[drs305]

I just obtained a SA Loaded 5" and went to the range today. It was fantastic (my first .45)!

Anyway, I shot a bunch of Winchester White Box 230gr ball and a good number of reloads, testing various bullets to see how they fed and performed.

I had good results with both Berry's and West Coast Bullet 200gr Round Nose, SWC, and Round Shoulder and with Berry's 230gr Round Nose.

The problems came with Flat Points, both in Berry's and WCB. Most of my other test loads were an OAL of 1.225 (except the SWCs) and fed without problems. NONE of my Flat Points would load even though they were below the max OAL and passed the cartridge gauge test.

After getting home, I stripped the gun and found that all the rounds were too long for the SA barrel, even though they were 1.225. By experimentation (slowly shortening the OAL) I discovered that I had to reduce the OAL to 1.150 (almost completely up to the shoulder of the bullet) in both the Berry's and WCB to get them to fully seat . Obviously I won't shoot these bullets with their current powder charge unless I get some data for this OAL.

Is an OAL of 1.150 normal for this type of .45 ACP bullet? These are standard Flat Points (.451 diameter, WCB .525 length, Berry's .539). (Note: The cases from the pulled bullets fit fine.) I've never noticed such a difference between FPs and other bullet shapes in my other pistol calibers.

Thanks.

 

[Valkman]

I don't know how much it'll help, but my Midway .45 LoadMap lists 12 different 200gr FP bullets and the recommended OAL ranges from 1.209 (Hornaday LSWC) to several listed at 1.275, which is the maximum. I agree that 1.150 is too short, and I guess I'd contact Berry's and West Coast and see what they think. Berry's helped us out the other day on this forum with a question and they seem to respond to emails. Good luck!

 

[drs305]

I emailed both companies today and will pass on any information they relay to me. Thanks for moving the post higher on the list!

Added: The Hodgdon site does list one load with a COL of 1.155 for a 200gr Speer JHP (Universal Clays max of 6.7gr). I don't have the dimensions of that bullet, however, so I don't know how deeply it is set compared to the bullets mentioned above.

 

[Sheldon]

Just curious. How much deeper is the FP bullet seated into the case versus the SWC?

 

[drs305]

Just curious. How much deeper is the FP bullet seated into the case versus the SWC?

The SWCs seat .249 with an OAL of 1.260. If I were to load the FPs to fit the chamber, they would seat .281 with an OAL of 1.150.

 

[WESHOOT2]

OH MY!

Guess how short I make my 252g LRN-FP load?

 

[Still Creekin]

I think this could be a minimum throat issue. I've seen 1911s come with a pretty wide variation in throating. Some barrrels have no throat at all, with the lands beginning abruptly just a few thou forward of the chamber. If thats the case the bullet nose may be engraving the lands preventing the cartridge from chambering completely. Options are to give it a little throat, stay away from fat nose bullet styles, or live with the short OAL if you can get sufficient crimp to prevent setback and the rounds will function. I would be wary of taper crimping in front of the shoulder or on the ogive as this can actually loosen the neck tension leading to bullet set back. BD