Reloading Questions

[greener]

I bought a Lee Pro 1000 around Thanksgiving because it seemed to be one that would do what I needed. I've had no problems loading 125 gr lrn rounds for my M&P or 158gr lrn .38 special. And I've had no problems with .45 200 gr lswc. Set the dies according to the instructions, make sure you are actually adding powder and you make bullets that load and fire.

Not so with the Speer 230 gr lrn's I've tried. Set up according to the instructions and use a round that chambers and I guarantee I can't get the rist bullet I make to fit. I've even made up rounds without primer or powder and used them to adjust the die settings. I get very inconsistent chambering. I've reset the length to just above the min OAL, scrubbed the brass and round and still can't get 3 in a row to chamber. I've used the barrel as a gauge and when I get what looks good, most won't chamber when I cycle them through the magazine. I just tried a factory crimp die and that didn't seem to help.

The speer bullet seems to be blunter than the 230gr FMJ's I have. Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong or things to look at, other than don't use speer bullets?

[DancesWithSquirrels]

When you say the rounds "won't chamber" do you really mean they will not fit in the chamber even if you insert them by hand? Or are you referring to them not feeding properly from the magazine when you release the slide? I guess I am assuming here that you are shooting a semi-auto 45 and not a revolver.

If you are within specification as to OAL and are not exceeding the maximum then you should at least be able to feed the round into the chamber by hand. The .45 ACP headspaces on the mouth of the case so unless you have cases that have stretched excessively they should chamber.

You may just have a gun that doesn't like the particular bullet profile you are loading. That could be due to feed ramp, magazine, or other things about the design of your gun. You might want to try a 230 gr LRN from a different manufacturer with a more rounded profile. It is not unusual for semi-autos to be finicky about the bullets they shoot, not just from an accuracy standpoint but also from a feed standpoint.

DWS

[Blindpig]

Greener, I keep telling you that you can't continue to feed that M&P 9mm those .45 caliber rounds. They're just a little too large. I know B&OM does this but he uses magic.
All kidding aside, what .45 pistol are you using?

[bearandoldman]

Greener, I keep telling you that you can't continue to feed that M&P 9mm those .45 caliber rounds. They're just a little too large. I know B&OM does this but he uses magic.
All kidding aside, what .45 pistol are you using?

No magic and no excessive force required, just get a bigger hammer and a bigger guy to swing it. The bullets are led and will extrude if enough pressure is applied.

[greener]

Sorry, I was not clear. By "not chamber" I meant will not fully seat in the chamber and the slide does not close completely. They appear to fit when I use the barrel as a gauge.

Pistol is a Taurus 1911B. Shoots any factory or factory reloaded round I've tired. Shoot lswc's I've reloaded.

I'm beginning to think that the Speer bullet is causing the problem. It seems to be blunter than the FMJ round I have.

BP: You mean I can't use them interchangeably. They look the same: brass on one end and round lead thingy on the other end.

Len: It's either a hammer or an excuse to see if they fit in the revolver I don't have....yet.

[greener]

Greener, I keep telling you that you can't continue to feed that M&P 9mm those .45 caliber rounds. They're just a little too large. I know B&OM does this but he uses magic.
All kidding aside, what .45 pistol are you using?

No magic and no excessive force required, just get a bigger hammer and a bigger guy to swing it. The bullets are led and will extrude if enough pressure is applied.

Wonder if a half-inch pipe and the pointy end of a masonary hammer will work.

[Bullseye]

Greener,

My first inclination is the crimp isn't set right in your seating die. But you said you also used the factory crimp die and that didn't make a difference. The Lee dies have a roll crimp built into them and by varying the die position you adjust the crimp setting.

I've also had some problems in the past where the shell plate carrier is moving on the piston. Tightening the allen screw that holds the shell plate on the piston usually fixes this problem.

When the cartridge won't seat, what does the round look like when you extract it? Are there rifling grooves in the lead? If there are grooves, then your bullet isn't seated deeply enough for your barrel with that style/brand of bullet.

