Swc's Not Feeding On 1911 Baer Pii

[boo radley]

I don't remember problems when I shot Laser-Cast 200gr SWC's out of my Les Baer PII, but recently I bought 1k Meistercast cast SWC's and 1k Ranier plated SWC's and am having jams with both of these -- about 1/20 with the cast bullets, and 1/10 with the plated bullets.

What's happening, is partially inserted into the chamber, and tipped slightly "up" preventing the the slide from going into battery. If I hit the back of the slide with my hand, it will go forward.

If I examine one of the rounds this happens with (they all case-gauge, btw), I notice the nose of the bullet has a distinct "smile" cut into it, almost as if it were made by a knife. I guess it's getting this cut from the sharp edge where the barrel meets the feed ramp??

I do notice this problem is worse when the gun is dirty. For example, I'll clean, and the first 100 rounds chamber fine. But after 200, or so, I'll start running into problems.

Is there an easy solution? Or just shoot a different profile? Thx!

[Tom D.]

Use 230 RN & be done with feeding problems (assuming OAL is correct)!!

[ima45dv8]

Check the overall length on your cartridges. There's no exact rule of what they should be as it tends to vary a bit fron gun to gun. One thing to consider is getting the shoulder of the SWC to a length that closely mimics the ogive of an FMJ round (hard to explain without drawing a picture on a cocktail napkin).

What I've done in the past is stand a factory round directly behind a SWC round on a flat surface, and try to imagine the bullet profile of the FMJ as an envelope around the profile of the SWC. Set the seating depth so that the shoulder of the SWC intersects that profile of the FMJ.

(Where's that damn napkin when I need it? )

[yoshidaex]

i haven't used laser cast bullets before but the meistercast and rainier bullet profiles are a bit on the aggressive side (very sharp point compared to a berrys). i noticed if OAL is set too short, it has a tendency to hang up more often.

but like Tom D says, use 230 RN bullets and be done with feeding problems.

[HSMITH]

Set your seating die with a round of factory ball, you will be able to shoot any reasonable bullet shape if you do.

Raise the seating stem way up, put the round of ball in, raise the ram fully, screw the seating stem down firmly on the bullet, lock the adjustments, done.

[boo radley]

Thx, all -- I need to load up a couple hundred for an upcoming match, and will go back to a basic 230gr lrn (which I know feeds, for a fact), but later this Fall might play around and see if I can get these to work reliably.

So basically -- DON'T get out the Dremel. <grin>

[Dave Sample]

There are many reasons 1911 have feeding problems. Bullet shape is certainly one of them. Sounds to me like the gun is very tight and that the chamber needs to be reamed with a finish reamer. The barrel throat is important to have done properly and the feed ramp is a factor also. What it sounds like to me is a combination of things. Extractor tension, breechface rough, barrel throat not done right, and feed ramp not smooth enough. Sometimes magazines can cause these kind of problems also. If you are shooting matches, your 1911 should eat semi wadcutters like they are greased. They are designed to make a nice hole in paper.

I cast my own bullets so I do not have any experience with the ones you are using. I size them and lube them with Rooster Red Zambini with a Star Lubrisizer and have never had a problem with the feed and function of them. I just used the old Lee 6 cavity molds today and made a few hundred so I can load up some practice ammo. I also use a Lyman machine for some calibers and leave the Star set up for semi wadcutters.

Any competent smith should be able to correct the problem in 30 minutes or so.

Do NOT touch that Dremel! They have ruined more stuff than they have fixed. I have four of them in action as I speak , but I know how and where to use them.

[Steve J]

Instead of taking your finely fitted and finished Baer to a "competent smith", make sure your SWC bullets are loaded so that they make contact with the ramp at the same point that a properly loaded RN would.

FTF problems are almost always bad ammunition or bad magazines. Fix your ammo, change bullets, but leave your Baer be.

Please.

[CSEMARTIN]

Fix your ammo, change bullets, but leave your Baer be.

Please.

+1

Edited September 29, 2006 by CSEMARTIN

[boo radley]

Been a while since I've had a chance to revisit this issue, but I tried loading the same SWC's longer -- to like 1.265" -- and...no more problems. They feed and shoot flawlessly.

[yoshidaex]

its funny how just a slightly longer OAL cures many feed problems.

[Dave Sample]

That is the EXACT length that I seat my rounds. Glad you found an answer.