Reloading .45 major issues.

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

Ok so my dad and has been doing some reloading for the first time in a long time. He used to reload a LOT but hasn’t done it in years and just picked up a Hornady press. He has been reloading two calibers, 9mm and .45 ACP. The 9’s have had not problems except for the first batch that his friend reloaded were really bad and even my M&P and his Glock would occasionally have an issue with them but now thats all sorted out. The .45’s are a different story though.

They have two issues. One is really common and the other is not so common but has happened two too many times.

  1. Feeding issues. About once every couple mags, a round will not feed all the way into the chamber. Sometimes this can be fixed by pushing on the rear of the slide but usually that doesn’t cut it and the round must be removed and thrown away. Sometimes after firing, a round will get stuck in the chamber.

  2. This is the worst and most dangerous problem, squibs. So far in about 1200-1500 rounds of .45, there have been two squib loads. Luckily neither went down into the barrel far enough to allow another round to fully chamber.

Any ideas what could be causing these? I wonder if the squibs were the result of going to fast on the press and not putting powder in a case. The other issue though I have no idea.

All .45 guns used with these loads are 1911’s. One Springer Loaded, a Colt Commander, and a Colt Defender.

2

what bullet?

3

What tomme boy said.

Fat bullets will cause fat-bullet jams. Measure the diameter and post.

Also type/weight of the bullet to suggest a COL. 1.250" is the standard for 230gr RN.

4

Wow - still waiting for bullet data, also is this a new NM(tight) barrel? Anyway a couple of things:

1 Inconsistent powder charge(low powder) - this can easily be the cause for you squibs and if there is none/not enough powder - this to will perhaps fire, extract and push slide back, but not back enough to exert enough tension such that on the return, not enough umph to fully seat the round in the chamber/barrel.

2 Brass Sizing(i.e. sizing die) - die down appropriately? The fact you are not getting the round in all the way…even by pushing from the rear(and that is scary) where the round is out of spec and cannot seat in a chamber.

Load some rounds “very” carefully and slowly. Pull a round off every 10/25 or so reloads before you seat the bullet and check weight of powder charge (QC check) as well as use a chamber checker/case gauge on all final rounds to ensure rounds are in spec to fit entirely into the chamber.

I should also add if shells come from open bolt subguns(especially M-11/MAC-10) or typically Glocks, the rear of the fired shell is expanded(what you hear typically as “Glock bulge” with .40) I know I deal with this in 9mm and use an EGW sizing die (smaller than a normal 9mm sizing die) and this squares away most of the unruly brass but not all.

5

Also, since there is no info on bullet yet… I had an issue with lead semi wad cutters being seated too far and not enough of the shoulder protruding causing failures to feed. The brass would catch on the edge of the chamber.

Squib could be moisture in cases (If your “Cleaning” with that horrible acid solution. Or, Jostling the powder dispenser when loading powder. Or, no powder being loaded at all. A buddy of mine does this all the time with a D650, I have no idea how.

Could be a number of things…
More info on what tools you are using to load, what bullet, etc will help.

6

Thanks for the advice so far. I’ll try to find out bullet specifics tomorrow. I have very little experience reloading but these were actually some of the things I talked to my dad about already. OAL is not the problem, we checked that. I wonder if maybe the die is not down far enough, causing the bottom of the case not to be resized?

Info on the equipment-
Hornady 5 stage press
Hornady dies
Hornady quick change die attachments

7

Along the lines of what m4fun said-

Make sure your sizing die is turned all the way into the shellplate when it is fully raised.

Make sure your crimp die is set correctly. If he is not seating and crimping separately then that can cause issues.

Check the OAL (Overall Length) on your loaded rounds and make sure they are not too long or short. You can use a factory round loaded with a similar bullet as a guide.

8

As one poster mentioned, I’d like to know where the brass came from? Brass shot out of Glocks will shoot fine out of another Glock after being sized most of the time. If not run through a tighter sizing die than standard, you might run in to a number of failure to feed into the chamber properly. I use a Redding GRX carbide sizer for my 40 S&W cases before running them through my Dillon dies if the brass has a primer indication that it was fired out of a Glock. I get a bunch of fresh once fired brass out of Glocks.

Squib loads are a different matter. I’d throw at least 25 charges out of your powder thrower and measure each. Maybe you also have a powder thrower problem.

