Loading .45 ACP Questions

1
Hey folks,
I just got some dies for .45 ACP, and I have a couple questions I was hoping someone could answer...
- For context, I'm loading 230 grain XTP HP projectiles with pretty minimum to medium charges (5.1-5.5 gr of Unique) in Winchester cases.
-When crimping, It looks like the desired taper crimp is .475" or so. Is it dangerous to crimp more? I made a mistake and accidentally crimped a couple at .450" when the lockring came loose on my crimp die ... Would this extra crimp cause an overpressure? Am I being paranoid?

-I'm getting a bit of setback when chambering my dummy round (made for testing). COAL started out at 1.230" (load data recommended) and ended up at 1.220" after chambering and ejecting. My gun is a Rock Island 1911 so not the most slicked out, but it generally feeds well. Should I worry about the setback with these rounds? I've noticed that even factory ammo sets back a few thousandths when the nose meets the feedramp... Any way to minimize this?

-Factory Winchester rounds are 1.226" COAL, so I could set these XTP's out to 1.240 and assume that the chambering setback will put them right where I want them at 1.230''?

Thanks, any advice is appreciated. This is my first time loading pistol rounds.
Crow
Minute Of Average

Re: Loading .45 ACP Questions

3
The answers to your questions are all "Definitely maybe."

For most, but not all .45 acp pistols, the cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. My biggest worry when crimping is somehow screwing up the ability of the most of the case to arrest forward movement of the case when hit by the firing pin. The .45 acp case is never as long as it is supposed to be, and during repeated reloading, the case will actually shorten. If you use a lot of crimp, you might effectively shorten the case further. You might also restrict early movement of the bullet out of the case, in a way that might improve, or hurt, accuracy. There are lots of discussions on the Bullseye discussion forum on what effect more or less crimp has on bullets in .45 acp cases. Most of the people who like a lot of crimp are using Lead bulllets. With copper jacketed bullets the crimp is used mostly to just straighten out the case mouth flair. The maximum crimp you describe is more than I have ever heard of used on a .45 acp.

Re: Loading .45 ACP Questions

4
hey just an update on this post:
-I went out and shot a bunch of different loads the other day, and I found that the "extreme" crimp rounds cycled and fired just fine, with no signs of overpressure. The best shooting rounds were the ones I loaded up after this post, crimped at .469" with the COAL at 1.240" to get the proper setback upon chambering. At 10 yards those were shooting dead center of target, point of aim. I also loaded up a few 230gr roundnose with Clays, and found that while it felt a lot like running a 9mm, my shots were about 12 inches low at 10 yards... so maybe the Clays is better kept for the shotgun.
thanks for all the advice.
Crow
Minute Of Average

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests