reloads for S&W 626 (45 ACP)

[Tangent395]

Not sure if this question should be in reloads forum but id ask here since its for revolver application.

 

i had made 45acp reloads.  in moon clips the dont fall as effortlessly as one might hope.  i believe its due to the lip of case on the cylinder.  maybe i can also improve my techniuqe to hold the revolver perfectly vertical.

 

The question:  should i taper or add more crimp to that there is less of an edge so that the rounds would not get caught on the cyclinder?

 

Thanks,

[Toolguy]

First, you need round nose bullets. Not round nose flat point, or truncated cone, etc, but full round nose. Also, you may need more crimp if you're not getting all the bell out of the case mouth. The top of the case should be very slightly smaller at the crimp than the rest of the case.

[PatJones]

Does you ammo case gauge?

Is there a chamfer on the chambers in your cylinder? I needed a small one to make my 625 load smoothly. You need just enough chamfer for the case mouth to clear, any more just makes it ugly.

--
Pat Jones
Firestone CO
USPSA #A79592

[Tangent395]

thanks to both of you i will attempt a light crimp then.

 

i do use a case gauge for every round and they go in fully and smoothly.  i had thought it would be a bigger problem to get all 6 to fall in smoothly simultaneously when clipped together.

 

i guess i was worrying about the top of the case seating in the barrel at the right spot.  i think the phrase is headspacing(not sure).

 

ill follow up soon.

[Toolguy]

In a revolver, the rounds should headspace off the moon clip anyway, so the case mouth can have a firm crimp with no worries.

[pskys2]

Taper crimp your rounds to .468" to .470".  The rounds will head space on the moon clip.  I use the same crimp for my 1911's too.

Check the cylinder there should not be any sharp edges for the cartridge to catch on.  Some get very aggressive chamfers but that's not needed.  Just make sure the edges are rounded over and not sharp.  As you get more into it you can decide if you really need more chamfer.

You can use any bullet, round nose bullets will give you less issues if the rounds aren't close to the charge holes.  Right now in ICORE L6 & IDPA I'm using a 175 coated swc (H&G 68 style) from ACME they don't have as large a ledge for the SWC that some do and feed just fine in my 625 & 325.  JHP's are ok too you just have to get the moon clip centered a bit closer than with RN, and that depends on the size of the HP.

[71Commander]

What's a S&W 626?

[Jim Watson]

I was wondering that.  A stainless version of a 1950 Target would be neat; but I suspect a typo.  

 

Roundnose bullets just bounce right into my M25, but the charge holes are chamfered a bit.  

[Boonter]

I have a 625 that the bore of the cylinder was very undersized from the factory. That caused me a lot of pain, blood, sweat, and tears.  The answer was to have the cylinder reamed to the correct size.

[Jim Watson]

Better to ream a 625 than put up with oversize throats on a 25.  

[124gr9mm]

On 7/21/2020 at 4:10 PM, Toolguy said:

First, you need round nose bullets. Not round nose flat point, or truncated cone, etc, but full round nose. Also, you may need more crimp if you're not getting all the bell out of the case mouth. The top of the case should be very slightly smaller at the crimp than the rest of the case.

 

Another vote for round nose bullets.

 

For what it's worth I use (and like) the Lee Factory Crimp die.  Sorted out some feed issues I was having with a semi-auto pistol.  Do an interst search before you try as there are varied opinions about using it.

[gnappi]

Any bullet with a shoulder will likely present problems my faves are TC and RN, I had my 625 chambers chamfered, add a gentle taper crimp to the bullet, and problem solved. 

[pskys2]

21 hours ago, gnappi said:

Any bullet with a shoulder will likely present problems my faves are TC and RN, I had my 625 chambers chamfered, add a gentle taper crimp to the bullet, and problem solved. 

A Sharp Shoulder is always an issue.  I picked up a case of Hornady 185 JSWC once at an A3.  Tried to find a use for them, too short to reliably feed in a 1911, then tried them in my 625.  Viola! As sure as any RN I'd tried on the reloads.

They had a rounded nose & shoulder with a radius to the shoulder (a lot like the H&G #163 without the sharp shoulder) and being Jacketed there was nothing to catch on.  Alas they were expensive and I don't think in production.  

Right now I'm using a 175 coated SWC from Acme, it is based on the H&G 68 design but there is very little shoulder and the poly coating seems to act to round any edges.  It has been very good on reloads.

But a true RN will always produce less issues and Jacketed then Poly Coated and less desirable are plain Lead.

Another issue for me was velocity/PF.  In USPSA with a 165 PF you needed 720 f/s.  My 625 always preferred 800 f/s or more, so I looked for 200 grain bullets, easy enough.  But in IDPA a 155 PF is met at 674 f/s, so a 185 grain bullet was better.  Further in ICORE with a 125 PF?! one needs only a 155 gr bullet at 807 f/s.  Hence my search for a lighter, accurate 45 bullet at around 780+f/s?  I've settled on the 45 gap 175 at 890 f/s for IDPA and 45 acp 175 at 730 for ICORE L6.

Edited August 14, 2020 by pskys2

[buckaroo45]

I'm a bit late to this party but may have some insight. Myn 625 had one cylinder charge hole just a hair underesize. Ran a chamber reamer (rented from a place in Idaho I think) thru all 6 and added a Lee factory cerimp die to the load se

[buckaroo45]

WOW! My fat fingers screwed that up. To continue, I added a Lee factory crimp die to the sequence and had no further troubles. Had to run them thru a single stage press. Kind of a pain but stopped the problem cold. Good luck.

 

Have you encountered cylinder skip yet? I learned a whole chapter on that problem.

 

[Lesliet]

My best solution for easy moon reloads on my 625 has been using bullets I can crimp the case slightly into either a cannelure or the top lube groove.  I do have a slight chamfer on the cylinder, but normal .45 ACP rounds still had a bit of a lip there that occasionally hangs up. Current recipe for 142 pf rounds ( everything except USPSA major) is:  handcast Lee 452-228-1r bullet, sized to .451 after Hi-Tek coating. 3.5 grains of Trail Boss, whatever primers I can get, which are mostly CCI and Winchester lp, and seat it so that after a firm taper crimp, there is no gap between the case mouth and the front lube groove. Even with the cheapie moonclips bought in bulk and semi-random brass, they just fall right in.