Believe This Or Not

T

TOPKICK

New member
I'm breaking away from my usual funny stuff posts to get you guys to comment on this.
I've seen many posts here on bullet performance, penetration tests, velocity vs. bullet weight vs. caliber and on and on.
See what you think of this. Recently, some of us were out shooting and we had a new guy with us. He talked me into shooting some of his hand loads in .45 ACP. I didn't think to much about it at first, but just in case I used my old AMT Govt. Model with his ammo. I noticed a little more recoil and asked what load did he use. 5.0 gr. of W231 with a 220 lead wad cutter, he said. Then he stated that he had trouble with this round chambering somtimes and that a friend of his had told him to ROLL CRIMP the case and that took care of the problem! After straightening him out on this issue we went down range to check our targets. We had set up some junk 30lb propane tanks at about 35 yds.(EMPTY OF COURSE) Looking over the tanks, we found .45 holes in the front, and jagged 3" or more in the back!!!! WE dug around in the dirt to try and find a spent slug, but found nothing much looking like a .45. With this roll crimp on this bullet and the resulting high pressure, wonder what the velocity was on those screamers. Also I noticed that his Colt was way looser than it should have been.!!!!

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Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
Sounds to me like he was using some dangerously HOT loads!!!! :eek:
Be very careful shooting with him!!!!

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Just as there is no such thing as too much fun,
there is no such thing as owning just one gun!!!

Now, go do the right thing, and buy that Walther!!
 
Right!!!!! I won't shoot them! But then again, if I had a realy, realy strong gun, what a defense load huh? :) :) :)

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Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
That's funny, it must be the roll crimp cuz I use that exact load for my government 1911s and it is very mild...1.255 OAL..

The idea of roll crimping scares me...at least in this case.
 
To BB, Hi!
A roll crimp is actually "Rolled" into the Bullet. Sometimes even cutting into it, holding the bullet very tightly at the case mouth. Auto loaders should never fire Roll-crimped cases. Only "taper" crimps.

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Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
I use a slight roll crimp on a 200 gr. cast semi-wad with 5.6 gr. of 231, with no problem. It's in the manuals. As to the crimp, there is so much variance in the length of .45 ACP brass that they can't headspace uniformly on the case anyway, unless you trim them all to the same length. The extractor will hold the case to the rear. I wouldn't recommend a heavy roll crimp, but some will promote more efficient powder burning. Reddog
 
I just re-read the original post and realized he said "220 gr." and "wadcutter", rather than 200 gr. semi-wad. If it was a full wadcutter, seated fully, as most wadcutters are, it probably would create excessive pressure. My mistake. Reddog
 
What does the roll crimp do? Cause the bullet to remain in the casing longer allowing more pressure to build behind it? That's just an ignorant guess. Please educate me.
 
To Rugerguy-Yep. I learn so much hear!:)

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Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
First off - NEVER ROLL CRIMP cartridges that headspace off the case mouth. Almost all auto cartridges headspace off the case mouth. When you roll crimp you are rolling the case mouth into the bullet slightly to hold the bullet tighter. This has two effects:

1. Holds bullet tighter
2. Pressure goes up. Way up.

In .357 Magnum loads, I roll crimp with 296 powder to promote proper burn of the powder. You can do this because most revoler cartridges headspace off the cartridge rim. With auto cases, like 9mm or .45 ACP, you should only taper crimp. This allows proper headspacing and keeps pressure within limits.

Please post here where and when your friend is shooting so I can be as far away as possible! He will likely get a broken gun very soon.
 
Well said Mr. Young! Thats what I relayed to the new guy in our shooting group, more or less. Hopefully he won't be using any more of those loads-----ever. Said he didn't have any more of of them anyway.

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Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
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