My .45ACP problems......or am I getting to old to reload

[alfsauve]

[This goes along with the admitting failures thread and my walnut question elsewhere.]

Since my problem with no powder in my .45ACP reload last month, I've loaded about 2,000 rounds in .44Mag, .357Mag and 9mm WITHOUT a single glitch.  (Yes I do shoot around 300 rounds-500 a week.   My standing bullet orders have gone from monthly to twice monthly.)

So why is .45ACP giving me problems?

Last week I got a new bullet shipment in (lead:  America's most precious metal) and loaded 100 rounds.  Of that I ended up with only 98 finished rounds and one round that had never been de-primed or resized but with a new bullet seated and crimped. What the HECK?

Of those 98 rounds, 1 round had no powder.    What the Heck (again)?  

I found one round had fallen in the spent primer bucket so I only had on unaccounted for primer.  And I remembered that one round had a split case.  That accounts for the missing primers.  But what about that odd round?  And  why am I missing powder in one round still?

DISTRACTION:   I determined that I was being distracted and not completing the cycle on every round.

WHAT'S THE DISTRACTION:  In the case of .45ACP it's the small primer cases.   They're hosing things up and evidently I'm not completing the cycle AND since there were many of these, sometimes close together, I was neglecting to check the powder in the case.   Which is dumb, since the ACP round is so short the powder is easy to see.  And it must really distract me to have several bad cases in a row to let me cycle one round to station 4 without depriming and without powder.  


SOLUTION:  Presort/examine the cases.  Cull out the small primer cases, the crimped primer pockets and any split cases.   Also, stop and go VERY slow whenever their is a problem.

TEST:  Another 100 rounds loaded AFTER culling cases.   DID IT WORK?  Yep. Took them to the range and not a single case without powder.   NO DISTRACTIONS - NO PROBLEMS.

NEXT STEP:   I've evidently accumulated a number of cases that are slightly bulged at the base (like many 9mm cases).  The bulge is too far down for the resizer die to be effective.   I can force them in my revolver, but wouldn't want to use them in competition.    So, like 9mm, I'm going to have to deprime and resize as a first step and them do a chamber check, and then complete the reloading.   This will help my missing powder problem by having culled all bad cases ahead of time.    I've already resized 200 rounds and run them through my revolver cylinder.  And I ordered an EGW Chamber Gauge for the future.


Just thought you'd like to know.   Just a simple distraction can throw everything off.

[kmitch200]

What's with all the bad cases?  You don't do range pickups do you?

[alfsauve]

kmtich:

Yeah I use floor sweepings.   I've never paid for brass for 9mm, 45ACP or 38spl.    They're so common at ranges I just can resist.  Most of it is once fired.  I just ask the people on either side of me if I can have their brass and, unless they too reload, I usually go home with an extra 100 or two rounds.   Properly vetted (and that's what I wasn't doing) and cleaned they're as good as new.   I've never had a problem with 9mm, because of the extra steps I take in checking the brass.   

Just a side note is that I don't reload for self-defense.   

[kmitch200]

I'm very leery of range pickups. I follow your procedure about asking if they keep their brass but I add a step. I ask where they got it.
As in, no reloads whether factory (like UltraMax) or home brew. (I'll shoot UltraMax I bought but I leave it where it lands.)

I will only pick up brass if people tell me they:
1. didn't buy it at gun show - unk. source of the brass. 2. they don't reload.
It's pretty easy to do in casual conversation...I don't want it to sound like I'm conducting Spanish Inquisition Part 2. 

If I can determine that it's regular new factory ammo they bought just to bang away for the day, those are the only ones I will pick up.
Brass is too cheap to risk hurting $1000++ guns and my worn out body. I started doing this because I leave worn out brass that is at the end of it's useable lifespan for the range to recycle.

[alfsauve]

Good advice.   I probably should be more careful.   I started reloading with a single stage press and religiously inspected every round.  But now with a progressive I've gotten a little lax.   

I'll be examining the .45 brass more carefully now.

I keep all the brass I can and have two discard buckets.  One is usable stuff I just don't want, like the small primer .45ACP brass or odd calibers I don't shoot.  This one I can sell/swap to a local range.  The other is junk brass, mostly split or damaged cases.   This bucket will be sold to a metal recycler when it gets full.

[Sponsor]

[marine68]

With the exception of new +P Brass for Gold Dots, I use picked up brass exclusively. After thorough cleaning and polishing, I sort for the Primer size difference and proceed to lubing and decapping all of them before loading. Never have problems; other than an occasional split shell, which I discard. My pistol is throated and polished for Hollow points, so feeding problems are very few and far between.