.45 reload not cycling properly

[carpy]

New to reloading. Loaded up some SWC 185g lead bullets with 4.8g of red dot. Made sure all measurements were within spec but didn't really bin by any measurements.

First 50 rounds I loaded shot and cycled fine.

Then loaded another 50 at 4.8 and another 50 at 5.0. Noticed for both loads that the slide frequently won't full close. It stops about 1/4 inch shy of fully closing. Noticed this when I pulled the trigger and it didn't fire. The firing pin never touched the primer.

Taking the barrel out the cartridge easily fits in the chamber and doesn't appear to hang up.

I have some ideas to figure out what it could be but interested for any advice.

Shooting these through a Ruger KP345.

Thanks,

Carpy

 

[Scrivener]

Does this happen with all your magazines, or just one particular mag?

 

[JohnFH]

I had a similer problem, turned out to be the brand of brass, the ejector slot was a weird size and wouldn't fit properly in any 1911 we tried it in.

 

[Gammon]

Check your crimp. If there is insufficient crimp on the round it is possible for the case mouth to actually scoop up powder residue when feeding. This powder residue will prevent the round from fully chambering. These improperly crimped rounds will usually feed OK until enough powder residue builds up to cause the feeding /chambering problem. This is why the problem usually occurs after firing 30 rounds or so.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Good advice here Carpy.

Get a case gage and check your rounds. That should make obvious what's off.

 

[Knob Creek]

Good advice here Carpy.

Get a case gage and check your rounds. That should make obvious what's off.

I had a resizing die in my Dillon 550 that backed out just enough so some cases would not chamber all the way.

 

[Bugs100]

I use a lot of Red Dot, the one thing I noticed about it is it's not the cleanest powder to use. That might be some thing to look at.

You might want to put a new recoil spring in it to eliminate that as the problem.

185gr JHP 5.9 gr Red Dot 940 fps 1.275" Fed 150 Alliant
Suggested starting load: 5.3 gr Pressure: 19,500

200gr LSW 4.0 gr Red Dot 805 fps 1.19" Fed 150 Alliant
Suggested starting load: 3.6 gr Pressure: 9,400


200gr JHP 5.2 gr Red Dot 890 fps 1.175" Fed 150 Alliant
Suggested starting load: 4.7 gr Pressure: 19,200

I started using Red Dot about a year a go and liked it. Four Seasons sells 4 pound jugs of Red Dot for $59.00

 

[BillO]

FWIW, my Glock 45's never liked anything in 45 SWC and frequently failed to feed. Switching to RNFP, HP's and regular ball solved the problem.

 

[WILDCATT]

jams

alot of times its not enuf crimp.and case drags on chamber.is your bullet leaving about 1/32 out of case and crimped in thhe front band.