Ammo Question for .45 cc owners

T

thunter270

New member
I carry a Beretta PX4 Storm .45 for winter carry. From about October->March.
I always chamber a round + de-cock for conceal carry. When I come home, I eject the round + place it back in the magazine.
After chambering + ejecting the ammo multiple times. The ammo seems to fall apart. The bullet dislodging from the brass + the powder spilling all over.
I always eject my round on a soft surface, like my bed.
Every season now, I am losing about 3 rounds of ammo.
I am using CorBon .45 +P 200grain JHP's.
Is this a bad batch of ammo?
Does .45 caliber tend to do this because of it's large diameter?
This has never happened to any of my 9mm ammo.
I have been CC for 15 years now.

Anyway, I just purchased a box of Mag Tech Guardian Gold .45 +P 185gr JHP + a box of Remington Golden Saber .45 +P 185gr JHP. Just to see how they work out.
 
I've never had any of my SD ammo "fall apart", but my carry gun is a .40 S&W, not a .45 ACP. The only thing that happens to my .40 S&W CorBon is that after several dozen ejections/re-chamberings, the overall length will shorten insignificantly (on the order of one or two thousandths).
 
Look closely @ the bullet, are there equally spaced..

marking as if the bullet is impacting/touching the rifling lands??

It sounds like the bullet is tigh in the lands and the extraction from the chamber is slowly pulling the bullet.

Take one new round, measure OAL with caliper bullet tip to case head & write it down, load into mag and chamber, extract and remeasure, you should see a difference.
Which mean that the barrel has no leade [ tapering of lands outward to chamber. The .45ACP headspaces on the case mouth, so thats where the lands should "rise" from then taper to proper depth to engrave the bullet OR
the chamber is specific for a particular bullet profile. Contact the manufacturer and confirm what ammo to use.
 
My primary carry gun is a Wilson Combat 1911 (a 5" in .45 acp ...)

......and I only carry it with Federal Hydra Shok ammo in 230gr ...and I've never had that issue show up ....in several years...

When I carry it to the range...I'm often dropping my carry ammo out of the chamber and the mag ...and replacing it with range ammo (FMJ) ...and after my practice session with that gun - then I wipe the gun down / put the carry ammo back into the mag ...and put the gun back in my holster to head home..or to dinner or whatever...

when I get home, the gun gets cleaned....ammo comes out of the mag...mag gets wiped down...../ gun reassembled ...and the gun and mag gets reloaded with carry ammo ....and goes back in the safe...

but I think you have a weapon problem ....not an ammo problem.../ I think jroth hit the answer .....
 
You need to replace the round you've been chambering about every 3-5 cycles, and use it for practice. The bullet is being driven in the case slightly when it hits the feed ramp. This is not uncommon.
 
I carry a Beretta PX4 Storm .45 for winter carry. From about October->March.
I always chamber a round + de-cock for conceal carry. When I come home, I eject the round + place it back in the magazine.
After chambering + ejecting the ammo multiple times. The ammo seems to fall apart. The bullet dislodging from the brass + the powder spilling all over.
I always eject my round on a soft surface, like my bed.
Click to expand...

Handloads? Sounds like the taper crimp needs to be tighter.
 
.45 ammo

You need to replace the round you've been chambering about every 3-5 cycles, and use it for practice. The bullet is being driven in the case slightly when it hits the feed ramp. This is not uncommon.
Moxie, Is this common, just with .45acp?
I have some 9mm ammo that is 10->15 years old and this has never happened to any of them.
 
I never rechamber a round I'm using for carry. The carry gun stays loaded. If I eject the chambered round it is put away for use at my next range session.

To make this policy financially practical I carry with a generic HP in the chamber and a magazine full of premium HP behind it. I have tested function of this loading arrangement many times to satisfy myself of the reliability,

That's when I carry and bottom feeder. When carrying a revolver, the "good stuff" is in every chamber.
 
Any particular reason you de-chamber that round when you get home? Seems like not doing that would solve the problem right there.
 
Any particular reason you de-chamber that round when you get home? Seems like not doing that would solve the problem right there
Click to expand...

I have to agree with the above post. If your ammo is "falling apart", it doesn't sound like setback is the issue, more like the crimp isn't tight enough.
 
thunter,
It's more common with .45 but can happen with other calibers, and can vary by brand/type. A solution is to measure a round that's been used against a new one with a dial caliper. If there is setback, relegate to the range box. You can eyeball the round next to a good one too and get a reasonable idea whether it's become shorter. Search the net and you'll find more.
 
Post#6

Handloads? Sounds like the taper crimp needs to be tighter.
Click to expand...

OP

I am using CorBon .45 +P 200grain JHP's.
Click to expand...

OP

I am using all factory loads. Ammo type is in opening thread.
Click to expand...

moxie

Post #13

thunter,

It's more common with .45 but can happen with other calibers, and can vary by brand/type. A solution is to measure a round that's been used against a new one with a dial caliper. If there is setback, relegate to the range box. You can eyeball the round next to a good one too and get a reasonable idea whether it's become shorter. Search the net and you'll find more.
Click to expand...


I think that may have to do with the "aspect ratio" of the shell thickness.

A better explanation?

A 9mm/.355" shell (to wide) will not fit in a .357 chamber revolver. The 9mm/.355" shell is bigger/wider than the .357" shell is more narrow than the .355"/9mm shell.

