Report on my very first round of 45ACP field test and question on OAL in SR1911

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luckey

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Hi,

Today it's my very first field test for reloading. All considered, it was great! Still one question remain for tunning on my SR1911 though.

I am using campro 230 TMJ with HS-6 powder, loaded from 7.2gr - 8gr, with 0.2gr increment. I shot them side-by-side with the wolf reload I have been using, each with 1 mag between these two. 202 rounds in total, half mine, half wolf.

for the recoil, once I am getting close to 8.0gr(8.2 is the max, then becomes +P), I get similar recoil compared to wolf, but less smoke and flash out of the barrel. as for accuracy, I have to say the hs-6 and campro combination is very good for all the load I tested(the 7.2gr is very light recoil, like 9mm). Of course, since I was shooting two-hand grip, it's not rocket science, but whenever I got a flyer, I knew it's me. the best group I got(@ 15 meters) is 2". So, as a 9-month newbie, I think this is good. I probably will settle on 8.0gr for a little more velocity.

As for reliability, I do have FTF problem with my SR1911, one per mag, starting with 7.4gr. on Glock 41, no problem at all. Since I didn't have issue with wolf ammo on SR1911 and my mags are wilson combat, so I think it could be the OAL. I have 1.235", but may need to fine tune it because for the round that was FTF, once I load it alone, I have no problem shooting it. Any thoughts on this? What's your OAL on SR1911? I know the best is to test dummy round for myself, but thought won't hurt to also ask.
I did do the 3-round dummy load test in the mags with no issues. maybe I should do at least 5 if not 10, just to make sure. Thanks.
 
thanks everyone. Now after loading 10 more dummy rounds and going through everything in my head, I am having 2nd thoughts as it may not be OAL issues. To bad I couldn't change the subject line, so, let me clarify and add more info here.

1. The issue is ultimately FTF in SR1911, but no issue with glock 41. on SR1911, ejection port is jammed halfway on the cycle(cocked the hammer and trying to load the round).
2. since it's my very first reload, and test batch, I weighted and measured every single round out of the 102 I made(accidently made 2 extra as I was too concentrate on the load) to ensure they are identical in OAL and powder charge(each 20, 10 for sr1911, 10 for g41)
3. most important reason that I don't think it's an OAL issue is that, as mentioned in the original post, for the round jammed in the mag, I was always able to put that round into another mag and shot it just fine. that's true for all 4 out of 4 mags(10 round mag). if it's OAL with the round, I shouldn't be able to shoot it at all, right?

that will leave another possibility, powder charge. could it be a cycle problem because the weaker powder charge? As I mentioned, even @ 8.0gr, the recoil felt lighter than wolf reload. what if the powder charge was enough to cycle the lighter g41 slide, but not enough to reliably cycle the heavier sr1911 slide? Is this possible?
I did read online that people said hs6 is slow fo 45acp and should load to the top end, but I hesitate to load to 8.2gr max as there would be no any room for metering issue if occurs.
Then the other way to prove the theory is to switch to longshot powder that i have which can give the same pressure and velocity without having to load to the max.
what do you guys think?
3.
 
I also have the Ruger SR1911 and the first time I used my own reloads I could not get them to feed worth a damn. I was using Hornady defense type ammo, hollow point stuff, because it was all I could get at the time. Turns out that they had to be loaded considerably shorter than the published maximum overall length. I had no such issues with bullets I've purchased since with round or flat faces. I measure my rounds now and make sure the are closer to the minimum length. Never had a failure to feed since.
 
ok. what"s your bullet type and powder charge now? and when you said "coldn't feed". was it like 1 per mag, 2 per mag or none?

Snakehunter said:
I also have the Ruger SR1911 and the first time I used my own reloads I could not get them to feed worth a damn. I was using Hornady defense type ammo, hollow point stuff, because it was all I could get at the time. Turns out that they had to be loaded considerably shorter than the published maximum overall length. I had no such issues with bullets I've purchased since with round or flat faces. I measure my rounds now and make sure the are closer to the minimum length. Never had a failure to feed since.
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It is not unusual for the START load to be too mild to cycle the pistol.

