Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 45 acp guru's chime in please

I'm new to reloading 45 ACP ammunition. A couple of weeks back I bought a new FN FNX 45 ACP Tactical, and the pistol runs awesome with factory ammo with zero issues.

Half of my reloads suck however. Failure to feed and/or eject.

I'm shooting Berry's 230gr FMJ's, Remington 230gr MC bullets as of now. I'm loading these all with Vihtavuori N310 powder. 4gr charge to be exact. Federal 150 primer.

I think my issue is crimping, or lack there of, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said, I'm new to pistol reloading.

Also, I'm using RCBS dies. With the 4gr powder charge, the pistol recoils hardly at all it seems when shooting the 230gr bullets.

Are my loads too weak or what? Not enough power to let the slide go back all the way?

Is the slide locking back after the last round?
Every time I've run too light a powder charge the slide won't lock back on the last round.
I won't crimp with the seating die at all for the 45 acp ,screw the seating die out more so it doesn't crimp and screw down the seating plug to get the right oal.
Use a lee crimp die and just crimp enough to take out the flare and chamber smooth.

Make sure to full length resize, make sure your die is adjusted correctly? Lee Carbides Dies and Lee Crimp Die is what I started with and continue to use. Make sure it it adjusted correctly as well. Check your powder charge also? I don't use Viht powders but would recommend working up a little more load if you have not exceeded recommended max loading per the reloading manual? Do not exceed the recommended Max!! Check your COAl as well. WSF or WST are common powders for the 45ACP.

I want to say the slide locks back only 50% of the time, maybe less. Thanks for bringing that up as I forgot to add that in my original post.

The way I went about "crimping", I was backing the seater stem back a few turns and just screwing down the die body down onto the bullet until I couldn't turn the die body down anymore with my fingers. I was just going off the directions that RCBS supplied with the die set.

4.2 is the max charge and I loaded a few of them up and had the same problem.

My coal is right around 1.620

Sound like you need a taper crimping die. You don't want to roll crimp 45 ACP because the case headspaces on the mouth.
35WN

I would definitely try crimping with a Lee Crimp die. It definitely improved the functioning of my reloads.

it's evident the gun is no dang good


since I like you I'll give you $300 for it


good luck Mark, hope you get er figgered out....and you will

would like to see a pic of that .45 if it ain't too much trouble

Sounds to me as if you aren't generating enough recoil. I'd bet the farm on it.

I took a look at my VV manual, looks like 4.2 gr of N310 only gives 770 fps. Find a slower burning powder, HP38/231, Unique, Universal, Herco, Power Pistol, WSF and probably 20 others will allow you to get close to the 830 - 850 fps that is the GI standard for the .45 ACP.

I'd also give them a slight taper crimp. If your RCBS dies were made in the last 30 years they should do taper, not roll so use them, just adjust the crimp die down a bit more. If that fails, buy a Lee die, they do indeed work well.

Certainly not a guru, and I might be misunderstanding, but the Coal for .45ACP should be 1.23-1.25, I think? My 1911 prefers them a bit short, nearer to 1.230. 1.6 is the length for a .45LC.

This ^^^^^^ (in addition to getting enough umph in your loads to consistently run the slide back to slide lock.) Get a taper crimp die and crimp your loads to a specific dimension across the case mouth (without looking, I think I crimp my .45's to .470 or .471, somewhere around there.)

Good pickup! That could be a major reason.

For sure!

Spring could also need loosening since it is new but the COAL is wrong from the sounds of it, that may be the issue and get a different crimp die.

Better measure that OAL again.

Your loads are NOT 1.620"

C.O.A.L. varies greatly depending on the shape of the bullet. As such there is no "one size fits all" o.a.l. for the 45 ACP. Of far greater importance is how much bullet is IN the case, rather than how much is OUT.

Use the c.o.a.l. dictated by the bullet manufacturer.

35 WN

Sherloch -- It Ain't 1.620" for a 45 ACP

thanks Dan


that's some star wars uber cool lookin hardware right there!

Sorry guys, the COAL is 1.260, had it backwards.

Run a taper crimp as others have said and problems should go bye bye. It worked for me.

For my 1911's, that is still a bit long. As I said, mine feed better a little short of 1.25.

Awfully nice looking pistol, though!

You're 100% correct. A taper crimp die should always be used on .45 ACP cases. Solves a lot of problems.

L.W.

First off, I would not use a powder that fast, especially with a heavy bullet, but for whatever the reason, you obviously do not have enough pressure to consistently cycle the gun.

It might be that you simply need to (taper) crimp as has been discussed........if your cases are black around the mouth, that would be an indication of leakage.

I would strongly advise a somewhat slower powder as well.......there are a lot of good choices, unfortunately, the availability today is very poor.

I do not go any faster than Bullseye/SOLO 1000 in a 45 ACP; PowerPistol is about optimum, IMO, & I like a FIRM crimp.

Here is a burn rate chart showing VV powders compared to various others.

(PowerPistol is not on the chart, but it is very close to Unique.)

MM

VV Burn Rate Chart

bearstalker,

How old are your reloading dies?


And here is another burn rate chart, just for grins.

http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html

1. Take two factory rounds from a box of ammo that works flawlessly and measure them all over with your calipers (COL, diameter of the case at the mouth, diameter of the case in the middle, diameter of the case at the base, diameter of the headstamp). Write down what you get for both rounds. Put both rounds on a scale for no particular reason other than to rule out variables and anomalies.

2. Do similar measurements to 10 of your reloads. Look for consistency in your reloads. Look for reloads that are both different than the factory rounds AND different from the other reloads.

