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Reloading .45 acp

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Froogal:
Got my new brass and started in turning it into ammo. Thought I could just use the same 200 grain, RNFP .452 diameter lead bullets that I use for my .45 Colt. Only issue I encountered is the correct C.O.L. for .45 acp leaves the crimp groove exposed. Probably won't be a problem, but what say all of you?

August:
Published COL usually doesn't work in a particular pistol.  The ogive of 45 acp bullets gives a lot of clearance relative to the bore of the pistol.  If the shank of your 45 Long Colt's bullets is above the case mouth, they will not chamber. 

Correct seating is to have the entire shank of the bullet below the casemouth, so that the bullet clears the lands when chambered.   45 acp bullets are designed specifically for the chamber dimensions of the Colt's 1911.   Autoloading pistols have little flexibility for out of spec ammo.

1. Get 45 acp bullets and abandon your "experiment" with improper bullets.
2. Make a dummy round (no primer, no powder) and check that it chambers and the pistol will go to battery when it is chambered.
3. Apply no additional crimping -- proper sizing ensures correct bullet tension.
4. Always bear in mind that the 45 acp headspaces on the casemouth, and that the 'freebore' is zero for all intents and purposes.
5. When your dummy round cycles and chambers in the pistol,  make a small run of live ammo and head to the range.

Stoppages in the 45 acp are ammo related most of the time.  The most common reason for such stoppages are rounds where the bullet is not seated far enough into the case.   

Froogal:
I have since found out that bullets seated to the recommended C.O.L. will not even fit into the magazine. I will return the loading bench and seat those bullets a bit deeper so that I can use them, but I will also be shopping for lead bullets designed for the .45 acp.

Live and learn.

Advertising:

Tronicst1:
I use a .451" 230 GR XTP over 7 GR of Ramshot Silhouette with a COL of 1.240 ". So far so good.

Froogal:
Okay! I went back to the press and seated those bullets to a C.O.L. of 1.155. Loaded 7 into a magazine and stepped out the back door. They worked just fine. NO problems with chambering.

200 grain, .452, lead round nose flat point over 5.4 grains of Winchester 244.

I even found all 7 empty shells.

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