.45 reloads not working in 1991A1 Compact - please help

[led4thehed2]

Also do the shake test with a live round, not an empty case.

Failed shake test with a live round!

 

[led4thehed2]

Yes here lies the magic of reloading.
What does work? Start there and replicate that round. Those loads are a bowling team with a very good pool 8-fall player. Get a new bowler and then stake the 8ball player on the pool table.

And yes it sounds like an extractor issue. Check the slide also. I have seen some very tight slide to frame fits on high end 1911 pistols and the gun likes a little slack. This normally solves itself in 500 rounds. Lube up well.

Ah, I forgot to mention this gun had 50-100 rounds through it before we got it. At the moment, it probably has 300 - 400 rounds through it. I did not lubricate it before shooting.

 

[churchmouse]

Also do the shake test with a live round, not an empty case.

This.

 

[churchmouse]

Failed shake test with a live round!

Pull the extractor out of the slide and clean out the channel. Then look over the piece and check it as has already been mentioned up thread. These have a fuse and when it wears to a point it will cause issues especially in that model 1911.

 

[snapping turtle]

Ah, I forgot to mention this gun had 50-100 rounds through it before we got it. At the moment, it probably has 300 - 400 rounds through it. I did not lubricate it before shooting.

Lube the barrel hood. Barrel bushing and rails.

I use Lucas oil CLP extreme because forest gave me a bottle. Great little tip on the bottle. A full lube of a 1911 is about 11-13 drops and on an officer model less. An old timer used wheel bearing grease and swore by it. A Rich guy I know uses slide glide

I am not getting into the oil vs lube vs grease age old issues. I just know a little lubricant makes things go in and out better. I think it pleases the shooter and the gun.

 

[churchmouse]

Lube the barrel hood. Barrel bushing and rails.

I use Lucas oil CLP extreme because forest gave me a bottle. Great little tip on the bottle. A full lube of a 1911 is about 11-13 drops and on an officer model less. An old timer used wheel bearing grease and swore by it. A Rich guy I know uses slide glide

I am not getting into the oil vs lube vs grease age old issues. I just know a little lubricant makes things go in and out better. I think it pleases the shooter and the gun.

Any metal to metal contact points you can find.

 

[Chalky]

FWIW, if it's not falling out of the barrel freely, might check the COL and bullet profile. Hodgdon data shows 1.200 as COL. I haven't reloaded 45ACP, but ran into this with 9MM. Had to reduce the COL a bit to work in all guns.

 

[DadSmith]

Since it is reload ammunition have you done the plunk test. I do a plunk test for every batch of new bullets to make sure they fit. Once I find the maximum col I back it off a little and start loading. This method has never failed to work for me.

 

[Steel and wood]

I have to go shorter col also. But the big thing I do to my 1911’s is run them wet just a tad under soaked when new and clean them after every time I take them out till about the 400 round mark.
My way of thinking is breaking them in because of the metal on metal wear.

 

[Robert Richardson]

I have to go shorter col also. But the big thing I do to my 1911’s is run them wet just a tad under soaked when new and clean them after every time I take them out till about the 400 round mark.
My way of thinking is breaking them in because of the metal on metal wear.

Absolutely, I run my OAL with ball ammo at 1.250. They feed in every 1911 that I've had, short barrel and full size.
I have never understood the concept of running any firearm or anything with metal to metal contact without lubrication. Even a small amount is better than nothing. Polymer guns included.

 

[led4thehed2]

Since it is reload ammunition have you done the plunk test. I do a plunk test for every batch of new bullets to make sure they fit. Once I find the maximum col I back it off a little and start loading. This method has never failed to work for me.

Never done this before, but found the explanation online for a "plunk and rotate" test. Some of my reloads definitely failed the "plunk" test, and were not fully seated. Tightening the crimp helped, but shrinking the OAL to ~1.260" from 1.270" seems to help the rounds further by allowing them to freely rotate in the barrel, the "rotate" part of the test. Curious to see if they'll now feed in a clean, lubed gun.

 

[led4thehed2]

UPDATE - Gun cleaned, lubricated. OAL shrank from 1.270 to 1.260" Rounds pass the "plunk" test.

Still lots of FTE. All my reloads were 2 or so rounds at best before another jam. Plenty of mags that FTE every single round. Same for factory and Wilson Combat mag. Used 230 gr. American Eagle factory ammo - more reliable, but still lots of FTE. Tried loading a single round in the magazine- still lots of FTE, but less so with Wilson mag. Brass that did eject tended to barely make it out of the gun, and landed at my feet. Sometimes slightly forward, about 1 o'clock. Some brass cleared the chamber and ended up lying on the magazine follower and not ejecting.