HS6 is one of the powders that gives better performance and accuracy with a magnum primer. I would say the Winchester standard primer is the mildest i would use with this powder.
 
that's the interesting part with this powder on 45ACP.
hodgdon site gives 8-8.2gr as range for HS-6 on 45acp 230fmj while my hornedy manual says 6.7-8.2gr. I used 7.2gr to 8gr with 0.2gr as increment. all except 7.2gr had this issue with one round per mag FTF.
since I can fire the jammed round alone, AND the FTF is never the very first round which is loaded by hand, not by cycle action, this gives me the feeling that the charge might not be enough to fully cycle my SR1911 which has heavier and tighter(as I felt when I pull it compared to my G41) slide. the 7.2gr might be just lucky one-time exception. Sincé it's test batch and I weight every single charge, for the sake of experiment, I think in addition to the longshot for the reason I stated(don't want max load), I will also try the 8.1gr and 8.2gr with HS-6 just to see what happens. I am more leaning towards to this now than the OAL because everything I tried on the range, and all the comparisons I did with the Wolf reloaded ammo.
If this turns out to be the issue, I could always save HS-6 for the R8 and 629 that are on my wish list. :)

Ganderite said:
It is not unusual for the START load to be too mild to cycle the pistol.

HS6 is one of the powders that gives better performance and accuracy with a magnum primer. I would say the Winchester standard primer is the mildest i would use with this powder.
Click to expand...
 
I am just using up the last loads of the Hornady I made up. I used starting charges of Bullseye and they were all well within maximum OAL. Originally they would not allow the slide to come forward fully. After reseating them a bit deeper I never anther feeding problem for that reason. I've since found I have to clean more frequently to ensure feeding consistency.
I have not loaded anything since, but I plan on using several types of bullets, mostly jacketed round and truncated bullets. Bullseye is pretty much my go to powder for all handgun loads but I have some others I'm going to try.
 
Just and FYI incase you don't have a bullet comparator, to match the same seating depth as factory ammo the COAL is 1.175" for the 230gr Campro's with the flat nose.
 
OK. Just returned from the range and I am glad to report that my suspicion/feeling about "one FTF per mag" issue was caused by the powder charge has been confirmed.
I loaded HS-6 with 8.1 & 8.2gr, also Longshot with 6.4, 6.6 and 6.8gr. All a little bit on the hot side(and loud, felt louder than the shotgun 2 lanes down), but still within normal range, not +P. I got 100% reliability now with both SR1911 & G41, also with great accuracy, as well as managable recoil. Now I understand why Hodgdon gives such narrow range(8.0-8.2gr) for HS-6 while other books have much wider range. Since I don't like to load at the max, I will be using longshot 6.6gr. Can't wait to see how it will perform in my soon-to-come G30S with 111mm threaded LoneWolf Barrel. :)

At last, totally unrelated, the SR1911 front sight just broke from the base plate during the shooting only after 72 rounds mixed with my handloads and wolf ammo. While my glock 41 works beautifully after almost twice as much the same mix. A little disappointed on the Ruger's quality.

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luckey said:
that's the interesting part with this powder on 45ACP.
hodgdon site gives 8-8.2gr as range for HS-6 on 45acp 230fmj while my hornedy manual says 6.7-8.2gr. I used 7.2gr to 8gr with 0.2gr as increment. all except 7.2gr had this issue with one round per mag FTF.
since I can fire the jammed round alone, AND the FTF is never the very first round which is loaded by hand, not by cycle action, this gives me the feeling that the charge might not be enough to fully cycle my SR1911 which has heavier and tighter(as I felt when I pull it compared to my G41) slide. the 7.2gr might be just lucky one-time exception. Sincé it's test batch and I weight every single charge, for the sake of experiment, I think in addition to the longshot for the reason I stated(don't want max load), I will also try the 8.1gr and 8.2gr with HS-6 just to see what happens. I am more leaning towards to this now than the OAL because everything I tried on the range, and all the comparisons I did with the Wolf reloaded ammo.
If this turns out to be the issue, I could always save HS-6 for the R8 and 629 that are on my wish list. :)
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You are not the first to have the front sight fall off. A GOOD TIME TO GET A NICE FIBRE OPTIC SIGHT.

If gun was shooting high or low, you can also get the correct sight height, too.

You were reporting FTF. Did you mean Fail to Fire? This can be caused by a too long round. If you eject a loaded round, does the chamber mouth or rifling leave any marks on the bullet. Should not.

If you are using slow powders, I suggest Winchester or magnum primers. Accuracy might improve dramatically.
 
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