Ejection issues

[MDS]

I shot some .45 cal. 185gr. jacketed flat nose bullets. that were stove pipng. I used 185gr. these are not wadcutters, but flat nosed. 5.0 grains of 231, col 1.22. What did I do wrong?

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

try working the load up a little.

[saber9]

I assume you are using the standard recoil spring in your pistol. A standard recoil spring is normally made to function properly with a factory loaded 230 fmj round. You are using a much lighter bullet with a starting load for a lower velocity target load. It does not generate enough energy/recoil to move the slide back far enough to completely eject the case before it starts moving forward again.

There is nothing wrong with the load you are using, but for the pistol to function properly a ligher recoil spring will be needed.

I believe a better solution would be to make up a few rounds with a heavier powder charge, in increments of .1 grain. Keep doing this until the pistol consistently ejects the fired round and chambers a new round. Then you can either stop there or add another .1 or .2 to ensure positive ejection every time.

My Speer loading manual shows a starting load of 5.0 grains 231 with a 185 gr jacketed bullet with a maximum load of 5.8 grains. My Hornady manual shows a starting load of 5.4 gr and a maximum of 6.2. Going by these manuals you can see that your load of 5.0 gr of 231 is definitely a starting load.

Starting out using this load is a correct, good, and safe procedure. Many people start out using the published maximum load - I regard this as foolish at the very least and as often as not dangerous. Those who do this are very likely to run into problems sooner or later.

[MDS]

Thanks. I'll bump it a couple and go from there.