Attempted to limp wrist, hold normally, and a super firm grip - FTE just as common no matter grip type.

So where am I at now? Ammo seems to be sized correctly, always feed the first round of the magazine into the chamber. Got a few rounds to go without a FTE a few different times, but still very unreliable. As a refresher, reloads my uncle made in the 90s came with the gun and they fed perfectly. Another family friend's reloads also fed perfectly in the gun, irrespective of magazine used. Now factory ammo is unreliable, and my reloads are still highly unreliable, but have improved slightly.

Seems to point to extractor problems, right? Any idea if I have too much or too little tension on it? My father confessed to tweaking it, but I don't know what he did or how zealously be tried to bend the thing. My understanding is that too little tension and yo get FTE, and too much tension and you get feeding problems. Seems I'm still in the former category.

Please reply with thoughts, and thank you to all that have helped so far!

 

[2in1evtime]

I have had issues like this using winchester auto comp powders at there max load data , it has all been relegated to revolver use only! MY thoughts are your reloads aren't hot enough for the compact .45?!

 

[DadSmith]

UPDATE - Gun cleaned, lubricated. OAL shrank from 1.270 to 1.260" Rounds pass the "plunk" test.

Still lots of FTE. All my reloads were 2 or so rounds at best before another jam. Plenty of mags that FTE every single round. Same for factory and Wilson Combat mag. Used 230 gr. American Eagle factory ammo - more reliable, but still lots of FTE. Tried loading a single round in the magazine- still lots of FTE, but less so with Wilson mag. Brass that did eject tended to barely make it out of the gun, and landed at my feet. Sometimes slightly forward, about 1 o'clock. Some brass cleared the chamber and ended up lying on the magazine follower and not ejecting.

Attempted to limp wrist, hold normally, and a super firm grip - FTE just as common no matter grip type.

So where am I at now? Ammo seems to be sized correctly, always feed the first round of the magazine into the chamber. Got a few rounds to go without a FTE a few different times, but still very unreliable. As a refresher, reloads my uncle made in the 90s came with the gun and they fed perfectly. Another family friend's reloads also fed perfectly in the gun, irrespective of magazine used. Now factory ammo is unreliable, and my reloads are still highly unreliable, but have improved slightly.

Seems to point to extractor problems, right? Any idea if I have too much or too little tension on it? My father confessed to tweaking it, but I don't know what he did or how zealously be tried to bend the thing. My understanding is that too little tension and yo get FTE, and too much tension and you get feeding problems. Seems I'm still in the former category.

Please reply with thoughts, and thank you to all that have helped so far!

How much powder?
It might need more power to cycle it. Like 2in1 said.

I'm sure Churchmouse will point you in the right direction.

 

[led4thehed2]

How much powder?
It might need more power to cycle it. Like 2in1 said.

I'm sure Churchmouse will point you in the right direction.

Still 4.8 gr of Titegroup, the max load.

 

[brian_a_mcmillen]

I wouldn't personally shoot any more of those. You'd be better off pulling them, weighing the projectiles to assure that they are what you think they are and replacing the powder with whatever you use to reload. Sounds like light loads to me though......

 

[DadSmith]

Still 4.8 gr of Titegroup, the max load.

Yeah that should make it cycle. What does your extractor look like? Does it look worn?
Also push on your extractor does it push over easy or does it take some push to move it over?

 

[Jaybird1980]

Still 4.8 gr of Titegroup, the max load.

Can you get a good picture of extractor and case rim fitment while it's holding a case?

What kind of sizing was done on the reloads?

 

[Slapstick]

Still 4.8 gr of Titegroup, the max load.

I'm going to take a little different approach here. Try backing off from the max load. Start with 4.4 gr and work up to max. know it sounds a bit strange but I have a pistol that has extraction problems when I get close to max loads. The only thing I came up with that the higher pressure was keeping the case pressed against the chamber wall a bit longer than it should slowing down the slide and making the extractor work a bit harder pulling the case out. Cleaning and polishing the chamber did help so you might try that as well.

 

[led4thehed2]

Yeah that should make it cycle. What does your extractor look like? Does it look worn?
Also push on your extractor does it push over easy or does it take some push to move it over?

Extractor pics.