I've been using a Norinco 1911 in 45 acp for PPC and 2-gun / 3-gun for a while now, and up until a month ago was only using large pistol primer brass with CCI or Winchester primers. Whether Titegroup, HP38, HS-6, TrailBoss, Unique, AA#7, etc if I did my job right (sufficient powder to work the slide) the ammo would work as expected. Projectiles are 200gr SWC or 200gr RNFP seated as per my Lee manual, using a Lee 4 die set on my Lee turret press.
Like many other people, I have been picking up small pistol primer brass found at the range, and put it in its own bin. Last month, I decided that for 2-gun and 3-gun matches where I don't get my brass back (easily) I would use this SPP brass and save the LPP brass for PPC shooting (where I do get my brass back).
I have found that certain powders, notably Unique, IMR PB, Bullseye, and AA#7 are very inconsistent with the small primer brass. To the point of hangfires (fraction of a second), small lit particulate ejecting from the barrel of my 45 (like I was firing my cap & ball revolver with black powder), and inconsistent recoil. Unique is the worst by far. I have tried CCI, Campro, and Winchester brand small pistol primers.
I loaded a batch of small pistol magnum primers (CCI) with the exact same powder load and, based on my small sample size (half a box of each powder), no longer had an issue with these powders.
I am assuming that some (most?) of the issue is the small amount of powder in the 45 acp case, and possibly the position of the powder within the case. I have not yet done the "test" of pointing the cartridge in different directions (up vs down) but suspect this would play a role. Obviously my pistol starts in my holster pointed down, then is horizontal for magazine changes.
So, having a few thousand 45 acp brass with small pistol primer pockets, what powder are others using successfully with regular (CCI, Winchester, or Remington) small pistol primers? My current plan is to use SPM with pretty much all of my small primer brass handloads.
Thanks
Like many other people, I have been picking up small pistol primer brass found at the range, and put it in its own bin. Last month, I decided that for 2-gun and 3-gun matches where I don't get my brass back (easily) I would use this SPP brass and save the LPP brass for PPC shooting (where I do get my brass back).
I have found that certain powders, notably Unique, IMR PB, Bullseye, and AA#7 are very inconsistent with the small primer brass. To the point of hangfires (fraction of a second), small lit particulate ejecting from the barrel of my 45 (like I was firing my cap & ball revolver with black powder), and inconsistent recoil. Unique is the worst by far. I have tried CCI, Campro, and Winchester brand small pistol primers.
I loaded a batch of small pistol magnum primers (CCI) with the exact same powder load and, based on my small sample size (half a box of each powder), no longer had an issue with these powders.
I am assuming that some (most?) of the issue is the small amount of powder in the 45 acp case, and possibly the position of the powder within the case. I have not yet done the "test" of pointing the cartridge in different directions (up vs down) but suspect this would play a role. Obviously my pistol starts in my holster pointed down, then is horizontal for magazine changes.
So, having a few thousand 45 acp brass with small pistol primer pockets, what powder are others using successfully with regular (CCI, Winchester, or Remington) small pistol primers? My current plan is to use SPM with pretty much all of my small primer brass handloads.
Thanks
