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I had problems with some ammo I reloaded today at Dad's. (Since he only reloads rifle and revolver rounds, he & I just followed the manual with the .45 rounds.)

Due to the light load (5.5 unique) & light bullet (185 grain), my 1911 wouldn't eject them.

What are you 1911 shooters loading?
What powder charge (and manufacturer)?
What bullet weight?

VP
That is an EXTREEEEMLY light load for that bullet. You may be dangerously close to not getting the bullet out of the barrel.
Speer manuel #13, which is the Manuel RCBS sends w/ their Rock Chucker Supreeme starter kit has 7.3 grains as the low end. What manuel are you getting your data from??

When I loaded Unique it was 6.3 I think w/ a 230 gr Lead Round Nose bullet.

Now 6.2 of Winchester 231 & a 230 gr Lead Round Nose.

For my practice loads I shoot the same weight bullet that I carry.
I try to get my reloads as close to them as possible.
when I can stagger them in my mags, reload, factory PD, reload, factory PD.....& cant tell the difference in recoil or point of impact then that is what I want.
I am only 7 miles from my range. I can load 10 & go shoot them. If you cant do that pick a starting point & load 8. That will give you 2 Mags w/ your ammo staggered as above.
Move up 2 tenths of a grain. Load 8. Same thing several times. Bag them & put a note in describing the powder charge & bullet. Pick the load that is closeest to what you shoot.

Now I will guess a little. If you shoot low recoil personal defense ammo, I think you could start half way between the minimum load recommended & the Max & be pretty close.
Talk to Marty. He is the loading GURU. Excellent & very willing to help.

Marty, hope you dont mind me volunteering your great knowledge.

We got the information from Daddy's reloading manual. I didn't look at the title.
The reason we chose 5.5 was that the chart listed 5.8 as the high load and 5.0 as the low load. When he looked at the loads for use with similarly weighted hollow points, the starting load was (I think) 6.7!

He wasn't sure what to try, so we started at 5.5. It actually took both of us to clear the gun at one point. Two rounds were jammed in the chamber, and another was attempting to feed.

What powder brand & charge and bullet weight are you using now?

VP,

Alliant's on line reloading data recommends a maximum of 6.0 gr of Unique with a 180 gr LSWC that should be OK with a 185 you might take the 5.5 as your starting load and work it up to that. This is a very light load and the stock recoil spring may need to be replaced with a lighter one to get your gun to function. It sounds like you may have some other problems besides too light a powder charge.

Here's the website http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Index.htm

I personally prefer 200 or 230 gr bullets loaded to full power for my .45s with WW231.

Hope this helps!

edit: What 1911 do you have? Are you at your dad's this weekend? If you are, and want to, maybe we could get together and I can look at your reloads and see if I can figure out your problem. PM me if interested.

Better to start out light than heavy. I did the same thing when I started. I just added a little more powder and problem solved.

Venus Pax wrote: What powder brand & charge and bullet weight are you using now?

Now 6.2 of Winchester 231 & a 230 gr Lead Round Nose.

VP, The loads I gave you at the last Thunder IDPA match were 4.5 gr of Winchester WST behind a Montana Gold 230 gr fmj.

Steve

Hey VP


Definately way too light with a 185gr bullet. Minimum load is 7.3 and max load is 8.2, with unique.

I load 230gr Round Nose Rainiers with 5.8gr of Unique and am extremely satisfied with the outcome.

Two rounds were jammed in the chamber, and another was attempting to feed.

Check that barrel very closely for signs of damage!!

Dan

A 200 gr LSWC over 3.8 to 4.0 of Clays is a great target load.
For those that may not be famliar with Hodgdon's Clays line the powder I am listing above is just plain "Clays" in the can with the green lettering, not Universal Clays or International Clays.

When loading 185 gr bullets I use 5.2 to 5.3 Titegroup.

I use 3.9 gr. of clays under a 230 gr. fmjrn. Cycles all my .45s, clean burning and accurate enough for training.

Best 1911 .45 load available anywhere and ultra reliable=4.1 grs. Bullseye and a 230 gr. lead, plated, or jacketed RN bullet loaded to 1.260 OAL with a .470 case mouth diameter.

Cody

"Houston1944"]A 200 gr LSWC over 3.8 to 4.0 of Clays is a great target load.
For those that may not be famliar with Hodgdon's Clays line the powder I am listing above is just plain "Clays" in the can with the green lettering, not Universal Clays or International Clays.

When loading 185 gr bullets I use 5.2 to 5.3 Titegroup.

Same here.

VP, I have to defer to others here who know more about the 1911 than I do, but one data point you might find useful is that my "light, fun-to-shoot" load is 5.3 grains of Unique with a 200 grain lead semi-wadcutter. This load functions my stock 5" Springfield 1911 - I replace the recoil spring periodically but use the "standard" weight from Wolff - no problems extracting or ejecting. It is light but accurate.

Is your 1911 a standard 5" or shorter? Again, I'm not an expert on the 1911, but I've read that the Commander and Officer's Model are more picky about ammunition than the standard barrel length.

Anyway, you are on the right track and one of the loads listed here might just be "the one" for you.

I use 5.1 of win231 with 230 fmj

Jeremae wrote:I use 5.1 of win231 with 230 fmj

I think 5.2 grains... this is very close to the ball ammunition load and cycles well with a standard 18# spring..

If you really want to run hot loads, use a heavier spring.. like 20# or 22#