9

Check your dies. The hornady dies are long enough that they can be extended down long enough the touch the shell plate. I usually go another 1/8 to 1/4 turn, as the shell plate or O-ring in the LNL die busings will flex a little, and you want to make sure you’re fully sizing the base of the brass. Let the press cam-over just sligtly after it bottoms as well.

Next, set up each die one at a time to ensure you’re getting the expected result. The pressure from sizing (or lack of it) can cause issues with OAL variation as well, particularly with the last few rounds run through the press, that could cause some FTF issues if you have a tight chamber.

Finally, the shell plate itself can work loose over a large number of rounds, causing issues with the brass not fully sizing, as the shell plate will flex from side to side. The press used to come with a lock washer. Either buy one of those for ~$.40 or use some blue locktite on the screw (which will make it longer to change shell plates).

Unitl you get all this squared-away, I’d buy a case gauge and check each loaded round.

As far as squibs go, there are only a few causes:

1.) Your powder is bridging in the measure (unlikely). Make sure your powder drum and measure is fully degreased…till you can eat off of it, then rub it (and the rest of the measure) with a used anti-static dryer sheet.

2.) No powder in the measure. Either buy a lock-out die, always keep the hopper 1/2 full, or improve your visual inspection process. To help, place a ~$3 bore light just above station #4, and make sure it shines directly in the case so you can inspect the charge before placing a bullet. This assumes you’re crimping in station #5.

3.) Short stroking the press. Make sure you fully depress the handle each time, and if there a a foul up in the press, pull out the case from station #3 where the powder drop is made and check the charge just to make sure it’s properly dropped.

4.) Powder got contaminated somehow (unlikely).

5.) Powder drum is not fully actuating with the stroke (unlikely given the number of rounds loaded that worked). Check to make sure the drum is fully rotating with the up-stroke.

10

I suggest getting a good case gage so brass can be checked easily. Wilson is the brand to get. Also, you need a decent caliper. Then you can measure the case’s diameter and length accurately. Good luck.

11

Right! Next to a good powder scale. A Case Gauge (aka: Chamber Check Gauge) is the most important tool on the loading bench related to functional reliability. Use it for setting the sizer die and well as checking loaded ammo.

A temporary solution is to pull the barrel and start dropping in loaded rounds. (But it’s not as fool proof as a case gage.)

12

  1. The bullet isn’t seated far enough into the case. Your 1911 barrel makes a great headspace/chamber check guage. Drop some rounds into it and see what you find.

  2. Inattentiveness to the powder charge. Check every piece of brass you set a bullet on for a “normal” looking charge. There may have been a mechanical issue that caused the low/no powder charge. But getting a visual on every case you put a bullet on is easy… especially with 45 acp.

13

First thing for you to do is get rid of the progressive and get a single stage to learn on.

Second. I bet the bullets are lead. They have a tendency to bulge the cases.

Third. What weight of recoil spring are you using. Might be too light.

Fourth. Has the barrel been throated for lead bullets.

I bet #1 will take care of most of your problems.

14

#2 is unlikely using the Hornady die, the expander puts a heck of a bell on the case when set up properly, more than enough to properly seat a lead round without bulging the case. Besides, if the round is seating partially, I’m leaning to the problem being at the base of the round.

#4 - never heard of this ever being required to shoot lead at factory OALs. I’ve put 15K or more through my pistols a year and none of them have been touched. They all shoot lead rounds just fine.

15

Hogwash

There is nothing special or magical about a single stage press that will make you more attentive or easier to learn.

Pay attention to what you are doing whether you use a single stage or a progressive.

16

Post a picture of about 20 or so of your loaded rounds. Spin them 90* and then post that picture.

17

I agree. I have both and don’t fanboy for one or the other. I started on a progressive and don’t feel that I would have gained a thing by starting on a single stage.

18

These are the exact two suggestions I was coming to post. I had some 9mm that were failing to go into battery. My sizing die wasn’t down far enough.

What you want to do is raise the shellplate all the way and then screw the sizing die down until it touches the shell plate. Then back the die off a half turn and snug it down. It should fix the problem.

19

Is this a typo? Are you instructing him to back the die out or screw it down another half turn? The way you’ve described this doesn’t support your earlier claim that the die wasn’t down far enough. Just asking…

20

Typo or not, his (jmcrawf1’s) instructions were bass-ackwards for sizer die set-up.

Reading only the instructions for the seater die (and not those for the sizer die) is a sure way to screw up.