1911 trouble feeding

[Nanookofthenorth]

I did the plunk test and I’m having mixed results. Some are flush with the barrel hood some are sitting higher than the barrel hood. Which makes not much sense since they’re all speced the same. I ordered a taper crimp die to see if that helps. If not I will be contacting you doug.

[Nanookofthenorth]

They are powder coated. I’m not super impressed with the coating I used. I used the matte black powder coating and it came out more of a wrinkle finish.

[Dusty Bannister]

Since you have powder coated the bullets, you have changed where the ogive of the bullet encounters the lands. The uneven thickness of the coating exacerbates this even more. Sizing the bullet makes little difference in where the nose of the bullet ogive encounters the lands since that is never touched.

Several methods of determining the cartridge OAL are available. Cheap and quick is the dowel method. Send PM and I will send copy to you. I do not recall if that is part of the thread for getting set up for new 9MM or not. Dusty

[Nanookofthenorth]

This definitely may be the case. You don’t think my caliper measurements are accurate because of this?

[Dusty Bannister]

Me personally, I measure the diameters with a mic. I measure the Cartridge OAL with a caliper since I do not have a big enough micrometer. If you try the dowel method to determine the cartridge OAL for the bullet you have, the caliper will be just fine for the length. That is the simple part about it. Taper crimp is determined empirically.

[oley55]

They are powder coated. I’m not super impressed with the coating I used. I used the matte black powder coating and it came out more of a wrinkle finish.

Yes, I had some concerns upon seeing your pic. The lumps/bumps of powder on the bullets has to lead to inconsistent bullet dimensions, making it all but impossible to accurately measure them and could easily contribute to some plunking and some not.

Mine are considerably smoother and I still had a couple hang up during my initial load work-ups. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking and I single fed and fired them. I should have set them aside unfired for careful examination at home. I fear plunk testing every single round may very well be what is required.

Someone questioned earlier which mold was used. Although I do not recall seeing much discussion about Lee 45 acp molds, I have read much about 9mm Lee molds with the 1R vs 2R profile. The 2R being recommended for PC'd bullets.

[Char-Gar]

I would pay attention to DougGuy's information about barrel throating. I was skeptical for years, but sent him a barrel for throating. I have since that time, sent him my other two 1911 barrels. He know what he is talking about. I no longer "plunk" anything, for this is useless in a properly throated barrel. I set the length of my rounds, as long as they will fit without binding in the magazine and taper crimp. They all feed as slick as snot on a glass door knob!

[daloper]

I was having trouble feeding cast in my RI 1911. I had DougGuy do my throat and crown my barrel and it now feeds anything I feed it. I purchased a spare barrel and had that one done also. If you need it done he is the go to guy.

[mdi]

I have seen problems, many times here with Lee's 1R bullet profile. The chubby short ogive requires much deeper seating, especially for a "tighter" chamber. Google hits; https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Lee+45+ACP...2%3A%22b%22%7D

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Years ago I got a Springfield Armory Trophy Match. I shot 200 grain swc boolits out of it. 1.25 long and a stout taper crimp to insure chambering. The plunk test will tell you much.

[Huskerguy]

I don't shoot 45 much as I only have one, an inexpensive ATI that shoots very well. I worked up some 230 grain round nose bullets and every once in a while I had to push forward on the slide to get it to shut fully. Then I changed bullets to the Lee 200 grain SWC. I experienced failures to get them into the chamber and carefully kept seating them deeper until the problem was solved. It could be a combination problem with the crimp and seating as noted above.

I had several makes of 9mm years ago but now only have two different models of CZ 9 mm. They are notorious for short chambers and the need to seat bullets a bit deeper. I was working up loads for my 10C a while back with a variety of bullets of varying profiles. I used the plunk test on each one, recording the length of each and subtracting a few thou. I couldn't get any of them to group very well but my factory white box ammo was all right in the center black at 50' off a rest. So I thought, what the heck, I loaded my ammo to the same length as the factory ammo and it shoots great. I have no failures to chamber or anything but they do not correspond to the plunk testing I did over and over very carefully. The bottom line for me is there are just so many variables in manufacturers that having a set pattern may go out the window but it is a place to start. YMMV

[ShooterAZ]

I have seen problems, many times here with Lee's 1R bullet profile. The chubby short ogive requires much deeper seating, especially for a "tighter" chamber. Google hits; https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Lee+45+ACP...2%3A%22b%22%7D

This has been my experience as well. I switched to the RCBS 45-230-RN, and haven't had any problems since.

