Problem with my cast bullets....

[KimberPB]

HELP! lol

I loaded up 100 rounds from my first batch of cast bullets and took them to the range Sunday. I was happy with the accuracy but had several feeding issues. I had several that stove piped when being chambered. You can see a mark on the bullet were it first made contact with the ramp but just under that the case mouth was getting snagged and crushed. I think this is causing it to skip off the ramp causing the round to stove pipe. Have any of you had this problem? The bullet does have a slight shoulder to it so I'm wondering if I need to seat the bullet out some more. Right now I'm seating it a 1.26 OAL, which has the shoulder about flush with the case.

Also, I did notice some leading the entire length of the barrel.

 

[SShearer]

Could use some more info. on what your shooting and what your shooting it out of. Without knowing that I'd say first try some other magazines, if that doesn't help try another gun of the same make and model to narrow down the problem. Also with that much leading your bullets may be too soft or your pushing them too fast or a combo of both , again I don't know what they are or what they're loaded to.

 

[astute]

Leading is a fact of life you have to live with when shooting lead bullets. It's a price you pay for economy. I would recommend final crinping with a Lee Factory Crimp die. I have to seat my bullets as short as possible so they will go into the magazine, so I don't think length is the problem. The factory crimp die sizes the completed round back to factory specs overall and puts a nice taper crimp. I had some bullet tumbling problems with my 9mm, but my 45s seem to be just fine. Also make sure your magazines are clean and slide freely.

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[KimberPB]

Could use some more info. on what your shooting and what your shooting it out of. Without knowing that I'd say first try some other magazines, if that doesn't help try another gun of the same make and model to narrow down the problem. Also with that much leading your bullets may be too soft or your pushing them too fast or a combo of both , again I don't know what they are or what they're loaded to.

Sorry for the lack of info. I'm shooting (452 Diameter) 230 Grain Tumble Lube 2 Ogive Radius bullets out of my service size XD 45. Charged with 5.3 grains of accurate #2 (load data said 5.0 - 5.6) I've used this mag several times before with jacketed ball ammo and have had no issues with the mag or gun.

 

[KimberPB]

Leading is a fact of life you have to live with when shooting lead bullets. It's a price you pay for economy. I would recommend final crinping with a Lee Factory Crimp die. I have to seat my bullets as short as possible so they will go into the magazine, so I don't think length is the problem. The factory crimp die sizes the completed round back to factory specs overall and puts a nice taper crimp. I had some bullet tumbling problems with my 9mm, but my 45s seem to be just fine. Also make sure your magazines are clean and slide freely.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks astute. I did run these rounds through my Lee factory crimp die. I even dropped several into the chamber of my XD (barrel removed from the gun) to test the fit. All dropped in perfectly.

 

[SShearer]

When you say stove pipe, is the nose of the bullet actually sticking strait out of the hood with the slide closed on it? I've never seen one of those. The mouth of the case getting snagged while chambering makes me wonder if the bottom of your barrel is protruding past your ramp, I can't think of what else it would snag on. Are you putting a taper crimp on with your FCD? That should help it get past whatever it's snagging on. Does it happen when your chambering the first round or while your shooting? Also take a good look at your spent brass, look for signs of whats going on even if they worked fine they can tell you a lot.

 

[KimberPB]

When you say stove pipe, is the nose of the bullet actually sticking strait out of the hood with the slide closed on it? I've never seen one of those. The mouth of the case getting snagged while chambering makes me wonder if the bottom of your barrel is protruding past your ramp, I can't think of what else it would snag on. Are you putting a taper crimp on with your FCD? That should help it get past whatever it's snagging on. Does it happen when your chambering the first round or while your shooting? Also take a good look at your spent brass, look for signs of whats going on even if they worked fine they can tell you a lot.

Yep the bullet is perpendicular with the chamber with the bullet end out of the hood. Like you I've had this happen before. I have no idea what it's snagging on either. I took the gun apart inserted the mag and used the barrel to see if I could figure it out and it all looked ok. I do put about a .003" tapper crimp on the round. Have not had the issue chambering the first round only happens sporadically while shooting. I'm going to look over some of the other brass tonight and see if I see anything that might point to what’s going on.

I did find someone that left feedback on another site saying he had problems with this bullet in his XD also. I may give Lee a call and see what they say.

 

[SShearer]

I don't shoot the XD but I'd sure like to know what you find out, It almost sounds like the lips of the mag are releasing the round too soon. Keep us posted.

 

[astute]

Had the exact same thing happen last night at the range with my Taurus PT-145. I found that the fourth cartridge loaded in the mag I was using would hang up causing the second round to do just as you described since there was no feed pressure on the second round. My other mag worked fine. When I got home I took the Mag apart and thoroughly cleaned and lubed it with a light spray of Silicone. Problem solved. I've had to seat my bullets as short as possible to prevent the noses from occasionally touching the front of the mag and causing the same problem.

 

[KimberPB]

Had the exact same thing happen last night at the range with my Taurus PT-145. I found that the fourth cartridge loaded in the mag I was using would hang up causing the second round to do just as you described since there was no feed pressure on the second round. My other mag worked fine. When I got home I took the Mag apart and thoroughly cleaned and lubed it with a light spray of Silicone. Problem solved. I've had to seat my bullets as short as possible to prevent the noses from occasionally touching the front of the mag and causing the same problem.

Thanks for the heads up astute. I'll take a couple different mags with me next time and see if that resolves the issue.

 

[Red Hat]

PB, it's hard to diagnose the problem without the firearm in my hand but I think checking the mag is a good bet. You have the bullet seated within range. You may try seating it to the max overall length (1.275) instead of less and see what happens.

 

[KimberPB]

PB, it's hard to diagnose the problem without the firearm in my hand but I think checking the mag is a good bet. You have the bullet seated within range. You may try seating it to the max overall length (1.275) instead of less and see what happens.

Thanks Red Hat. I'm going to the range tomorrow with a buddy. I'm going to load some rounds tonight seated at 1.275 and also take a couple different mags with me. I'll let you all know if this helps at all.

Thanks again everyone.