Hope one of these suggestions helps.

R,
Bullseye

[greener]

It may be a combination of both, Bullseye. I checked several rounds for OAL and they varied some. Could be the shell plate is wobbling and may be doing so under full load. That may explain how I can make two bullets, individually and have them fit.

I set the bullet seating die according to Lee's instructions using a round that worked. I may have set the crimp too much and the depth too far. Tonight, I reversed that. I took a dummy round, set the seating depth until I had one that fit in the barrel and then moved the die (seating rod up) until it came in contact with the bullet. Made two dummies that worked.

I will try to load some rounds tomorrow to see if I fixed it are am just back in my old problem. I spent as much "quality time" as I could stand unmaking the bullets I loaded before. It's a heck of a lot less fun than unmaking them by ejecting the brass out the side and the bullet out the barrel with accompanying loud noise. Still, it is a way to hammer out your frustrations.

[bearandoldman]

It may be a combination of both, Bullseye. I checked several rounds for OAL and they varied some. Could be the shell plate is wobbling and may be doing so under full load. That may explain how I can make two bullets, individually and have them fit.

I set the bullet seating die according to Lee's instructions using a round that worked. I may have set the crimp too much and the depth too far. Tonight, I reversed that. I took a dummy round, set the seating depth until I had one that fit in the barrel and then moved the die (seating rod up) until it came in contact with the bullet. Made two dummies that worked.

I will try to load some rounds tomorrow to see if I fixed it are am just back in my old problem. I spent as much "quality time" as I could stand unmaking the bullets I loaded before. It's a heck of a lot less fun than unmaking them by ejecting the brass out the side and the bullet out the barrel with accompanying loud noise. Still, it is a way to hammer out your frustrations.

Rob, I use a Leee 4 die set with a seperate crimp die, itt does make on more operation of the job, but it works. Measure the case slightly below the bullet, after crimping it shouls be.470 or less, if my memeory is still good, us old guys have a memory problem at times eh?

[jaeger45]

HORNADY LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO PROGRESSIVE PRESS

I'm helping a friend get started in reloading. He's starting at the ground floor. He'll be shooting a .30-06 mainly for hunting, and I guess-- for target shooting later. Hunting for big game will probably be once or twice a year, at the most; a trip to the range to get that itch off the finger will definitely be oftener. Like the rest of us, he will soon be reloading pistol ammo once the bug bites him...

NOW. Hornady is offering a sweet deal: the Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive press for $380 + 1000 free bullets for a shipping of $21.95, offer good till end of this year. That 1000 Hornady bullets really sweetens up the pot. It's offered through Cabela's.

Tthe progressive press looks sturdy enough. He cannot afford to buy a separate single stage for rifle ammo. He plans to use the Hornady as single stage when reloading the big calibers. Since I use a single stage Rock Chucker for rifle cartridges, can a progressive press even if used as single on an occasional basis really do the job satisfactorily and stay in shape without the fittings loosening up?

[greener]

I think my problem is Taurus barrel. I don't have the correct nomenclature, but I think the receiver end of the barrel is too tight and the ridge where the rifling starts is a smidge too short. I've thought about taking it to a smith for a bit of adjustment, or just trying another barrel. Rounds that don't fully chamber in the Taurus or "stick" tightly when they do, work perfectly in a Kimber and a Ruger P90. I haven't found the "aha, that's it" measurement for reloads that fit the Taurus but a shorter OAL and being aggressive on the crimp seems to do better.

I'm about ready to take the barrel to a smith, but I'm not sure what I'd ask him to do other than make it bigger.

[bearandoldman]

I think my problem is Taurus barrel. I don't have the correct nomenclature, but I think the receiver end of the barrel is too tight and the ridge where the rifling starts is a smidge too short. I've thought about taking it to a smith for a bit of adjustment, or just trying another barrel. Rounds that don't fully chamber in the Taurus or "stick" tightly when they do, work perfectly in a Kimber and a Ruger P90. I haven't found the "aha, that's it" measurement for reloads that fit the Taurus but a shorter OAL and being aggressive on the crimp seems to do better.

I'm about ready to take the barrel to a smith, but I'm not sure what I'd ask him to do other than make it bigger.

Rob, how does the gun run with factory FMJ loads? check the crimp diameter on a factory load. The shape of the bullet nose will sometimes cause you to shorten the OAL, I have found in my LSWC loads the if I leave about .030 of the bullet base above the brass and crimp to .470 or .469 they run fine in all 3 of my guns. When you are setting up just tailor the bullet to the barrel. Remove the barrel and try the loads, when they are flush with the breech face they should be good to go, ya old coot, must be warm enough to go fishing down there pretty soon.

[greener]

I think my problem is Taurus barrel. I don't have the correct nomenclature, but I think the receiver end of the barrel is too tight and the ridge where the rifling starts is a smidge too short. I've thought about taking it to a smith for a bit of adjustment, or just trying another barrel. Rounds that don't fully chamber in the Taurus or "stick" tightly when they do, work perfectly in a Kimber and a Ruger P90. I haven't found the "aha, that's it" measurement for reloads that fit the Taurus but a shorter OAL and being aggressive on the crimp seems to do better.

I'm about ready to take the barrel to a smith, but I'm not sure what I'd ask him to do other than make it bigger.

Rob, how does the gun run with factory FMJ loads? check the crimp diameter on a factory load. The shape of the bullet nose will sometimes cause you to shorten the OAL, I have found in my LSWC loads the if I leave about .030 of the bullet base above the brass and crimp to .470 or .469 they run fine in all 3 of my guns. When you are setting up just tailor the bullet to the barrel. Remove the barrel and try the loads, when they are flush with the breech face they should be good to go, ya old coot, must be warm enough to go fishing down there pretty soon.

I haven't found a factory load or reload that doesn't fit perfectly. I haven't bought any FMJ to reload and test. I use factory ammo for initial set up and then adjust.

The factory ammo is 0.470-0.471 at the case mouth. My reloads are 0.468-0.469. The factory FMJ is 1.25X OAL. My best with CMJ flat nose is 1.19 OAL. SWC's are longer, but I'm loading them <0.030 base above the case mouth. I use the barrel as a gauge for almost every round loaded. I then assemble the pistol and cycle rounds from the magazine (no holes in the workbench, yet). Thursday night I was doing it with both the Taurus and the P90. Tight fits in the Taurus darn near rattle around in the P90.

Fishing reports have been pretty good. Reports of good bass catches and the usual 30-50lb blue cats from the James. I haven't gone yet. Been out watching youngest's college rugby team and the weather has been lousy over the past few weekends. Windy, cold (under 50). Even had to watch in the sleet last weekend. The ony "fishing" I've done is my usual support of the tackle industry.

It has been raining today. For you folks in the far north of Michigan, that's what snow looks like when it melts in the air after leaving the cloud and you don't have to shovel it; the stuff you'll see in June or July. Trying to decide whether to go out today in the rain and try my latest attempts at reloading and to find out if the P90 was a good deal.

[bearandoldman]

Rob, it sounds like you are in the ballpark and maybe in the section your seat is in. Maybe you have even found the seat now. I do not check OAL, I only reload 200 LSWC's so I just set the bullet where it sets the flat about .030 above the case and set the crimp .469 and go with that. They run fine in all 3 of my SA 1911's, but one of the guns does have a slightly tighter camber than the others but I ca no remember which one at the time. My loads will run well in any of the pistols. Shot one of the Taurus 1911's at the range last fall and though it was a very good p[stol for the price it was selling for. It was one of their rental guns that they wanted me to try out.
Best thing about rain is you do not have to shovel it and it is warmer too. Fishing for them big cats must e fun.

[greener]

After much fussing around, I think I've about figured it out.

I've only caught the little cats, biggest about 10 lbs. The folks who catch the big blues really have to work for it.