1.230" OAL for 45ACP OK?

[Ken_the_Carp]

I made my fist batch of cartridges and headed down to the range. I loaded up the mag and the first one fired and then the second one failed to feed (the slide failed to completely close). Cleared the jam and tried several more times, same story. It seems the bullets touch the start of the rifleing before the case is completely seated in the chamber. I'm new to reloading and the data that came with the dies stated that OAL had to be less than 1.275". I made my first batch about 1.270"±. How short can I make them and not generate excessive pressures. If I seat the bullet at 1.230" the cartridge sits properly in the barrel.

This is what I'm loading and shooting.
Frontier 230 gr RN CMJ Cast
Federal fired once brass
Winchester primers
HS-6 7.5 gr
Norinco 1911A1

Any assistance would be appreciated....Ken

 

[Slash5]

The Hornady book shows that jacketed 230 gr FMJ-FP have an OAL 1.200. Round nose and hollow point are 1.230.

 

[bear.23]

The OAL's are not specifics...

You need to load what your gun will shoot... The OAL's and loading data are guidelines.. I shoot a PPC load that is below the minimum becuase it's what works in the gun.. I also have an IPSC load in 40 that makes major under the old rules with a 155 Gr bullet..

If your slide won't close with 1.270 shorten them.. I believe I load my is 1.220

 

[Ken_the_Carp]

Thanks, I'll squash them down and head off to the range.

 

[bear.23]

Thanks, I'll squash them down and head off to the range.

I'm hoping your meaning you will make some new ones.. Squashing a crimped round is not a good idea.. you'll do one of three things...

Freeze the case in the die, do what you are trying to do but destroy the case mouth or bulge the case...

45's are really forgiving the pressures are very light and the barrel should take the pressures if it has too...

If your's rounds aren't crimped then you have another problem...

 

[PoFF]

Personal experience, I don't know if it will help though.

I loaded a batch of 230 grainers FMJs at 1.225" to 1.230" OAL (forgot to re-adjust my seating die that was setup for 200 grainers FPs) and I experienced ALOT of jams in my Para-Ord 14.45. It looked like the cartridge short lenght made it's 'angle of chambering' (new term?) too steep and was jamming when the bullet was half-chambered. After that, I gradually worked up the OAL and found the perfect OAL for my gun at 1.255".

But like Bear.23 said, finding the ideal OAL is on gun-per-gun basis. I've seen two identical guns (one brand new and the other with a few years of use) having very different behaviors with the same ammunition.

 

[Canuck44]

Go ahead and set the bullets deeper. I assume you have used a taper crimp. The .45acp requires virtually no crimp, just remove the belling is all that is required. I "crimp" mine to .470 which just takes the belling off the case. The .45acp bullets are held tight by case tension not by a rolled crimp. 1.230 should be about right for your cartridges.

bear.23 - I have had to do this a few times with a couple of bullets I have tried. He won't stick a case in his crimping die.

Stay Safe

 

[sunray]

Your OAL is fine, but I suspect your crimping isn't. Taper crimp only and you should be ok.

 

[EdGCNM]

Let me offer a suggestion that works well for me, and that's a chamber check. .45 ACP headspaces on the case mouth, so you want an OAL that allows that to happen (you can go fractionally too long, but it's not a good idea and can create reliability problems).

Remove the barrel from the gun. Take an empty cartridge case and resize it. Drop the case into the chamber. Without a bullet it will drop easily into the chamber and stop when the case mouth contacts the end of the chamber; in other words, headspacing exactly as intended. Note where the rim (back) of the case lines up with the hood of the chamber (the projecting shelf that sticks out from the end). The end of the case and the hood will be almost even; usually the case is slightly inside the end of the hood.

Now do the same thing with one of your rounds. Drop it into the chamber of the barrel.

If it doesn't drop easily into the chamber, you need to check and adjust your crimp. As stated, it just needs to be a taper crimp that simply straightens the case walls out (when the bullet is seated, there will be a slight bulge in the case around the bullet, which is what holds in in place). Too little crimp and the cartridge can't drop inside the chamber easily; and overcrimping can cause the brass case to bulge below the crimp as a reaction, creating the same problem.

If the cartridge projects too far out of the chamber (i.e. past the hood) you also have problems. I'm betting you see that your cartridge is sticking well beyond what the empty case did. Not only will the gun not always fire in this situation (it's designed not to), but you will also be risking high pressures if it does fire. The slide can force the bullet into the rifling grooves as it closes, pushing the bullet into the case, and allowing the gun to fire but with increased pressures.

I'm betting you find an OAL of about 1.25" works well, but a chamber check allows you to get it set precisely for your individual gun. And different bullets (230grRN vs 200grSWC vs 185grSWC, etc.) and even different brands can require different OAL.