In the event you get some "oddball" reloads, set them aside and try shooting the rounds that most closely match the factory measurements and match the other reloads. See what you get. Then shoot the oddballs and see if they give you trouble.

If that solves your problem, great! If not, you've ruled out the most basic of the potential problems.

If you are still having problems, I'd like to hear some specifics regarding the malfunctions. When you say failure to feed, what are you getting? A round jamming at the base of the feed ramp? A round feeding high and pinning at the top of the chamber? What?

Same with the fail to ejects. Is the fired brass not leaving the chamber? Is it stovepiping? What?

By the way, in your firing tests, make sure you don't change your grip or technique. This is probably a non-issue for you since you say that factory ammo fires/functions well. However, there's no sense in introducing more variables into the soup if it can be avoided. Jamie, who responded above, was having some trouble with one of his .45's that nobody else could replicate when they shot the gun. It turned out that his bear paw sized hands occasionally put pressure on the magazine, causing malfunctions while shooting. My little squirrel paws had no chance of causing that type of problem. So, do everything the same when you shoot. Don't limp wrist, either!

Next, if it's still happening, since you've only shot one powder, I'd change powders. Load up some rounds that physically mirror the factory ammo specs and see what you get with the new powder.

Let us know what happens!

Good luck!

P.S. I would also suggest that you do all your firing with one, possibly two PROVEN magazines. Mags that are always perfect with the factory ammo.

And...a Lee Factory Crimp Die is essential. Really. Even it isn't the solution to your current problem, it will prove to be $20 worth of peace of mind and successful reloading for years to come.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/71...-45-acp-45-auto-rim?cm_vc=ProductFinding

OK, stupid question: What makes the Lee FCD essential as opposed to the taper crimp die that comes with the RCBS die set? Is it just that it does a better job of sizing the bottom of the case or just that it is a dedicated crimp die for the 4th stage or is there some other magic at work?

I have an FCD for 10mm, but only use it in conjunction with a Bulge Buster to size before loading on my SDB and Dillon's taper crimp die works just fine.

They both work the same

Take the barrel out of the slide and see if your handloads chamber fully when you drop them in. They should "plunk" right in to the case mouth. 1.62" sounds too long for an OAL.

As others have guesstimated, the powder/bullet combination isn't generating enough velocity/recoil to reliably cycle the slide every round.

What other powders do you have available?

As to LOA...every bullet/gun combination is a law upon itself. For an auto loader one has the following to consider:
1) Maximum magazine LOA
2) chamber/lead max LOA
3) Best LOA for reliable feeding

Test by:
1) Magazine...can the magazine be filled without the rounds binding

2) Take the barrel out and drop a round into the chamber. Does it headspace correctly or is the case rim sticking up above the barrel hood.

3) If #1 and #2 check out ok, fill the magazine preferably with dummy rounds and SLOWLY hand cycle them from the magazine to the chamber in one smooth motion. Then reload the magazine and pull the slide back smartly letting it go at the end of the rack. If both tests run ok, especially the slow cycling, then the rounds should run IF there is enough velocity to properly cycle the slide with the bullet weight chosen.

As to the Lee FCD...I am a believer. The die not only Taper Crimps the case mouth but a carbide ring inside the die makes sure that every round is sized back factory spec.

From Lee Precision:
A carbide sizer inside the Carbide Factory Crimp die post-sizes the cartridge while it is crimped so every round will positvely chamber freely with factory like dependability. The adjusting screw quickly and easily sets the desired amount of crimp. It is impossible to buckle the case as with a conventional bullet seating die. Trim length is not critical so this extra operation takes less time than it would if cases were trimmed and chamfered.

Revolver dies roll crimp with no limit as to the amount. A perfect taper crimp is applied to auto-loader rounds. The crimper cannot be misadjusted to make a case mouth too small to properly head-space. A firm crimp is essential for dependable and accurate ammunition. It eliminates the problems of poor ignition of slow burning magnum powders.


Hope this helps...

Bob

That's what I thought.

I bought a Lee Factory crimp die last week and re-crimped all my left over handloads. Fired almost 300 rounds yesterday and had only two cases fail to eject. Very happy!

I obviously need to read the directions that come with the RCBS dies again since I couldn't get my rounds to crimp enough, but regardless I'll be using the Lee crimp from now on.

Lots of good advice and much appreciated.

Taper crimp dia is critical in my 45's. .468 is what I strive for on the taper crimp.

ON the OAL, 1.260 is darn long! As other posters have said, take the barrel off the gun and establish the Max OAL's while you are trying different bullets.

I had to try 3 different taper crimp dies to get the tightest die to get my loads down to .468 or a tad smaller.

My FN likes the 200g Semi wad cutter with 6.0g of Unique, and it is a 50 yard load. 9.6g of AA#5 with a 185g Nosler is another unreal accurate round in the FN. The spring is a strong one in the FN, and this strong spring may be your issue. Your load is on the light side, long OAL drops pressure a tad, lack of good taper crimp dropped pressure a tad, it all adds up.

I have never had a failure to feed or eject in my FN, it is the best out of the box factory pistol that I have ever purchased considering the amazing accuracy. I fell in love with the DA/SA with the decocker...15 rounds of 45 ACP is enough to give you a warm fuzzy feeling!

this, plus one other thing maybe. I have got into the habit of miking the taper crimped round to get an external diameter at the case mouth the same as a factory round to let me know if i have crimped enough or too much.

If you haven't seen it you should look up Hickok45 on you tube as he's shooting your pistol with a silencer. I must admit as much as I love my 1911 if I was a young pup I would want one of these with the silencer. In those states that allow silencers for hunting this would be a great hunting pistol for medium size game.

"Silencer"...