.45 bullet shape not feeding well

[Banacek]

OK, I messed up, I bought some inexpensive bullets and reloaded them so they do not feed well.  I have one gun that feeds them OK, need some ideas on fixing the problem and if anyone knows exactly what bullets these are since I threw the box away.  Looks like Berrys or Rainier.   OAL is 1.240.  Its a light load, I am thinking about going down in OAL and see how it affects feeding.  
Any other ideas?

 

[Jim Watson]

Run OAL up and down.

Shoot them up in that one gun. 

[tires2burn]

I run mine at 1.250. Stretch your OAL out to 1.260. Shorter usually doesn't work for me.

[JON]

16 hours ago, tires2burn said:

I run mine at 1.250. Stretch your OAL out to 1.260. Shorter usually doesn't work for me.

 

+1

 

It almost looks like the crimp is above the brass.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Because of the shape of the bullet, I have to agree with comments above -

 

bet you can run those OAL's much longer than usual for a .45 ACP.

 

And, they'd feed better if they were longer rather than shorter    

[Postal Bob]

I say go longer also. You need a certain amount of the bullets side to be above the cartridge mouth. It acts to prevent the top of the brass from catching on the feed ramp, by pushing the mouth of the case away from the feed ramp. Your bullets are barely above the rim, and with that sharp bullet profile, the bullet is probably not riding along the feed ramp much, but rather the case mouth is dragging along it.

[Don_B]

I would guess from the bullet profile that you are experiencing nose dives into the feed ramp. I think they will need to be loaded longer to feed correctly. 

[Banacek]

1 hour ago, Don_B said:

I would guess from the bullet profile that you are experiencing nose dives into the feed ramp. I think they will need to be loaded longer to feed correctly. 

You hit it on the nose! (LOL)  I will have to run it out of my 1911 that has a better feed ramp than my glock and Sark.  

[bigdawgbeav]

I was running 225gr. truncated cones like that.  Mine were lead and coated lead... I had the OAL at 1.20 for my RIA 1911, double-stake and they fed perfectly every time.

[rustybayonet]

My M&P will run trudicated cones, no problems at all. I cast these myself.

My Colt 1911 gets hiccup's with them, and prefers round nose.

Both bullets are 230gr.

[bjones6686]

That bullet profile probably needs to be loaded at 1.260-1.270 OAL to feed properly. When I reloaded 45acp SWC bullets with a similar nose profile I always had to load that long so they didn't nose dive.

[jim m]

Agree with with all the rest, bring them out to 1.265 or so and go from there.  

[GmanCdp]

Also if they are a lighter load, look at changing out to a lighter recoil spring or take a worn spring and cut off 4-6 coils and try that.

[Yeti]

We are in agreement.  With that bullet shape/meplat I'd go longer.

[scubajosh77]

What bullet is that? What’s it look like out of a case?


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[tires2burn]

Is that a cowboy bullet for a revolver?

[noylj]

That ogive is so sharp, that a very long COL still might not touch the lede/rifling.

The COL you are using looks a bit too short anyway.

Take a case and make an inert dummy round (or two). Remove barrel from gun.

First, run it through the various stages through taper crimp (w/o a bullet) and verify that the case does drop freely into the chamber (it "plunks").

Now run it back through, and seat bullet to COL of 1.275" and taper crimp. Paint bullet and case black with Magic Marker or other marker. Drop round in chamber and twist once or twice.

Remove cartridge and inspect for scratch marks. Marks on bullet indicate COL is too long. Gradually seat bullet deeper until there are no new scratches on bullet. This is your maximum effective COL for THAT bullet. Load inert round or rounds in magazine and see if they fit the magazine and feed and chamber. If they do, you can screw the seating die down another ⅛-¼ turn (to take into account COL variation) and see how that works, and you have your COL. You can probably use a shorter COL, but I don't see any reason to. This method has worked for all bullets for me for about 45 years.

 

General COL Note:
Per Ramshot:
"SPECIAL NOTE ON CARTRIDGE OVERALL LENGTH “COL”
It is important to note that the SAAMI “COL” values are for the firearms and ammunition manufacturers industry and must
be seen as a guideline only.
The individual reloader is free to adjust this dimension to suit their particular firearm-component-weapon combination.
This parameter is determined by various dimensions such as 
1) magazine length (space), 
2) freebore-lead dimensions of the barrel, 
3) ogive or profile of the projectile

and 
4) position of cannelure or crimp groove.
• Always begin loading at the minimum "Start Load".
• Increase in 2% increments towards the Maximum Load.
• Watch for signs of excessive pressure.
• Never exceed the Maximum Load."

Your COL (OAL) is determined by your barrel and your gun and your magazine. What worked in a pressure barrel or in my gun has very little to do with what will work best in your gun. Load a couple of dummy rounds (no powder and no primer) to the max. COL (OAL) and see if it fits your magazine, feeds in your gun, and chambers in your barrel.
Seat the bullet slightly deeper until you achieve all three of these goals. This is the COL (OAL) for you in your gun with that make of bullet. You are the one in control. Enjoy it. You can make ammunition tailored to your gun and not have to load to the minimum COL (OAL) as do the factories.

 

General Plunk Testing:

Take the barrel out of the gun. Drop rounds in until you find one that won't chamber. Take that round and "paint" the bullet and case black with Magic Marker or other marker. Drop round in barrel (or gage) and rotate it back-and-forth a few times.

Remove and inspect the round:

1) Scratches in the ink on bullet--COL is too long

2) Scratches in the ink on edge of the case mouth--insufficient crimp

3) Scratches in the ink just below the case mouth--too much crimp, you're crushing the case

4) Scratches in the ink on case at base of bullet--bullet seated crooked due to insufficient case expansion (not case mouth flare) or improper seating stem fit

5) Scratches in the ink on case just above extractor groove--case bulge not removed during sizing. May need a bulge buster.