Back from the range: Range report on first set of reloaded 45 ACP

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roadcarver

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Back from the range and tested my reloads for .45 ACP.

Reload info:
Campro 230gr copper plated projectiles
Mixed brass
Federal large pistol primer
IMR 700-X 4.7gr (individually weighted charges)
Pistol used: 1911 Colt Combat Elite, SAM 1911 Commander
10 yard distance

Both pistols chambered the rounds with no FTE or FTF.
Recoil was good and cycled each round with no issues.

The groups circled in hot pink were from the Colt 1911. I know what I did wrong here as I was concerned where the brass were going.
The groups where the paper basically got shot off with a big hole was with my SAM 1911 commander. I focused on the sight picture and trigger pull. I was shooting a little high, need to adjust my sight picture. I need to do a six o'clock hold next time. I was aiming as if I was shooting my 92FS (just remembered how I was aiming).

I'd say the reloaded ammo passed with flying colors, accuracy is decent. All projectiles hit paper.

 
Excellent results. But i cringed when I saw that you weighed each charge.

Your next investment should be a powder thrower. That will make your loading so much easier.

Flake powder, like 700X does not work well in some throwers. I know it does not work in my Redding BR or my RCBS Uniflow, but it works just fine in my old Lyman 55.

I suggest you place an ad on EE for a Lyman 55.
 
Yeah, I have the Lee auto pro disk, I set it at .60 and it seems to throw from 4.4 to 4.8 grains. I even tapped the hopper a couple of times when the ram was on the up stroke to throw the charge in.

Perhaps putting in some graphite into the thrower may help it a bit.

I'll look into that lyman 55, thanks for the tip.

Ganderite said:
Excellent results. But i cringed when I saw that you weighed each charge.

Your next investment should be a powder thrower. That will make your loading so much easier.

Flake powder, like 700X does not work well in some throwers. I know it does not work in my Redding BR or my RCBS Uniflow, but it works just fine in my old Lyman 55.

I suggest you place an ad on EE for a Lyman 55.
Click to expand...
 
roadcarver said:
......Perhaps putting in some graphite into the thrower may help it a bit......
Click to expand...

Not a good idea at all. It'll mix with the powder. Besides it's got nothing to do with the hopper's ability to dispense powder.

If you find that the discs are jamming and sticking it's because the fit between the disc to the frame is too open and flakes are wedging in the gap. The proper fix is to very lightly sand down the posts that support the powder cup so the cup fits a hair closer to the disc. If you go too far and it pinches the disc then run the cup mounting screws just a hair loose. Or use small strips of printer paper to shim the cup back up a hair.
 
At the moment it is not jamming. It's just not dispensing enough powder.

.60 vol is dispensing around 4.4 - 4.6, at times 4.9gr.

I have read and experienced that 700-x does not meter correctly. In your experience, does tapping the hopper before the upward ram stroke and during the up stroke help settle the powder into the cavity?
BCRider said:
Not a good idea at all. It'll mix with the powder. Besides it's got nothing to do with the hopper's ability to dispense powder.

If you find that the discs are jamming and sticking it's because the fit between the disc to the frame is too open and flakes are wedging in the gap. The proper fix is to very lightly sand down the posts that support the powder cup so the cup fits a hair closer to the disc. If you go too far and it pinches the disc then run the cup mounting screws just a hair loose. Or use small strips of printer paper to shim the cup back up a hair.
Click to expand...
 
i tried doing the same load but gave up on it because of the same results you got with your autodisc. i have a half pound around somewhere i should try in my rcbs uniflow but i have other powders that do the job as good or better.
 
The time to tap it to settle the flakes would be before you pull the lever while the hole in the disc still has access to the hopper.

The Lee hoppers use a baffle too. It's supposed to create a steady "pressure" at the opening. But I wonder if the flakes are not moving around the baffle correctly? A few "love taps" to settle the powder and promote it flowing around the baffle might well help with the consistency.

But while it may work (or not) even if it does do you really want to rattle the hopper for every load? I'd suggest a different powder with better flow characteristics would be in order.
 
I'm going to try the double disk. Currently at .61 cavity, I am getting 4.4 to 4.5. My aim is to get a 4.7gr for my targeted load.

.66 will drop 4.9. I'm going to line up two .31 discs and see if I can get 4.7gr.


BCRider said:
The time to tap it to settle the flakes would be before you pull the lever while the hole in the disc still has access to the hopper.

The Lee hoppers use a baffle too. It's supposed to create a steady "pressure" at the opening. But I wonder if the flakes are not moving around the baffle correctly? A few "love taps" to settle the powder and promote it flowing around the baffle might well help with the consistency.

