vette78

[vette78]

Hi guys, I'm new here and this is my first posting. I'm also new to pistol reloading and casting. I loaded a 30 45 acps with cast boolits I bought they were supposed to be .451 diam. I used pre fired brass and winchester large pistol primers. I loaded 10 3.5 gr. bullseye, 10 3.6 gr bull., and 10 3.7 gr bull., I sized, neck expananded a little, and taper crimped them all. I loaded to an overall length of 1270 give or take a cpl thou. the 3.5 all fired but one it was stuck in the barrel and had to be removed, I also had 4 cases that failed to eject but stuck in the ejection port straht up. I had i failure to eject in the same way with each other loads. The group at 25 feet was not bad it was fired offhand. the group fired a 21 yards was better but fired resting the pistol. my question is why did the cases fail to eject? sorry it is so long winded I didn't want to leave anything out. Any hep is appreciated. Oh some of the cases had a slight bulg e when the buluut seated. but not much.

[IcerUSA]

Check here : http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/de...Powder&Source= might find something usefull , or go to the powder web sites .

Might be a little lite on powder if you have a stiff main spring . Just a WAG on my part .

Keith

[Trey45]

5 grains of Bullseye behind a 230 grain boolit has been the standard for decades. I have absolutely no idea where you came up with 3.5 to 3.7 grains. 3.8 grains is listed as minimum charge. I hope you realise using too little powder can be just as bad, if not worse than using too much. Especially in a cavernous case, it can detonate and literally grenade your gun. PLEASE go buy a reloading manual before you go any further.

[lurch]

Sounds like you load is probably too light to achieve positive ejection and/or you are not holding the gun firmly enough. You don't say what bullet you are using so it's hard to be any more specific. The condition you describe is called a stove pipe jam and is common with light loads, heavy springs and a weak grip.

If these are 230gr, round nose then your seating depth is probably good. If they are a semi-wadcutter style then I'll venture a guess that you are too long, but that will have an effect on feeding rather than ejection.

The bulge you describe is also typical. It can indicate that the cases are being sized down too much if the bulge is pronounced, or that the bullet is larger than normal in diameter.

For suggestions, make sure you have a firm grip on the pistol - not a death grip - but firm. If that doesn't help ejection, either increase the powder charge slightly or go to a lighter spring.

[dale2242]

My guess is the load is too light for the spring. My favorite load is 4.5 gr Bullseye with a 200 gr cast SWC. The load cycles great in my 1911 with an issue spring. 16# I think.---dale

[Murphy]

I'm with the other posters on this one, too light of a powder charge. There are several resources for reloading data online that should be of great help.

On another note, sometimes a case may 'stove pipe' (stand straight up in the ejection port) if the crimp on the boolits isn't enough. As the slide retracts during recoil, the empty cactches the case mouth of the next round up in the magazine causing this type of jam as well.

Most .45 ACP shooters like to taper crimp down to .471 at the end of the case once the boolit is seated.

Just my thoughts....

Murphy

[vette78]

thanks guys, really aprreciate the help. I'll try a heavier powder charge maybe work up to 4.5 from 4.0. the taper crimp also has me wondering since it was the first time I've used this die. I'm not sure I used it correctly. Lee says to use a half turn on the taper crimp screw for minimum crimp I didn't use much more than that maybe that was it.

[Echo]

Vette78, there is no problem with those loads. Standard target load for the .45ACP is 3.5 grs BE behind a 200 gr SWC boolit. I personally load 3.6 grs behind the Lyman 452460 SWC weighing 200 grs, and it functions just fine, not only in my wad gun, but also in my house gun.

How new is the gun? May not be broken in yet. Shooting will take off the high spots and improve functioning. If you are using a standard recoil spring, keep it - that was the recommendation of the top smiths I used to hang with.

Is it well lubricated? I use Marvel Mystery Oil, copiously.

How much experience do you have shooting, and .45's in particular. One must lock on to Old Slabsides (or any auto) to ensure functioning, since it is the recoil acting against your resistance that makes it work. Did the stovepipes happen at the bench, or offhand?

Granted, you could up the powder charge, but I don't think that is the problem. 3.7 BE behind a 200 gr boolit should function any .45 that has broken in.

And when you seat the boolits, leave a little bit of the shoulder protruding from the case - maybe .030 or so. Controls the endplay.

[corvette8n]

Welcome to the board I assume you own a 1978 Corvette, I used to have one, sold it and later bought a 95 LT1 6-speed. Alas that one has also been sold.

[vette78]

Thanks to everyone for your help. To agree with ECHO I have say I got the loading data from two Lyman manuals theywwrepretty old but that shouldn't matter. The stovepipes happened 4 out of 5 shots with 3.5 BE and off hand. Only once with 3.6 and 3.7 offhand and resting. The gun is new for me I bought it used but it looked like it was never shot when I got it. It is a springfield 1911 stainless, loaded model. The gun shoots great I was surprised it was as accurate as it is, my previous experience with 45's and 1911's in particular was in the military. Those guns couldn't hit the side of a barn Thanks again for the help.

[C1PNR]

I loaded 10 3.5 gr. bullseye, 10 3.6 gr bull., and 10 3.7 gr bull. my question is why did the cases fail to eject?

Lots of good advice above. Just my $0.02 now.