There's more to it, but you figure it out what I'm talking about.:rolleyes:
 
A 9mm/.355" shell (to wide) will not fit in a .357 chamber revolver. The 9mm/.355" shell is bigger/wider than the .357" shell is more narrow than the .355"/9mm.
Click to expand...

How so?

The 9mm fires a .355 jacketed round, or a .356 lead bullet. The .357 fires a .357 jacketed bullet, or .358 lead bullets. The .357 Magnum case is wider and thicker than the 9mm case.
 
Curious why you unload when you get home?

Either way, as people have mentioned, replace a round after you've cycled it several times. I've never had an issue like yours but I do switch out rounds after I've cycled them several times.
 
The 9mm fires a .355 jacketed round, or a .356 lead bullet. The .357 fires a .357 jacketed bullet, or .358 lead bullets. The .357 Magnum case is wider and thicker than the 9mm case.
Click to expand...

No, actually it's not. .357 Magnum is a straight-walled case with an OD of .379" while a 9mm case is tapered from .391" to .380".
 
No, actually it's not. .357 Magnum is a straight-walled case with an OD of .379" while a 9mm case is tapered from .391" to .380".
Click to expand...

Well explained. All a person has to do is try to put a 9mm shell into a .357 chamber.

It's interesting when you put a GDHP .38spl +P 125g round next to a GDHP 9mm +P 124g round to only realize the little 9mm has around 30% more energy coming out of a handgun barrel.

It's obvious because of the wall thickness is .022" (38spl) to .035" (9mm) at the rim.

FYI, all these number aren't exact.
 
OP, your rounds are setting back because they are defective. Any ammo that exhibits this should never be used. The reason they are setting back is simply because the inside dia. of the cases are being expanded way too much. The type or amount of crimp has nothing to do with the problem and will not stop it from happening. The crimp's purpose is NOT hold the bullet tightly in place. It cannot by itself hold the bullet tightly enough to prevent setback or pull in a revolver. Bullets are held in place by case neck tension. On a cartridge like the .45 ACP the pressures are low enough that a slight increase from setback rarely if ever causes a problem. On a cartridge like the .40 or 10mm or .357 SIG it can get into very dangerous levels very quickly. The all manufacturers have been turning out this junk for some time now and seem to believe they are free of any responsibility from injuries if a gun blows while firing their loads. Maybe legally they are but it is completely irresponsible IMO. I have personally seen factory rounds with no primer hole in the case, primers inserted sideways or backwards, or bullets that are so loose you can push them back into the case with your finger. These include companies like Winchester and Federal. Trusting your life to ammo this poor is like ignoring your brakes when they start to make scary noises. And this is precisely why I will never use factory ammo for any purpose, including carry use. Reloaders know how to assemble rounds that WILL NOT set back. It's not rocket science folks, it's simply paying attention to tolerances instead of daily production quotas. If we keep accepting their lame excuses and buying their junk they will keep making it. If you get a box of rounds with any sort of defect return it and complain directly to the company that made it. If you are really needing to clear and reload your gun frequently then try to not rechamber the same round repeatedly. You should be able to do so but as you have seen you can't place your trust in the companies that produce this stuff. Take the round out of the chamber and keep it away from the other rounds.
 
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Trusting your life to ammo this poor is like ignoring your brakes when they start to make scary noises. And this is precisely why I will never use factory ammo for any purpose, including carry use.
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The reason the bullets are getting set back is because of being slammed repeatedly into a feed ramp. Not because it is of poor quality.

Ammunition is not designed for such abuse. What is happening is exactly the same thing that happens with an inertial puller--only in reverse.

My duty/off duty/carry pistol is a Colt 1911. Since I have been with my department, we have issued the following carry rounds: Federal 230 grain Hydra-Shok; Winchester RA45T (Ranger SXT) and Speer 230 grain Gold Dot. I will load the pistol--and it STAYS that way, cocked and locked, until I either shoot it or do maintenance on it.

Here's a tip--to prevent damage to my duty ammo, when I reload the pistol I will ease the slide forward, allowing the round to chamber gently.

(Uh-oh...I can hear the cries and screams now..."Heresy! Foul practice! For shame!!! HOW DARE YOU?!? :eek::eek::mad::eek::eek:)

I do this because this pistol chambers as smooth as silk. There is absolutely NO feel or sound of the round hitting the feed ramp. It simply slides into the chamber. It does that even when I let the slide go SLOWLY forward.

Once the slide is in battery, I visually inspect. It is not hard to verify that the slide is fully forward on a 1911 handgun.

(Side note...that's a hallmark of Colt pistols...smooth and proper feeding. :))

If your rounds are slamming into the feed ramp hard enough to push the bullet in, your problems are NOT the ammunition. Check your magazines for spring tension and a good follower. Check the feed lips as well.

Is your magazine catch notch worn, allowing the magazine to sit lower than normal? This will cause the round to hit the feed ramp at a steep angle.

Finally, what kind of spring are you running? A heavier spring will actually cause the round to tip forward and slam into the feed ramp.

Or--it just might be your loading practice. Once you have the pistol loaded and decocked, LEAVE IT THAT WAY. There is no reason to constantly load and unload a pistol that much.
 
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