45 Reloads with Lead, Where did I Screw up?

[pcrc11]

I loaded 20 test bullets with .452 230 gr lead bullets, 4.1 titegroup and they seemed to work just fine in my Springfield 1911. I went ahead and loaded a couple of hundred more and now they wont go into the chamber. The base of the bullet has bulged the case just enough where the bullet wont go into the chamber the last 1/8" without pushing it in. Is there any I can fix these or am I going to have to shelve them until I come across a 45 with a worn out chamber.

[Raoul]

Check your OAL. Lead will sometimes build up in the dies and the OAL will be off.

[Guest canebreaker]

Give us more to go on. What press are you using? How far did the boolit go into the case by hand,

1/16th, 1/8th, 3/16th, 1/4 inch?

Edited January 26, 2012 by canebreaker

[pcrc11]

Am using lee dies and press. The bullet has on OAL of .670 and it is going into case about .343. There is a line on the bullet where the Round nose starts and that is where I am seating it to. The cartridge OAL is 1.22. The diamater of the case below the bullet is .470 and it bulges to .474 where the base of the bullet is. It then shrinks back down just a little. Enough where you can feel it and see it. I took a felt pen and marked it and when it is pushed into the chamber it rubs the ink off the bulge. I took a jacketed bullet i reloaded and it falls right into the chamber with no problem.

[Raoul]

Am using lee dies and press. The bullet has on OAL of .670 and it is going into case about .343. There is a line on the bullet where the Round nose starts and that is where I am seating it to. The cartridge OAL is 1.22. The diamater of the case below the bullet is .470 and it bulges to .474 where the base of the bullet is. It then shrinks back down just a little. Enough where you can feel it and see it. I took a felt pen and marked it and when it is pushed into the chamber it rubs the ink off the bulge. I took a jacketed bullet i reloaded and it falls right into the chamber with no problem.

maybe when you re-sized the case you have too much of a bell shape. I had this problem with some 9mm I re-loaded.

[pcrc11]

I have only been reloading for a couple of years and am going to use this as a learning expirience, I now know of one more thing to look at when reloading. I just dont understand why my test loads worked and now these dont. Is there anything I can do now to salvage them. I was wondering if I can run them through a sizing die, if that would knock the bulge down, or am I completely off base with that thought.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Have you measured the bullets themselves. They may not be .452" but something larger. Loading a jacketed bullet and having it drop right in the chamber is a pretty good indication of this.

Also mark the bullet with the pen and try chambering again. The bullet may have a different profile and need to be seated deeper in the case. I have had this happen with certain bullets.

Are the lead bullets ones you cast or ones that you purchased? If you cast them did you run them through a sizer?

I know that nearly all of my reloads have the bulge in the case you are talking about.

You cannot go back and size the case afer the bullet in is the case. The brass is more elastic than lead. When you size it the brass springs back anf the bullet is very loose in the case. The reason I know this is because I tried it to fix an issue like yours. I don't recall what caused my problem but I do know I tore all the rounds down to recover the components.

Dolomite

[Guest canebreaker]

Open the die up to .400 .

Jacketed boolits are smaller than lead. Copper is harder than lead. That's where the barrel twist comes in. That's why the boolits falls through.

I wish the die openned more instead of a funnel.

[pcrc11]

Bought them from Georgia Arms. I just measured one of the extra bullets I have and it measures .454 according to my digital caliper.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Bought them from Georgia Arms. I just measured one of the extra bullets I have and it measures .454 according to my digital caliper.

Well there is your problem.

Do not shoot them because even though they are lead they can cause excessive pressure. And couple that with any leading you might get and the pressures will rise very quickly.

Dolomite

[Dolomite_supafly]

You could buy a $15 Lee sizing die and fix the bullets after you tear them down.

Dolomite

[Raoul]

I have only been reloading for a couple of years and am going to use this as a learning expirience, I now know of one more thing to look at when reloading. I just dont understand why my test loads worked and now these dont. Is there anything I can do now to salvage them. I was wondering if I can run them through a sizing die, if that would knock the bulge down, or am I completely off base with that thought.

I have done this with 9mm. Assuming your bullets are the right size.

[Caster]

I have only been reloading for a couple of years and am going to use this as a learning expirience, I now know of one more thing to look at when reloading. I just dont understand why my test loads worked and now these dont. Is there anything I can do now to salvage them. I was wondering if I can run them through a sizing die, if that would knock the bulge down, or am I completely off base with that thought.

Do NOT run them through a sizing die. You will size the bullet down so severely that you will undoubtedly have a leading issues. I suggest this first. Run 50 through a Lee factory crimp die. Shoot them. If you notice there is no leading, run them all. If you do get leading, you'll have to use a kenetic hammer and pull them. If you pull them do as Dolomite says and run them through a .452 sizer.

Even hardened lead is easily worked. Don't fret over the oversized bullet too much. When you seat a lead bullet, you size them down. It may only be a few tenths, but it does. I use a factory crimp die on my 9mm loads and I do not size them before hand. It works out great for but results vary. That's why you must experiment in small batches.

Edited January 26, 2012 by Caster

[Caster]

One thing about using cast bullets that's difficult to accept is oversizing. It's possible but highly unlikely that you'll be able to stuff a sufficiently sized bullet in the throat of a barrel that would cause a Kaboom. That doesn't mean you can be lax about dimensions though. Something few do, but serious casters know MUST be done is slugging you bore before you start loading. It'll feel all wrong, but you WON"T hurt your gun if you have a bit of common sense. Pull the barrel from that 1911. Hose the inside down with something slick, whatever gun oil you use. Drop a bullet in the chamber nose first and with a punch drive it through the barrel. GENTLY!!! and be sure not to let the punch beat against the side of your bore. Now, measure the bullet you drove through and add .001-.002. Anymore than two thousandths will be counterproductive, as will anything less than one over. THAT figure is your sizing dimension. Because guns vary, so too must your sizing. For instance I have an Ishapore rifle in 7,62x51 NATO. Conventional wisom would say a .309 bullet for a .308 winchester would work. I run a .3115 bullet in that rifle. Dumb indians made an oversized bore and it happens.

What I'm trying to say is don't be rash. Take it slow and don't do anything drastic. I'm not an expert but I'll help if I can.

There's been a bit of interest in cast boolits here lately. Both in threads and private messages. I would really like to see a reloading and casting revival happen here at TGO. Who knows, we might even save some factory ammo sinners and baptize them in a lead pot!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I got a couple of Lee factory crimp dies last month to play with, but haven't needed to play with them yet. Only got them "just in case" I ever need em. So far the rounds all fit the case gage and they all run fine in pistols.

How would what the factory crimp die does, be different than what a size die would do to a slightly-bulged case?

Am not arguing, just curious.

Read some people comment that sometimes the Lee factory crimp die can tend to shave a little brass on bulged cases. But since I haven't messed with it yet, dunno nothin about it.

So if the bullet is a little big and makes too much bulge, would a Lee factory crimp die make a bullet too loose exactly the same as running it thru a sizing die? Or is there a subtle difference?

[Caster]

A factory crimp die does not bring it down near as tight as a sizing die. It's not as small in diameter. It was never meant to "size" anything as much as iron out any bulges.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks Caster.

[Caster]

In my more impetuous casting youth I tried removing the decapping pin from my sizer and doing just that. 50 rounds later it looked like a silver fairy took a dump in my barrel.