Friend who shoots quite a bit of pistol says reloading isn't worth his time & he loads for all his rifles .
His reason - he says he doesn't have good luck with consistant cycling and especially doesn't have good luck with hollow point ammo .
He loads good stuff for his rifle they're accurate .

I was getting ready to order Dies about three weeks ago and changed my mind - i already bought 250 Magnus 230gr. HP's - he said ''they probably won't cycle through the gun'' .
He's not a ray of sunshine on reloading pistol .
Is it common to have to hunt for bullets [HP] that function correctly ? ?
Pistol is a Kahr cw45 and i've only shot winchester white box 230gr. FMJ and it is 100% reliable with one magazine - other magazine has had a fail to load a couple of time in 50-60 rounds .
I've saved my brass and have Accurate no.5 powder .

Should i buy some HP sample packs ?
Can seating and charges be ''tuned'' to get a handload to cycle ?
New to pistol handloading .

Thanks for any advice .

I can help you only with 1911's. But yes bullet shape and Overall Length matters.

Now we get into the nitty gritty. Much more to come in the discussion.


Note: AA#5 is a good powder for the .45 ACP like many others. Very forgiving cartridge.

A little work on the loading ramp by a competent gunsmith can make just abut any 45 semi feed most bullets. Some of the cheaper magazines will fail to function.

I've not had any problem with either the Sierra 185 grain HP or Berry's plated 230 grain HPs feeding through my CW45. I carry it with the Sierra 185 loaded with a good stiff charge of AA #7 and have no problem trusting it.

Just load them where they will "plunk". By the way, 1911 mags function great in my CW45.

Thanks guys !

Gibby yeah AA #5 was very popular when i searched my load manuals .

Saddlsore both my magazines came from Kahr - so i rekon they're pretty good . The one that jammed a bit had been fully loaded for a long time [3ish years] sitting the console of my truck - maybe that didn't help .

Vic in Va. - I knew some other magazines would work - forget where i saw that . Don't remember which ones .
Glad to hear CW45 runs some HP's - i'm going to get the Dies and some primers on order .

I've thought that a high capacity magazine would be nice to keep in the console or door of a truck . Should have known in this day and age that they would be available - found this for 45acp - 1911 .

https://gunmagwarehouse.com/promag-magazine-browning-hi-power-9mm-32-round-steel-bro-a6.html


I like the thought of 185gr. bullet or 200gr. ,, going to root around to see what the difference in penetration is .

What exactly do you mean ''pluck'' heavy load - lite load ?

Thanks again folks ..

Mike

Try Berry’s 185 hybrid hollow points and Bullseye. Use a standard 230 fmj round to set seating depth. Should end up about 1.193” o/all

Those Berrys look good - good price it appears .
If what I have doesn't work i'll try your load recommendation . Thanks !

For HP's for self defense, Gold Dots in 185 or 230 gr are excellent choice & will usually feed in anything if the OAL is right.

For plinking & practice, I buy SWC's from Bayou Bullets; they're coated & the best I've found at a very reasonable price if you buy 1,000 or more at a time.

Power Pistol has been my go-to powder for the last few years in the 45 (as well as 9mm) but Bullseye, Unique, AA5, AA7, BE-86 & AutoComp are all good.

If I only had Unique, I'd not be unhappy, just not as clean as Power Pistol.

MM

The plunk test. Remove the barrel and hold it pointing down, drop your reload in the chamber. It should drop all the way into the chamber under it's own weight making a sort of "plunk" sound. If not you have an OAL or ogive problem, or maybe cases not sized properly.

Mike,

I've had a CW45 and presently have a Kahr TP45.

Good accurate pistols.

The chambers are a little tighter than any other 45 acp I've shot.

The only trouble I've run into (with the Kahr's and not any other pistol) is with cast bullets... neither of mine would run .452's. Would not chamber them. Never had any problem with Hornady .451" XTP's, the only (reloaded) bullet I've ever shot out of my Kahr 45's. I've also shot factory Remington factory 230 grain FMJ's with no issue.


Starting to reload for pistols, especially semi-auto's as noted above watch your overall cartridge length, that they fit not only the chamber but the magazine.

Also do not get carried away with the crimp, the cartridge headspaces on the case mouth, and you do not want to create any kind of a bulge here.

Buy carbide dies so you can skip case lubing.

I know a lot of people who reload 45acp and have no issue.

Jerry

Thanks for all the help everybody i think these tips will save me a lot of time NOT chasing my tail .

? Standard or Magnum primers ?

Standard
No need for Magnum primers with ball powders in that burn range.

I have good luck with CCI or Federal Match.

I've not had any issues with the .45ACP in any of my pistols - whether Kimber or Kahr.. I've used 230 gr RN, 200 gr HP (Hornady) and 185 gr HP... The critical part of the .45 is case length since it headspaces on the case mouth.. But function/feeding etc., has not been a problem.. (carbide dies, Dillon 550 press)..

I've reloaded for .45acp and I've loaded for a Kahr - but not for a .45acp Kahr. Haven't had a problem with feeding in either though, once OAL and sizing is set correctly. Have payed a little with OAL with SWC in 1911's, and seen some sensitivity when it isn't just right. The Kahr's chamber is on the tight side of spec and doesn't tolerate a sloppy crimp or sizing. It has been stated many times that Kahrs tend to be that way. With those issues settled, I have no feed problems. I find the .45acp to be one of the easiest calibers to reload.

I've had really good luck starting, and in most cases finishing with a col of 1.230" in many 45 ACP's, 1911's as well as Glocks firing HP's and FMJ's.

This is my general target OAL on a new load also. Work's 95% of the time.

Also, a Lee factory taper crimp die is a wise investment. Read the instructions carefully.

All great info. thanks a lot .

Getting Lee carbide four die set .

Lead or jacketed don't matter to reliable feeding, so long as you stick with proven profiles, weights and diameters; generally .451 for jacketed and .452 for lead/coated. Cartridge OALs are pretty well established for various bullets and unless your pistol is a finicky SOB, it won't be hard to find an OAL that works for you.

What matters greatly is your crimp die. I used to dread loading 45 Auto, because best reliability meant sorting headstamps. I got my first Hornady Taper Crimp die about 1993 and all my problems vanished. I am still using that same die, too.

i have used taper crimp dies on a number of handgun calibers, well worth the purchase price.

I use the Hornady taper crimp setup. And generally load 185 SWCs or 200gr cast RN. My favorite powder that produced the best accuracy in my gun was PB, sadly it’s been discontinued. Nowadays I use Unique or AA5, and they both work well.

I only load 230gr LRN coated and my OAL is 1.265". This is in my Springfield 1911-A1 with three factory Magazines.
This combo has always worked in this gun since 1993. Powder is Unique or Universal. Hope this helps some.

You bet Gibby, I can go from mild to wild with Power Pistol and Longshot powders too.

http://www.accuratepowder.com/load-data/


http://www.accuratepowder.com/products/handgun/