weird shape

[jlotta]

Soo, finally sunday the press got set up and off I went into the reloading abyss. Here's the problem: 1 reload out of the first 15 trials at the range, completely locked up my 1911, slide would not close completely and could not pull the slide to remove the round.
After some gentle persuasion I did remove it. It was shaped like an hourglass. Not that drastic but obviously enough to screw up.
Does anyone know what caused this?
I did 50 more today and I have 4 out of them that are the same (mis)shape.

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

What brass are you using?
Are the deformed brass different headstamps than the others?
By any chance is the mouth of the brass splayed outward or rolled that way?

My only SWAG, is an overbelled case mouth that either caught on the seating or crimp die causing this to happen. Could be defective brass.

I thought I had seen every type of bad load in a .45, but this is a new one to me!

Any chance of pictures?

 

[EddieCoyle]

In addition to what Big Daddy stated, three things can cause this:
1. Oversized bullets
2. Improperly seated bullets
3. Too much crimp


First, pull one of the bullets and measure it - it could be oversized. If it's lead it, it should be .452" in diameter, jacketed should be .451".

Second, are you belling the cases enough? Try increasing the amount of bell, and pay particular attention to the way you place the bullet on top of the case to make sure it's centered and straight before you try to seat it. With insufficient bell, an off-center bullet can go into a case canted as you seat it, causing the shape you're seeing.

Like Big Daddy says, make sure you're removing all of the bell with your taper crimp. Be careful though - over crimping the round can also cause the symptom you described. If a few of your cases are long, it would explain why it only happened a few times.

 

[Scrivener]

AFTER reviewing all of the above and correcting any deficiencies, buy a Lee Factor Crimp Die (FCD). They are one of the Unsung Bargains of Reloading.

It will cost you maybe $12 for a carbide die that not just crimps your cartridge, but full-length resizes it. This is a big help when you are shooting lead bullets particularly and A Good Thing generally.

I use them on all 3 autopistol caliber die sets and they reduce feeding failures significantly.

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

AFTER reviewing all of the above and correcting any deficiencies, buy a Lee Factor Crimp Die (FCD). They are one of the Unsung Bargains of Reloading.

It will cost you maybe $12 for a carbide die that not just crimps your cartridge, but full-length resizes it. This is a big help when you are shooting lead bullets particularly and A Good Thing generally.

I use them on all 3 autopistol caliber die sets and they reduce feeding failures significantly.

+100 Scrivener!

The Factory crimp die is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[EddieCoyle]

+100 Scrivener!

The Factory crimp die is the best thing since sliced bread.

Agreed (sort of). The Lee FCD is a Band Aid that fixes whatever it is that you're doing wrong. If everything else is done right, you shouldn't need to resize your cartridges as a last step.

 

[Scrivener]

Agreed (sort of). The Lee FCD is a Band Aid that fixes whatever it is that you're doing wrong. If everything else is done right, you shouldn't need to resize your cartridges as a last step.

Think of it as a redundant safety system as well as a crimp. A fail-safe IS a nice thing to have.

 

[matt]

Agreed (sort of). The Lee FCD is a Band Aid that fixes whatever it is that you're doing wrong. If everything else is done right, you shouldn't need to resize your cartridges as a last step.

The other benefit is to be able to independently seat the projectile and crimp. Much easier and more flexible adjustment. The full length sizing is the icing on the cake.

 

[Bugs100]

I was having the same problem even using the Lee FCD. In my case it took me a while to find the problem.

I was locking up my Colt 1911 and couldn't figure out why. I was using the same rounds in 5 other 45's. with out a problem.

I started checking every round by dropping them in to the cylinder of a 625 and they all were fine.

But even after doing that the Colt was still having problems. It was firing most of them but some times it wasn't going all the way in to battery or it would get a real bad jam.

I was using 200 Grain Truncated Cone Plain Base with a Standard Sizing of .452.

The edge of the truncated Cone bullet was engaging the rifling at a angle. This was happening even with the bullet seated at it's lowest depth. As a result I changed the bullets I was using and that fixed the problem.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

It's not practical for large volume reloading, but you might try running all your rounds through a case gauge until you have all the bugs worked out of your process. That should at least keep you from having the problem on the range you had.

 

[Nickle]

Think of it as a redundant safety system as well as a crimp. A fail-safe IS a nice thing to have.

Absolutely true. And, I'm generally not a fan of Lee equipment, but these are good (as well as their decapping die).

Not a replacement for good quality control, but a supplement.

And, I'll be one to tell you regular seater dies aren't the best crimp dies out there.

 

[IPSC_DRL]

Check the head-stamp of the offending rounds to see if it says “A-Merc”.
If it does, toss the brass. They make these from melted down hood ornaments and refrigerator name plates. It swells something awful and is hard to resize completely without something like a roll-sizer.

 

[GTOShootr]

I would case gage them. It sounds like the bulge towards the base of the case is not getting resized. A funny shape towards the top of the case with the seated bullet can be normal.

I'm not a fan of the FCD either.

 

[Scrivener]

I would case gage them. It sounds like the bulge towards the base of the case is not getting resized. A funny shape towards the top of the case with the seated bullet can be normal.

I'm not a fan of the FCD either.

In which case, it may be that the sizing die is not properly adjusted.

AND, a problem a properly-adjusted FCD would also cure.

 

[jlotta]

list of items used
dillon 550b
200 grain semi wad jacketed from collecter's in stoneham
bullsey powder
remington primers
all brass, winchester from wally world 100 packs
I messed with the funnell, and die #4 but I don't know if it helped yet

 

[jlotta]

sorry, RCBS carbide dies .45

 

[Scrivener]

The issue is not so much what you used, but HOW.

Review your procedure, starting with the adjustment of the dies.

 

[Nickle]

Review your procedure, starting with the adjustment of the dies.

Absolutely the way to go.

I've seen pros (those who do it for $$$) have their dies loosen up on them, and that includes me.

Checking adjustment applies double to a progressive setup, where the dies aren't constantly changed (removed and installed, swapping a Dillon plate doesn't "change" them).

When you have to redo a couple thousand rounds, you'll start checking them more.

 

[jlotta]

Thank you everyone,
I pretty much started from scratch and backed out the dies and reset all of them. I didn't want to make a lot before testing them, so, I made 25. They seem to be fine so far. I'll run them through the DK tomorrow.
BTW, all of these heads are different in size and weight. Not by huge amounts, but
different.