But while it may work (or not) even if it does do you really want to rattle the hopper for every load? I'd suggest a different powder with better flow characteristics would be in order.
Click to expand...
 
Tape a small aquarium air pump to the powder hopper, it'll keep the powder flowing. If you don't have an aquarium store near you stop by the local Love Shop :)
 
roadcarver said:
I'm going to try the double disk. Currently at .61 cavity, I am getting 4.4 to 4.5. My aim is to get a 4.7gr for my targeted load.

.66 will drop 4.9. I'm going to line up two .31 discs and see if I can get 4.7gr.
Click to expand...

If you are going to loading lots of rounds at 4.7 grains, take a bit of sandpaper and expand the 0.61 cc disk cavity a little until you hit 4.7 grains. If you are using a turret or progrssive press, watch out that you don't over expand the cavity as you will find that once you cycle a number of reloads, the thrown weight can increase by 0.2-0.3 grains. I think the vibration of the press as it cycles packs the powder for a denser load. Once it stabilizes it's possible to get remarkable accuracy depending on the powder. VV N320 (a new powder for me) has been solid with no measurable weight variation (to 0.1 grains) for about 500 rounds.
 
I have a 1lb of IMR-700x that I need to use for the .45 ACP load, I guess that will be considered a lot for the time being. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I cancelled my double disk order from Amazon, and will return the auto disk pro.

What I did instead was purchase the Lyman 55 and will install it on my turret press. I had to purchase the perfect adapter for $13.00 from a US company that will allow it to be installed on the Lee expanding die.

I've read comments here plus via searching in the web that Lyman 55 is a very accurate powder charge thrower.

Pr589 said:
If you are going to loading lots of rounds at 4.7 grains, take a bit of sandpaper and expand the 0.61 cc disk cavity a little until you hit 4.7 grains. If you are using a turret or progrssive press, watch out that you don't over expand the cavity as you will find that once you cycle a number of reloads, the thrown weight can increase by 0.2-0.3 grains. I think the vibration of the press as it cycles packs the powder for a denser load. Once it stabilizes it's possible to get remarkable accuracy depending on the powder. VV N320 (a new powder for me) has been solid with no measurable weight variation (to 0.1 grains) for about 500 rounds.
Click to expand...
 
roadcarver said:
I have a 1lb of IMR-700x that I need to use for the .45 ACP load, I guess that will be considered a lot for the time being. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I cancelled my double disk order from Amazon, and will return the auto disk pro.

What I did instead was purchase the Lyman 55 and will install it on my turret press. I had to purchase the perfect adapter for $13.00 from a US company that will allow it to be installed on the Lee expanding die.

I've read comments here plus via searching in the web that Lyman 55 is a very accurate powder charge thrower.
Click to expand...

Let us know how it works. I think that with the Lyman 55 you will have to pull a charging lever every time you want to drop a charge - might be a little slow. Both Hornady and RCBS offer a case activated linkage kit that will speed things up but these may not integrate with the Lyman 55.
 
Will do. Yeah, the method that I will be going with will require me to crank the charging handle to drop the charge. I am aiming for consistency.

Pr589 said:
Let us know how it works. I think that with the Lyman 55 you will have to pull a charging lever every time you want to drop a charge - might be a little slow. Both Hornady and RCBS offer a case activated linkage kit that will speed things up but these may not integrate with the Lyman 55.
Click to expand...
 
LOL - someone used a personal vibrator strapped onto their hopper. That alleviates my concern about the wires getting tangled with a turret press.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7254/1938/1600/P1010069 Dillon vibrator.jpg

Taken from this site - http://www.joytbrew.########.com/

I wonder if a kiddie tooth brush which I have lying around here will work. Time to do some tests!



mississaugagunnut said:
I have been loading 700x as my practice load under 200g LSWC for years now using a Dillon 650. I too have used the aquarium air pump method with great success.
Click to expand...
 
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So yesterday I did a little of an unscientific study with the Lee pro autodisk.

1. I strapped my kid's old electric toothbrush dispensed about 5 powder charges and it was about 4.4gr
2. While the electric toothbrush was still strapped on, I did 5 consistent taps to the side of the hopper with the handle of a screw driver - it was able to dispense 4.6-4.8gr
3. Removed the tooth brush, just relied on the tap method and did some dispensing of charges and was able to get 4.6 - 4.8 gr

The odd occasion I would get a 4.9, and once there was a 5.0. The min data for my load specified on IMR's site is 4.5 to 4.9.

I also tapped the hopper 5 times when I first filled the hopper with powder.

I'm satisfied over all, but I will still try the aquarium pump/vibrator approach to see if it will throw a bit more consistent grains down .1 instead of a .2 variance.
 
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