crimping the 45 ACP

X

xgunner

Member
Rating - 100%
45   0   1
Location
Sudbury, ON
I set up a dummy round with an O/A length of 1.250. When cycling through action it dropped 10 ths to 1.240. I even increased the crimp but still the bullet moves. How can I stop this. I don't want to put too much crimp on.
 
There should be very little crimp on a .45ACP as the case headspaces on the front of the case. Just a gentle taper crimp should do it.

When the slide picks up the round from the mag, the round is at at upward angle & will enter the chamber with the nose touching the top of the chamber & then dropping down & going in.

I am not an expert on the subject but I would think that a little set back of the bullet is fairly normal & would be why it is recommended to not keep rechambering the same round as will will really set back.

Perhaps others with more experience can add to this.
 
I never have had to crimp a .45 acp case more than to remove the bell on the case. Neck tension is what keeps the bullet in place on a .45 acp. Its not like a roll crimp that will actually bite into the bullet. As has been stated .45 acp headspaces on the case mouth so roll crimping is not recommended, although there is articles about people doing it. If you over crimp with a taper crimp you are also crushing the bullet itself which will only create more problems. I would start by putting as little belling on the case possible to seat the bullet and don't crimp at all. See if the bullet moves. Back your crimp die all the way off ans just gradually increase crimp to simply remove the belling. Overcrimping crushes the bullet. The brass has the ability to spring back a little bit and the lead does not. This will just make the bullets looser. Hope this helps! I am far from an expert and have only been reloading a couple years but this was one of the first problems I ever encountered. It took a hell of a lot of reading as I was not a member here at that point, but I learned a lot. And eventually figure out I was overcrimping! Good luck!
 
Last edited:
Pictures of your loaded round would help analyze the problem. Show the crimp clearly.

If you can measure your bullet diameter, that will help too. As Mehletovaara said, neck tension keeps the bullet in place. If the bullet is sized less than .451, you may have a case tension problem, causing the head to set back just by the simple action of chambering. This is not likely the problem but might as well eliminate it as a possibility.
 
Don't bell the case so much and then put a crimp on just enough, so that you can take the cartridge and push the bullet on your bench and it doesnt move into the case.
 
If it is just for a dummy rounds, fill the case half full with some sort thick, but flowing epoxy (fibreglass resin or something). Seat the bullet, then lay the cartridge on its side for the resin to harden. That way, the resin will fill the case from base to bullet, and it will not be able to set back. It will, however, mess with the balance of the round, so they may eject funny. As a bonus, however, they will not roll around all that well.

For loaded ammo, you could try cannelureing the case. You use a machine to impress a ring into the outside of the case. This will (obviously) create a ridge on the inside, which will stop the bullet from setting back. Corbin makes a tool (http:// www .corbins.com/hct-1.htm) for about $140. You can see this explained more http:// www .dlsports.com/pistol-ammo-more-durable.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom