45 reloading issue

[jerm8352]

Just got back from the range and had an issue with some reloaded 45 auto. Same issue happened last time but I thought it might have been due to my pistol not being cleaned in awhile. I had about 6 or so rounds out of the 100 I shot not chamber. I would pull the trigger and nothing happened. Waited for a hang fire and the opened the slide. The slide would be hard to open the round would eject and the rest would fire fine. I checked out the rounds that wouldn’t fire and they looked fine. I would then put them in the magazine and they would chamber properly and fire. One I had a hard time opening the slide when it didn’t fire and knocked the slide forward and it chambered. I have reloaded for this gun using for years and never had any problems. These bullets are 200 grain instead of 230 that I normally use but I have used 200 before and not had a problem. Any help would be awesome.

 

[wayno945]

Did you load it? How many times fired? Cases might be too long and needed trimming prior to loading.

 

[jerm8352]

I loaded it. Not sure exactly off the top of my head but they have been fired a few times.

 

[MThuntr]

Did you measure the ammo? I bet your ammo is on the edge of being too long or out of round. It's rare for brass to be too long but that could also be an issue after a bunch of reloading.

Take the barrel out and do the plonk test. Drop loaded round into chamber it should fall straight in without tension. If it doesn't chamber put it in the bullet seater die one more time. If that doesnt work give your seating stem in until it does fit.

 

[std7mag]

The cases are fine.
The bullets are seated too long.
The bullet is jamming into the rifling of the barrel.
Good news is your crimp was sufucient to hold the bullet in the casing when you extracted it.

 

[jerm8352]

Thanks for all the help

 

[p_ham]

If this is a 1911 it might be time to replace your recoil spring. Check for abnormal ejection distance..like waay further than it should. Ive had a few failures that were spring related.

Overall length, as stated above also.

 

[GlockZ]

I would check the case length and trim as necessary, check for worn recoil spring also.

 

[std7mag]

Case length isn't going to notably change on the 45ACP, being a straight walled case using only a taper crimp and a pressure limit of 21,000 psi.
Not like a bottleneck cartridge at 60,000 psi.

As for recoil spring.
Even a weakened recoil spring shouldn't keep the gun from going into battery.
And it definitely has no bearing on hard to extract.

 

[FLS]

I had a similar issue with some 45 ACP bullets being hard to chamber. They have a short bearing surface and it’s possible to get some bullets cocked off center a little when seating. This would make them hard to chamber but they would fire if the slide went completely into battery. I went to a Lyman M die for case mouth expansion and flaring and have never Never had an issue since.

 

[Millsworks]

Probably need to load up the powder charge a little. Sounds like not enough pressure to properly cycle.
Autos can be a pain that way.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Another thing you might check is your feed ramp. I had issues with my 1911 after many years of use. The feed ramp got a little rough, and then I cycled some cast lead bullets through it. The ramp got pretty gummy and I had similar issues; cartridges would feed, but get slightly hung up and it wouldn't go fully into battery. I ended up taking a buffing wheel for my dremel to it it with just a bit of polishing rouge. Fixed it straight away.

 

[jerm8352]

Thanks for the help. I will check it all out

 

[std7mag]

Again, neither of these would cause the hard to extract issue.

 

[44hunter45]

Just got back from the range and had an issue with some reloaded 45 auto. Same issue happened last time but I thought it might have been due to my pistol not being cleaned in awhile. I had about 6 or so rounds out of the 100 I shot not chamber. I would pull the trigger and nothing happened. Waited for a hang fire and the opened the slide. The slide would be hard to open the round would eject and the rest would fire fine. I checked out the rounds that wouldn’t fire and they looked fine. I would then put them in the magazine and they would chamber properly and fire. One I had a hard time opening the slide when it didn’t fire and knocked the slide forward and it chambered. I have reloaded for this gun using for years and never had any problems. These bullets are 200 grain instead of 230 that I normally use but I have used 200 before and not had a problem. Any help would be awesome.

How are you crimping? This sounds like the rounds may be being pushed too far into the chamber. Also plus one vote for the overall length being too long.
I solved all my crimp issues cheaply with a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die. I use them for every caliber I load now.

An easy test whether the bullet is engaging the rifling before the case mouth headspaces is to disassemble the weapon, then push each round into the chamber of the barrel with your thumb. I should fall back out when you tip the muzzle end of the barrel up.
If your rounds pass this test, look to recoil spring issues.

 

[std7mag]

And i'll say, yet again, recoil spring will have nothing to do with hard extraction.

 

[FLS]

I agree with the statement above, I’ll add that i seriously doubt your 45:ACP brass is growing. In the past I’ve shot a lot of 45ACP , 10-15 K a year, and have reloaded brass until the mouth split. I’ve NEVER had a piece grow in length. Your bullet is seated out to far or it’s cocked off center. I’d wager the later because of the hard extraction.

 

[Focus]

Get a Dillon case gauge for 45 ACP and gauge all your ammo. You’ll find very quickly the ones that are too long or have some burr or something that’s preventing them from chambering.

Bear with me for a minute......

I shoot Glocks and there’s this condition with 40 S&W called the “Glock bulge”. The case supposedly bulges because the casehead is unsupported. So there are companies that make pass-thru dies to swage the bulge out of the case.

Well, I never encountered it with any of the thousands of rounds of 40 I’ve loaded but have encountered it with 9mm.

And I figured it out when I started gauging my loaded ammo with the Dillon case gauge.

Now, any ammo I shoot in competition gets run through the case gauge....9, 40, 45, 10, doesn’t matter.

 

[std7mag]

Or you can save your money, pull the barrel out of your pistol and do a "plunk test".

I have seen and heard about cartridges passing the case gauge, but failing to chamber.
So why not use your actual chamber?