Out of my NM 1911A1 with a "soft" spring and 185 gr SAECO 130 mould boolits, these loads do VERY well! In fact the guy I got it from, who bought it from the Army at Perry in circa 58, recommended the 3.5 grain load.

[jsizemore]

vette78,
Take your barrel out of the gun and use the chamber for setting up your seating depth and crimp. Leave a little extra room for crud buildup. RECORD your results and setup is a snap in the future.

[Recluse]

Vette78, there is no problem with those loads. Standard target load for the .45ACP is 3.5 grs BE behind a 200 gr SWC boolit. I personally load 3.6 grs behind the Lyman 452460 SWC weighing 200 grs, and it functions just fine, not only in my wad gun, but also in my house gun.

Granted, you could up the powder charge, but I don't think that is the problem. 3.7 BE behind a 200 gr boolit should function any .45 that has broken in.

I have to use a minimum of 4.0 Bullseye with my 200SWC boolits to get any sort of consistent accuracy, plus reliable feeding and cycling--and that's with any of the .45's I have (Series 70 Gold Cup, Series 70 Gov't, AMT Longslide).

4.6 Bullseye pushing my 200SWC boolit is the magic combination for my .45's. Reliable feed/ejection and very good, consistent accuracy at 75'.

[Dale53]

The standard 1911 recoil spring is 16 lbs. It is the rare "as issued" .45 that will function with the 3.5 load with the standard spring.

If you wish to shoot light target loads (I do), you will have to reduce your spring. Brownell's sells a spring pack with several choices. The proper way to choose your recoil spring is to start with the heaviest one, and then carefully reduce your spring weight until you get proper ejection (and you do NOT want the cases thrown over the next door neighbor's house). You just want reliable ejection.

As the previous poster stated, using a cast bullet (in your case a 200 gr SWC) load a dummy round and using the barrel held vertical (muzzle down) drop the bulleted case into the chamber. The base of the case should be flush with the barrel hood. If it stands above the hood, it needs seated deeper. This will give you perfect "headspace" and consistent ignition.

I taper crimp to .470" measured at the case mouth.

Some .45's will work better with 4.0 grs of Bullseye with a 200 gr SWC bullet (more reliably). Between 3.5-4.0 grs using a lighter spring you should find happiness.

If you use too heavy a spring, you will NOT have reliable operation. "Smokestacks" like you are experiencing are a STRONG indicator of a too strong spring.

If you use too light a spring, then you batter the gun. Just adjust until the case ejects about three feet from you, but RELIABLY.

Once you have your gun set up for "soft ball" (light target loads), you do NOT want to shoot full loads in the gun with the light spring.

Dale53

[vette78]

I want to thank all of you for the great info. I cleaned the gun and found bulllseye really is a dirty powder as everyone says it is. I'm thinking of using unique in its place. My manual tells me to use 5.0 to 7.5 grains with velocities from 670 to 980, my question is will unique be cleaner burning or the same and does anyone use it and if so what charge with a 200 grain lead semi wadcutter. the gun is a springfield 1911 loaded model in SS. If anyone uses any other powder combos for this bullet weight I would love to hear that too. I am just beginning with the lead bullets and loading pistol so I have alot to learn and appreciate any and all help.

[Dale53]

Bullseye and Unique are both double base powders and both burn dirty. However, they also work VERY well. The rule of thumb is to use Bullseye for light target loads (it is VERY fast burning and works especially well with reduced loads).

Unique is a Medium burning powder and works especially well in the .45 ACP for full loads and will normally allow higher velocity at safe pressures (compared to Bullseye). It's about as dirty as Bullseye. "Reportedly" newer lots of Unique burn somewhat cleaner. I can't say as I am still using "old" Unique and Bullseye.

When these two powders are gone, I will be going to Hodgdon Titegroup. It is clean burning and shoots extremely well in the .45 ACP.

A year ago I was covering the NRA Convention and took the opportunity to talk to a couple of the Hodgdon technicians (not salesmen). The one in particular was queried about HIS recommendation for the "best" powder for the .45 ACP. Without hesitation, he recommended TiteGroup. He is a .45 shooter, has access to PROFESSIONAL data and is a participant in the shooting sports. Titegroup, in additon to its clean burning properties, is NOT position sensitive and not subject to unexpected pressure spikes. It has to be a good choice.

There are other good choices, certainly, (I just finished my last pound of P5066 which hasn't been produced for 20-25 years and I have a tear in my eye as we speak). Win 231 is good in the .45 ACP.

There is no such thing as an "all around" powder. "Back in the day" we were well served by three powders for pistols and revolvers running from .32 S&W L through the .44 Magnum. Those three were:

1 - Bullseye for target loads.

2 - Unique for standard loads in .38 Special, .44 Special, and .45 Colt.

3 - 2400 (I much prefer H110 or 296) in .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum

There are MANY more powders on the market today. Other than being cleaner burning, we really haven't it any better than before other than the newer ball powders certainly measure better in Progressive Presses. But, that is not all bad, is it?

Dale53

[Echo]

Both of my .45's (house gun - funky OLD accuracy job including brazing up barrel to tighten at muzzle!, low Micro sights; Wad gun - built by Lew Willing, BoMar rib, capable of 2 3/4" groups) have full strength, full length recoil springs, and function just fine with the 3.6BE/200 gr -460.