Help with SWC load for 1911

[blockfort]

Don't go shorter, go longer, 1.250 at least. The longer the bullet, the more shallow the angle into the barrel.

And crimp more, enough so that you can't really feel the transition between the case and the bullet. it has to be smooth.

[stand125]

And crimp more, enough so that you can't really feel the transition between the case and the bullet. it has to be smooth.

Where did this advise come from????

You want to just remove the bell and at the most a slight crimp according to every manual out there. Less crimp is better as long as the bell is removed. When I started I did what most people did and crimped to much assuming that it would hold the bullet better. once I backed off the crimp to just a slight crimp I noticed a big improvement in accuracy and feeding. I crimp mine now to where I can barely see a mark around the bullet after I pull one to check my crimp setting.

[blockfort]

Where did this advise come from????

You want to just remove the bell and at the most a slight crimp according to every manual out there. Less crimp is better as long as the bell is removed. When I started I did what most people did and crimped to much assuming that it would hold the bullet better. once I backed off the crimp to just a slight crimp I noticed a big improvement in accuracy and feeding. I crimp mine now to where I can barely see a mark around the bullet after I pull one to check my crimp setting.

I heard it from the guy who runs the IDPA and IPSC matches at a range near me. Everyone refers to him as the 1911 expert. When my loads were jamming in my gun, he found that to be the culprit and his advice worked for me.

[J-cat]

You can't just tell him to go longer without knowing the exact bullet profile. Not all SWC are the same. They have different length noses and shanks. You cannot load a #130 profile bullet to the same OAL as a #68 and expect the gun go work. What brand of bullet and specifically what profile are you using?

With that said, a #68 needs 1.250" to run, generally. Also, slide velocity can help or hurt your cause. I would increase the OAL to 1.250" and see if it chambers. Then play with the powder charge.

I crimp mine to .472" and that's enough in my guns. If you overcrimp, you will buckle the case and it will feed poorly. Use the thin part of your calipers to measur the very edge of the case mouth.

[artichokie]

You can't just tell him to go longer without knowing the exact bullet profile. Not all SWC are the same. They have different length noses and shanks. You cannot load a #130 profile bullet to the same OAL as a #68 and expect the gun go work. What brand of bullet and specifically what profile are you using?

With that said, a #68 needs 1.250" to run, generally. Also, slide velocity can help or hurt your cause. I would increase the OAL to 1.250" and see if it chambers. Then play with the powder charge.

I crimp mine to .472" and that's enough in my guns. If you overcrimp, you will buckle the case and it will feed poorly. Use the thin part of your calipers to measur the very edge of the case mouth.

It looks like #68, i got off another calgunner here. I loaded some with an OAL 1.250 and the same charge, 5.4g 231. Crimp is .470. Haven't shot it yet, i'll try them out next trip.

Thanks

[Bill Steele]

It looks like #68, i got off another calgunner here. I loaded some with an OAL 1.250 and the same charge, 5.4g 231. Crimp is .470. Haven't shot it yet, i'll try them out next trip.

Thanks

That should work fine. All of my 200gr LSWC are cast in the #68 pattern. It had been a while since I loaded these rounds, but I had a few thousand in the drawer that I had not shot yet, so I checked the dimensions. The shortest I had loaded was 1.250" and the longest 1.270", these all feed in all my 1911's and my G21SF. My crimp is always .469-.470" with lead and .45ACP.

If your gun won't feed the rounds you now have, keep your crimp at where it is and try loading just a little longer, say out to 1.260". If that doesn't work, you might check out the Wilson Combat videos on breaking the sharp edge of the mouth/chamber junction slightly, or have a smith do that for you.

Good luck, have fun.

[stand125]

I heard it from the guy who runs the IDPA and IPSC matches at a range near me. Everyone refers to him as the 1911 expert. When my loads were jamming in my gun, he found that to be the culprit and his advice worked for me.

The guy actually said to crimp it enough to basically remove any difference between the case width and the bullet width. I thought that 45acp Head spaced of the case mouth and to much crimp will cause issues. I would be carefull about giving out info from one expert that goes against what every manual on the planet states as proper procedure.

[Longhill]

Besides the ammo, have the barrel throated.
Mil spec is usually for ball ammo.

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/reliability_secrets.htm