45acp case damage, new reloader, help

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AllThrtl

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These are part of my first newbie loads, I'm trying to work up a 45acp plinking load and I'm getting this damage only with the last round of the magazine. All other rounds seem to cycle and shoot fine and the slide locks back on the final round. These rounds actually ejected, but not with the same velocity as the others. The gun is a Springfield Mil-Spec 1911, factory 7 round mags and the gun has about 500-600 rounds of factory ammo thru it with absolutely no problems. Here's the load data..

Federal brass
Federal 150 primers
Missouri Bullet #1 Bullseye 200g SWC
1.25" OAL with about .025 shoulder above the case mouth
Bullseye 3.8g 4g & 5g (the rounds in the picture are not in this order, these are just 3 that I kept)

Any ideas?
 

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That looks like what happens when cases get slammed in the ejection port or barrel hood when the slide is closing, but that shouldn't happen with slide lock. They also usually cause a jam.

The last round in all my auto loaders ejects differently. There's no bullet at the top of the mag to give it a little extra kick and the bounce off of a locked slide is different than off a slide returning to battery.

Are you sure those are both from your gun and the last rounds? I wonder if they were from the last guy's jams that he cleared and left behind in the bay?

If you are sure they are, then I'm at a loss.

J.
 
I'm 100% that the two on the left are mine, the other one looks like mine but I can't be sure. The first two kind of popped up and landed on the table. Yesterday, with a different load, 4.9g and 5.5g with OAL of 1.235, I had the same thing, but one did jam in the slide. Next weekend I'll load up some more and watch for this specifically, I noticed these almost after the fact. I must be missing something. I'm otherwise happy with the load, although it does scorch the case a little. I also have a can of Titegroup and 231 to try....
 
the gun has about 500-600 rounds of factory ammo thru it with absolutely no problems.
Click to expand...
The 3.8 & 4 gr loads may need a different, lighter recoil spring. Next time you test, take note if all loads do it , or only the light loads.
 
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The extractor is clocking and dropping the last round. More tension may help...or not. Fitting an oversized firing pin stop is the only real cure, and that assumes that the extractor channel isn't mislocated too far to the right. If it is, the slide is bad.
 
I would capture the brass by shooting the gun off a benchrest with a file box to the right of the ejection port. Also, the 3.8 grain load is too weak for an 18.5lb recoil spring. Get a lighter one. To me it seems the barrel hood is denting the brass because the slide velocity is too low. But capture your brass and know it's yours.
 
I have experienced the exact same thing with my RIA Tactical and 5.2gr Unique with 200gr LSWC. I only have the problem with Wilson Combat 47D Mags. The feed lips on those magazines seem to be slightly narrower at the back (primer end). For me, the case was able to enter the feed lips while the last round was trying to eject but would then get stuck when it narrowed and the slide would jam into the front of the case causing that damage.

I have some ACT mags that have perfectly straight feed lips and they don't have the same problem, so I mainly use those for range duty and save my Wilsons for my HD loads in the nightstand.
 
I don't see how it's possible to have sharp cuts, not dents, in the case mouths, unless, as noted above, the case jams against the barrel hood.
 
The only time that I have experienced tears, not dents, in the case mouth was when the slide caught the case as the slide was closing. The slide would jam the case against something on the barrel. A stoppage of the pistol requiring clearing may or may not occur.

Therefore, it would not happen on the last round in a magazine as long as the slide locks back reliably.

But, I will defer to the expertise of 1911Tuner.
 
1911Tuner is almost certainly right about the extractor and the FPS, but the load is also weak enough to cause brass to be caught and damaged. A quick "fix" until you do anything else may be as simple as more powder, or a lighter (16 lb) spring.
 
Thanks guys, hopefully I'll get more loads worked up this week and get back to the range Monday and hopefully get to the bottom of the issue...
 
Therefore, it would not happen on the last round in a magazine as long as the slide locks back reliably.
Click to expand...

The last case ejecting from a semi auto is different than the others because it foes not get that extra pop up from the fresh round feeding from the mag. So it is more likely to remain in the ejection port if the slide dynamics permit it. Then the breechface pushes the case against the barrel hood.

But that would only happen if the load is too weak to lock thr slide on the last shot.

Is it?
 
Unless you mark your cases, you can't be sure they are yours.
Unless you pick up each case after firing, you can't know what the order was.
If they all ejected and didn't jam, the load is fine.
Your cases show the classic look of a case jam in the ejection port. When I case is dented that deep, it does not eject and you have a jam.
Otherwise, you are in the Twilight Zone and your gun has an evil spirit...
 
AllThrtl said:
....I'm getting this damage only with the last round of the magazine. All other rounds seem to cycle and shoot fine and the slide locks back on the final round.
Click to expand...
The last casing is slipping down off the extractor, whereas the other casings were supported by the rounds in the magazine.
Your cases are being dinged by the top of the barrel hood.
Google/Youtube "1911 extractor tension". You may need to increase the tension.
Also, make sure the ejector is tight in the frame since Springfield glues them in.


10-5-11-malf-004-modified.jpg
 
What is happening is that the case is being dropped off the breechface from the clocking extractor...but not so far that it escapes the claw. It gets dragged partway back into the magazine, depressing the follower and preventing slide lock. The slide runs forward and tries to feed the case, and it gets crushed between the breechface and the barrel hood.

And, yes. Sometimes the slide somehow manages to lock with the case jammed up.

The extractor is clocking. More tension may help...and it may not. An oversized firing pin stop will keep it squared up.
 
take a sharpie one of the fat ones and mark the bottom of your case then when you pick them up you will know if they are yours or not.
 
Otto said:
10-5-11-malf-004-modified.jpg
Click to expand...

I could see, based on Otto's pix and 1911Tuner's description, that the case gets caught on the magazine on extraction, the case mouth gets dinged, then the case gets spit out of the gun while the slide continues rearward and locks.

The choreograph would have to be just right. Change anything and the timing would change.
 
A bit of advice, rather than throwing parts at the problem (new firing pin stops, extractors, recoil springs, etc.) contact Springfield, request a return shipping label and send it back to the mother ship. That way the gun is professionally evaluated and it will cost you nothing.
 
So what? Is he only suppose to shoot factory from now on?
 
Yeah, I really don't believe it's a gun issue, the gun has performed flawlessly with factory ammo. However, I am a new reloader and this started with my first couple batches of test loads. Unfortunately, I was paying more attention to how the rounds were performing down range rather than the spent brass. The gun seemed to be cycling fine so wasn't paying attention to that aspect, now I know better. It was only the second to last magazine that I noticed the spent brass pop up and land on the table, it was the last round in the mag and the slide stayed open (4g). I then loaded up the last 5 rounds, watching the brass and it was the last one that acted up (5g). I then proceeded to shoot the remainder of a box of factory federal loads (30-40rds) without any further issue. I feel sure it was the reloads not the gun. However, I am planning to pick up a lighter recoil spring and run more tests with this setup on monday, as well as trying heavier loads with the stock spring. I will go ahead and check out the extractor when I clean the gun tonight, just to be sure. Thanks guys...
 
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