I have been loading for over 50 years, and just reciently got involved with 45 APC. I have about 350 cases recently fired in two of my handguns. One is a Blackhawk 45 convertible, the other is a Ruger 345 autoloader. I decapped all the cases then threw them in the tumbler over night. Today I started resizeing them in a carbide die and my little Partner press, I only resize as deep as the bullet is going to go, then after seating I crimp with a Lee factory crimp die.
Now when I run them into the size die there is very little resistance. I tried to put a bullet in a fired case before sizing and couldn't push one in with my fingers. Now these cases were fired in two different guns and I couldnt find any difference. Is this normal, or do I have two tight chambers.
Thanks
Lyle

Are you seating and then squeezing the bullet and case down to a lesser diameter? I don't understand. I have had to run rounds loaded with soft lead bullets a bit up into the die to get them to chamber in the past. I am sorry. I do not quite understand your problem...

To check for a tight chamber, I'd get an A-Zoom snap-cap. These are aluminum dummies that are exactly the same size as the real round. If one of them will chamber, your chamber is of the correct dimensions.

I'm guessing that you've been reloading primarily for rifle cartridges? It would not be anything odd that a new bullet does not slip into a fired .45 case. This is why we use the expander die when reloading straight wall handgun cases. Don't worry about it. if you're going to be loading many handgun cartridges, you may want to look into the different types of crimp dies and how they are used.

http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/riflepistolsets.html

I have been reloading .45 ACP ammo since 1962. At that time, I was on the pistol team at Yuma Proving Ground (then known as Yuma Test Station).......

Resize your cases so that they will freely drop into the pistol's chamber without needing any push on the case head to get them to fall into the chamber. Then bell the case mouths JUST ENOUGH to let you start the bullets w/o shaving them (lead) or collapsing the case mouth (jacketed).

After seating the bullets, check to again to make sure the loaded rounds will still drop freely into the chamber. You need not do anything else to the ammo after checking your rounds this way.

I take the barrels out of my 1911's to do this chambering check, and segregate the ammo for the gun I will shoot it in!

Since the .45 ACP headspaces with the mouth of the case hitting the little shoulder in the front end of the chamber, it is not wise to apply too much crimp, if any. I don't apply any crimp at all, and have never had a problem with bullets moving back into the case. Only seat them deep enough to ensure trouble-free up & down movement in the magazine.

Good luck!

A properly resized rifle or handgun case should NOT allow the bullet to drop freely into the case. I would suggest you full length size the 45acp brass for best reliability. You are not gaining anything by partial sizing & are likely to find they won;t feed reliably in the semiatuo.

SORRY I BOTHERED TO ASK
LYLE

I have been loading 38/357 mag since the late fifties, 44/44mag since the sixties. In the last year I have loaded in excess of 2000 45s. they have all worked perfictly in both revolver and auto. I was just curious that a new bullet would not drop into a fired case.
Lyle

quote:

Originally posted by YUMAN:
SORRY I BOTHERED TO ASK LYLE

Lyle: Since none of us have the cases and bullets in question, it would be difficult to know exactly what the problem is! Since you do have the stuff, and have such extensive knowledge, just mike the damn bullets and answer your own question.

I made the (bad!!) assumption that you were asking how to produce a good .45 ACP reload.

Since you seem to know how, I apologize for giving you the information!!!!