Brainfart 45acp

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JM Browning

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Reloaded using Power Pistol 45acp 230gn jhp and rn. Also used several types of brass. My powder measure(hopper) became unadjusted. So I ended up with different loads. weighed the whole cartridge, brass weighs diff. between manf. so some of these may be hot. I tossed the heaviest. My starting powder weight 7.0and ending ?
To make a long story short, I was loading for a sig 1911. Would I be better off shooting these in a S&W N frame? Please no DA comments.
 
With a powder like that I am not sure I would shoot them, maybe someone with some more experience will be able to tell you different (it is a large case and you might not be able to over load it kinda thing) but if it were me I would be pulling out the hammer.
 
This is why they make bullet pullers and why every reloader should have one. Do the smart thing and pull any of the rounds that MIGHT be overloaded. Is a little time worth testing your luck and possibly hurting yourself or someone standing near you when the gun lets loose?
 
Don't rely on weighing loaded cartridges looking for ones that may be overloaded. The weight differences between cases of even the same mfgr could be more than the total powder charge. Throw in multiple manufacturers and you are screwed.

Pull em
 
the lighter ones extra crimp 15-20. Others aprx 100. And 5 to 6 hrs. I have plenty of factory for 45acp. I guess I was killing a rainy day. Power Pistol I suppose is pretty unforgiving. I was trying for 7.0gn. My 625-2 usually handles my mishaps but that's normally too long cases. Does anyone know if the N frame can handle hot loads?
 
It is indeed unfortunate when we create loads which are "unknown".

Rationalizing after the fact really doesn't alter the situation, despite how much you might wish it could.

There just isn't any method to weigh the completed rounds and segregate light/heavy charges from normal, due to variability in the cases and bullets which can be around the same value as the powder charge itself.

Unknown = potential KB. (Loss of gun, possible injury or death to you or bystanders.)

AFAIK, the design of the gun doesn't make it better able to handle overcharges. It isn't OK to think, "Well, I have a revolver so I won't destroy it...".

Pull them all. Figure out how it happened. Don't do it again.

Simple.

(And if you ignore the advice and shoot them anyway, you won't have learned the correct lesson... :) )
 
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jmb, 9/22/13

I broke a part on the rear of my Dillon Square Deal B when reloading 9mm bullets and it would intermittently throw no powder into a case. Most of the cases had the desired amount of powder. I noticed the problem after reloading a hundred rounds. I tried weighing the mixed headstamp cases but there was enough variation in case weights that many of the non-loaded cases slipped by. When I shot that batch of 9mm cartridges I got about fifteen squib loads. I got lots of practice removing squib bullets from my barrels (which was easy to do). Since I was expecting the possibility of squibs I was extra-observant and had no problem with chambering a live round after a squib bullet.

The moral of the story- just pull your bullets. An overcharged cartridge is much more serious than an undercharged one both to your pistol and body parts.

best wishes- oldandslow
 
You don't want to find out the hard way that your revolver can't handle the pressure. I think what you should be reading between the lines is that if you can't possibly know for sure how much powder is charged in those rounds, no one here could possibly know how safe they are to fire from any weapon.

A quick Google search should show some pictures of what happens when a round goes above pressure in a revolver cylinder. The 45 auto case is a large case and can hold a lot of powder, I would suspect that one could come close to triple the charge weight of Power pistol before it would become obvious, I won't swear to that since it has been so long since I have had any around. But I would suspect that non the less, you can get a lot more in that case than what you need.
 
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I'd recommend a collet style puller rather than a kinetic hammer due to volume, but I agree with everyone else. You should pull those bullets just to be safe.

I've been down this road myself a time or two. I had one incident loading .45 ACP with Bullseye, and didn't realize that my powder measure was throwing bad charges due to static. I have no idea how many light charges were in that batch, but eventually decided it wasn't worth the risk.

I hope you come to the same conclusion.
 
JM Browning said:
the lighter ones extra crimp 15-20. Others aprx 100. And 5 to 6 hrs. I have plenty of factory for 45acp. I guess I was killing a rainy day. Power Pistol I suppose is pretty unforgiving. I was trying for 7.0gn. My 625-2 usually handles my mishaps but that's normally too long cases. Does anyone know if the N frame can handle hot loads?
Click to expand...
100 rounds is not going to take you 5 or 6 hours to pull. I doubt they will take you an hour at most.

Stop trying to convince yourself you can shoot them. it's only 100 rounds so if you don't want to pull them throw them away. Like I said, it's only 100 rounds for goodness sake. You're acting like you have to pull several thousand... jeessss!
 
Pull them all and start over.

What's gonna cost you more, an hour or so pulling them, or the bill from medical expenses incurred due to "thinking" your gun can handle them, or worse, your life.

Pull them and count it as lesson learned....100+ times.
 
100 rounds? 5 hours? You could have them pulled by now. That's nothing.

Has anyone mentioned pulling them?;)
 
Aren't you supposed to check the charge in the case every now and again? Or am I missing something here?
 
u r correct sir

I had been. Expanded the mouths. Made a couple (seated). Found a couple of noncharged in another tray and two bullets left, charged seated and seated the whole tray. switched to ball ammo. Charged one case in new tray for ball checked the weight and was too much.
Shaking my bench from expanding and seating the first batch threw my hopper out of whack and I lost track of the last 2 over charge.
since you asked :banghead:
 
Potatohead said:
Aren't you supposed to check the charge in the case every now and again? Or am I missing something here?
Click to expand...
My powder thrower is very accurate especially when I use powders I know are easy to meter and even though that's all true I still check every 10th throw at the start and every 15th or so after the first 20 rounds. It's really no big deal to check the powder weight and takes very little time. In any event it will take you a lot less time to check the weights while loading than having to pull 100 bullets! LOL
 
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