weldernewt53

I have loaded up my fist rounds of 45ACP for my Bisley Blackhawk 5-1/2" stainless. I ran 4.5 gr HP38 and it was very accurate at 25 yrds. Next I loaded 5gr HP38 and it also was very accurate. I seem to have some unburnt powder. I used a light taper crimp, Lee 4 die set, with FCD. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? I also ran some 250gr RNFP with 8 gr Unique in 45 Colt. They were very accurate. I could slam my 16"x24" swinging ram at 100 yrds. These darned old Colt 45's are something !

mikld

You will usually get a few kernals of unburnt powder with low pressure loads like the 45 ACP. You didn't mention which bullet you're using, but for lead 230 gr., you can go up a few more tenths. Personally, I'd lose the FCD and get a dedicated seating die and a taper crimp die. I've only been reloading 45 ACP for mebbe 11 years and have never had the need for a "post bullet seating sizing die". But, you don't seem to be having any trouble chambering or with leading...

weldernewt53

Thanks for the replymikld. No I don't have any problems with chambering and little to no leading. My first batch were 200 gr RNFP Missouri bullets .452 dia. My cylinder throats mic at .451 except for no.4 cyl that mics at .450. I know these are tight but I have good accuracy. I will probably have the cylinder reamed to .452. These are the first loads of 45 ACP I have done so I am not really familiar with what to expect. They seem to shoot pretty good and are really accurate. Thanks again , I will keep tinkering with things till I get it right.

chuckc

I've been haveing chambering problems with the 45 ACP in the Blackhawk. With the 200g SWC I have to seat the bullet so the outer rim of the bullet is flush or below the case rim. On the RN 200g I have to seat them lower than normal for the 45 Colt. Evidently I'm having more problems than others. They are accurate but I'm disappointed in the chambering problem. Also some brass is giving me problems that I didn't have with my 1911.

ChuckC

Iowegan

chuckc, Chances are your throats are too tight. This will prevent your cartridges from seating ... a very common problem in Ruger 45 cals. Most lead bullets are .452" so the throats have to be at least that large ... .4525" is optimum for both the 45 ACP and 45 Colt.

chuckc

Thanks Iowegan. Mine mike around .451 so that is probably the problem. I am also having problems with misfires with the 45 ACP. The Colt cylinder works fine. Any ideas?
chuckC

MSD Mike

Assuming your ammo is good I would say your misfires are occurring because you are head spacing on the front of the bullet rather than the case mouth. When the primer is struck it pushes the bullet in a little further and doesn’t transfer proper energy to the primer. You might notice you primer strikes are a little lighter on the 45 ACP ammo than the 45 Colt. Yet another reason to ream throats to .452. In my Blackhawk I reamed the throats to .452 and have had good success seating my home cast lead .452 bullets out about 1/8’’ into the throat for better alignment. The down side is that the ammo is for revolvers only now.

Thank
Mike

Iowegan

chuckc, There are two contributing factors that can cause light primer strikes with your 45 ACP cylinder. The first is the throats. If they are too tight to seat a cartridge properly, the lead bullet will cushion the primer strike.

Next is headspacing. All cylinder chambers are reamed to SAAMI specs (unless you get a defective cylinder). SAAMI specs for 45 ACP case length is .898", however if you measure your cases, it is very rare to find one that is full length ... often as much as .010" too short. The normal headspacing with a full length .898" case is .010", which can be measured with a common automotive type gap gauge. Just slide a gap gauge blade between a chambered spent case head and the recoil shield (in front of the firing pin hole). Keep trying progressively thicker blades until you find the thickest one that will friction fit. Chances are your case will be too short so don't forget to measure it and subtract the difference. Example: let's say you measure headspace at .012" and your case measures .895". Subtract .895" from .898" = .003" then subtract .003" from your measured .012"=.009". Because a 45 ACP cartridge headspaces on the case mouth, the shorter the case, the more headspace you will have. When headspace exceeds .020" you will get misfires ... either because the case was too short (most likely) or because the chambers were cut too deep (very unlikely).

Try this ... load up with a couple cylinder's full of factory jacketed ammo. If they fire properly, it's not your gun. Get those throats reamed to .4525" ... that will probably fix the problem. Measure your spent cases after sizing them. Weed out any that are too short (.888" or less).

MSD Mike

Iowegan explained the whole head space thing much more eloquently than I did

Mike

rclark

Nothing . You'll get unburnt powder if not enough pressure and some powders are just a bit more dirty.... No biggie.

Iowegan covered the other aspect of what could be happening. I know I had to ream mine to .4525. I actually load up som 250g RNFP in my .45ACP cases. One of the beauties of loading for a revolver is you have a much broader range of loads and velocities you can test. I don't even own a 1911 so all my .45ACP shooting is in the revolver. Of course I prefer the .45 Colt round a lot more, but sometimes it's just fun to dump in the .45ACP cylinder and be a bit different.

Yurko

Ooh, Ooh, one of my favorites!
(you gotta be well into your 50s to understand that.

My standard 45 acp load is 8 gr of Accurate #5 & the above mentioned bullet.