunk is achieved then on to the feed issues if any.

[Conditor22]

I've found that you just have to seat these deeper. I never go my the crimp grove with 45 ACP.

just set it to where it functions ( watch out for compressed load when you seat them deeper)

Option B is to get the barrel throated to work with PC'd cast.

I recently have to do that to a AR 300 BO rifle barrel, it wouldn't take a cast, PC'd 247 grn FN without seating them 3/16 in deeper than any other 300 BO I've loaded for :(

[onelight]

Tazman has the simplest process for fitting cast to your gun simple no cost way to do it.
Just work up your load from the bottom to suit the shorter OAL.

[daloper]

I had trouble with my RIA. I took the barrel and sent it to DougGuy to get it worked on. He did an excellent job on it and it will now eat anything I feed it. I mainly had problem with the Lee RF. I did not have any problem with the Lyman 452460 SWC.

[mdi]

It's all about bullet shape and OAL vs chamber chamber fit. Do your bullets fit prior to PCing? Learn to use the plunk test and adjust OAL disregarding the crimp groove. I would find a similar shape bullet in my manual(s) and use the listed OAL for a starting point and plunk test...

[Gohon]

I don't know about other 45 ACP's but with my Taurus the book recommended OAL's are useless for cast bullets. I have to seat a 200 grain RFN at 1.15 and a 230 grain RFN at 1.18 inch for the gun to go into battery. Even though I always resize the bullets after powder coating I think it is the coating after the ogive that requires deeper seating.

[44MAG#1]

One a person needs to do is research, research and more research. Anytime I venture into uncharted territory, for me that is, that is what I do.
While I have reloaded the 45 Auto off and on for over 40 years Imam still cautious in selecting bullets.
A bullet I use in 230 grain weight is the Accurate Molds 230F and the 230FG. Loaded to 1.200" and all is good. It seats no deeper than the Hornady 230 grain XTP. A 200 grain bullet that is proven is the #68 H&G and I am liking the RCBS 201 mold. Another is the Lyman 452630 I believe.
Stick with proven easy designs to get to work.

[lbrowning]

Thanks for all the good advice. I seated a dummy round a fraction deeper and it plunked perfectly. Should have done that to begin with, but now I know. Thanks again.

[jcren]

If you are using the lee 200 rf, that bullet has to be seated short, esp when powder coated. As someone else mentioned, size to .452 and seat until pretty much all the shiny ring made by the sizing die is in the case.

[BigAlofPa.]

Good to hear you figured it out. Please be sure it's with in min/max COAL specs.

[fredj338]

I have a 1911 that wont go into battery with cast, without using a Lee factory crimp die. If you have a FCD try it,

The LFCD is a poor fix for not loading the correct way. Size the bullets to 0.452", this eliminates a lot of problems with fit, especially with mixed brass.
The Lee 200gr WNFP has a very abrupt ogive so you might have to seat it a bit deeper than the crimp groove in some short throat 45s. I seriously doubt it is a case issue.
The

[mdi]

The LFCD is a poor fix for not loading the correct way. Size the bullets to 0.452", this eliminates a lot of problems with fit, especially with mixed brass.
The Lee 200gr WNFP has a very abrupt ogive so you might have to seat it a bit deeper than the crimp groove in some short throat 45s. I seriously doubt it is a case issue.
The

Yessir! Agree 100%...

[Wag]

I had a problem like that with a 230gr RN which actually has a very slight flat nose. Finally realized that seating to a "normal" C.O.L. left it a touch too long. None of them would go into battery. Pushing them in another 0.002" solved the problem.

Keep in mind, though, that seating a bit deeper may reduce case volume and therefore, increase pressures slightly. Stay conscious of that and cautious, too.

--Wag--