[gwpercle]

Let me throw in ... The very first 1911 45 acp mould I ever bought was that Lee 452-228-1R thinking it would be the perfect copy of the hardball bullet and should feed like a charm ...
... Boy was I wrong ...that S.O.G. ( Son of a Gun) gave me nothing but feeding problems ... the 1R profile just isn't quite right ... I could never figure it out . I found a used Lyman 452460 200 gr. SWC mould , double cavity for $25.00 ...and it solved all my problems .
That Lee 1R was a single cavity ... how long ago was that ... I paid $12.50 for and sold it at a garage sale for $2.00 and felt like I had cheated the guy... in 50 years it has been the ONLY mould I have ever gotten rid of ... it's a stinker in my opinion .
Back then I shot a lot of NRA Bullseye Match every week ... .22 , .38 and .45acp in slow , timed and rapid fire matches ...so the 45 acp ammo had to feed and be accurate .
I would sell it and try one of the Truncated Cone designs like 452-230-TC or lighter 452-200-SWC .
Maybe DougGuy can work his magic on your barrel and make it work with the 452-228-1R... he's good at stuff like this .
Gary

[fredj338]

Well I can tell you being a long time 1911 guy, that 228R does NOT have the same ogive as FMJ. It has a much rounder ogive that requires deeper seating. At 1.230", I can get them to feed in most of my 1911s, most are Springfields. Its just not a good design imo. YEs throating reamer will fix it. The Lyman is a near copy for ball ammo.

[jim147]

The 452-230TC is the only .45 I cast anymore. Feeds great in all my autos and is accurate out of my SAA.

[JeffG]

I have an Remington R1, Kimber Custom II, RIA and Tisas and have no issue. I believe that is the result of the profile bullet being used. I started with the Lee 452-230-TC, which needed to be seated so the parallel sides of the bullet didn’t extend beyond the case mouth. I ended up buyin NOE’s copy of an H&G design below. Due to the slight step between side and start of ogive, there is no interference so long as it is seated so the step is seated to edge of case mouth. Another option to think about.

I’ve also run these powder coated without issue.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...54-237-rn-ac4/

[FLINTNFIRE]

I am running the lee 2r powder coated no issues in all my 1911 45acp and all other 45acp firearms along with MP molds and NOE and no issues all of them unthroated , that lee 1r mold I had to seat deeper and did not like it so it is only for 45colt revolvers .

[45DUDE]

The crimp looks more like a roll crimp to me. Some 1911's like a different boolit. I have some that will shoot anything. Some don't like a short nose boolit. I have found that all will feed a H&G 68 style 200 grain or a fmj 230. When you drop the boolit in the barrel the rim should not be sticking longer than the hood. The boolit should have a little wiggle in the chamber. Magazines can cause a feed problem also. If a store bought round will function your dies need adjustments. I will stay tuned to see what the fix was. I shoot 1911's every week and have put a few together. Feeding problems are part of the game. I had to change a barrel in one to solve a feeding problem and never figured what was wrong. It worked ok in another one. The H&G 68 design could very well fix the problem and should be more accurate.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Did you try different magazines? In my experience, from 22LR to 45ACP, most feeding problems are caused by a weak magazine spring, an incorrect follower angle or the lips releasing the cartridge either too soon or too late.

[hermans]

This has been my experience as well. I switched to the RCBS 45-230-RN, and haven't had any problems since.

I agree with this, had the same problem with this Lee boolit, constant feeding problems. Changed to the RCBS 230gr, no more problems at all. The NOE copy of the classic H&G #34 are also in the same class.....feeds and shoots like a dream.