Bullet 'smush' in my 1911

[pbwalker]

I don't know any other way to describe it other than the bullet is being pushed down into the brass in my 1911. This isn't from repeated chamberings, but usually 1 or two. The bullet itself is pushed down. I've been removing these rounds as I am unsure if they are safe or not.

Any reason why this would occur?

I noticed I really have to let the slide slam forward to chamber a round (this is with Hornady JHP's) but not with WWB Range Ammo.

I read that 1911's need time to properly break-in (which is why I don't carry it yet). How much time is a good time? 100 rounds? 500 rounds?

[txmatt]

Mine does this too, sometimes. Take a look at your feedramp, it may need to be polished (or just cleaned if dirty) and check the gap between the ramp and the barrel.

I don't think this is a break in issue, this more of an issue of the 1911 not liking anything other than the FMJ it was designed for. Corbon makes a JHP with a plastic ball in the middle to give it a FMJ profile to help with feeding.

500 rounds is probably a decent amount for a break-in, certainly more than 100. Tweaking may be necessary, too, to get it reliable.

[pbwalker]

I don't think this is a break in issue, this more of an issue of the 1911 not liking anything other than the FMJ it was designed for.

I learn something new each day. I had no idea that the 1911's are not a fan of JHP's. I'll have to check out the Corbon's.

[Target1911]

I don't know any other way to describe it other than the bullet is being pushed down into the brass in my 1911. This isn't from repeated chamberings, but usually 1 or two. The bullet itself is pushed down. I've been removing these rounds as I am unsure if they are safe or not.

Any reason why this would occur?

I noticed I really have to let the slide slam forward to chamber a round (this is with Hornady JHP's) but not with WWB Range Ammo.

I read that 1911's need time to properly break-in (which is why I don't carry it yet). How much time is a good time? 100 rounds? 500 rounds?

The term you are looking for is called "Bullet set-back" That is where the bullet is being pushed back into the case. I would NOT shoot the ones that are set-back.

What ammo is getting set-back?
I know Blazer Brass is very bad about doing this. They are not crimped. You can run them through a press and crimp them and they will work just fine.

I have 3 1911s (2 Kimbers and a Springfield) that will eat everything I feed them.....FMJs. HPs, (hornady TAP is my carry ammo) and they all run the semi-wad cutters I use for competition without any problems.
FMJs will feed easier in many 1911s because they are less likely to hang on the lip of the barrel.

What brand is your 1911 ?

[pbwalker]

The term you are looking for is called "Bullet set-back" That is where the bullet is being pushed back into the case. I would NOT shoot the ones that are set-back.

What ammo is getting set-back?
I know Blazer Brass is very bad about doing this. They are not crimped. You can run them through a press and crimp them and they will work just fine.

I have 3 1911s (2 Kimbers and a Springfield) that will eat everything I feed them.....FMJs. HPs, (hornady TAP is my carry ammo) and they all run the semi-wad cutters I use for competition without any problems.
FMJs will feed easier in many 1911s because they are less likely to hang on the lip of the barrel.

What brand is your 1911 ?

It is Hornady ammo. Not the TAP though. It is a Springfield 1911-A1

[NcongruNt]

The term you are looking for is called "Bullet set-back" That is where the bullet is being pushed back into the case. I would NOT shoot the ones that are set-back.

What ammo is getting set-back?
I know Blazer Brass is very bad about doing this. They are not crimped. You can run them through a press and crimp them and they will work just fine.

I have 3 1911s (2 Kimbers and a Springfield) that will eat everything I feed them.....FMJs. HPs, (hornady TAP is my carry ammo) and they all run the semi-wad cutters I use for competition without any problems.
FMJs will feed easier in many 1911s because they are less likely to hang on the lip of the barrel.

What brand is your 1911 ?

It is Hornady ammo. Not the TAP though. It is a Springfield 1911-A1

Odd. In my experience, Hornady XTP ammo has been the best-feeding stuff I've ever purchased. That said, I have noticed the same set-back phenomenon with .380 XTP in my Ruger LCP, though minor enough (and only after many re-chamberings) that I'm not concerned about it. The commonality here is that both .380 and .45 are straight-walled cases. I have not had the same issue with XTP in 9x18 (9mm Makarov), which has a slightly tapered case. Hornady is known for good customer service, so I wouldn't hesitate to contact them about this and see what they say. You can use their contact page at http://www.hornady.com/contact_us.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

[Excaliber]

I don't know any other way to describe it other than the bullet is being pushed down into the brass in my 1911. This isn't from repeated chamberings, but usually 1 or two. The bullet itself is pushed down. I've been removing these rounds as I am unsure if they are safe or not.

Any reason why this would occur?

This was a fairly common problem with older 1911's which were designed to feed FMJ ammo only, but has largely gone away with the manufacturing specs currently in use. If you're shooting an older gun (say 1970's vintage) this could well be the problem.

A quick check to see if this might be the case is to compare the chamber opening of your barrel with a recently manufactured one from Kimber, Springfield, etc. If the opening in your barrel looks narrower and more restricted than the other one, this would probably be a good place to start. The fix is either a new throated barrel, ramp / barrel throating and polishing by a qualified gunsmith, or some combination of both.

It is extremely dangerous to fire a cartridge with bullet setback. The bullet's improper position in the case changes both the energy required to overcome the additional friction between the bullet and the case, and the free case volume that's part of the parameters for safe use of a given load. A round with a setback projectile will generate significantly higher pressure than it was designed to produce, and may exceed the pressure limits your gun was designed to contain. That's a very bad thingwhen it happens, and can injure both you and anyone around you.

My son had a recent experience with this when he used locally produced .40 S&W ammo in his Glock 23. He noticed an unusual report and pain in his hand when the round went off. It had blown the magazine out of the pistol and launched pieces of the slide stop off into space. He was fortunate to have received just a bruise on his hand. The most likely cause here was bullet setback as an improperly crimped round rode up the ramp to the chamber. He's a believer in factory ammo only now.

Note: This is not to suggest that a reloader who knows what he's doing can't consistently produce good, safe ammo. It's just to point out what can happen when quality isn't maintained up to factory standards.

[smyrna]

This was a fairly common problem with older 1911's which were designed to feed FMJ ammo only, but has largely gone away with the manufacturing specs currently in use. If you're shooting an older gun (say 1970's vintage) this could well be the problem.

A quick check to see if this might be the case is to compare the chamber opening of your barrel with a recently manufactured one from Kimber, Springfield, etc. If the opening in your barrel looks narrower and more restricted than the other one, this would probably be a good place to start. The fix is either a new throated barrel, ramp / barrel throating and polishing by a qualified gunsmith, or some combination of both.

See attached picture...Left to Right...Mil-spec, throated, and dimpled. Usually, a throated or dimpled will feed JHPs. My Colt 1991 has a dimpled and feeds them.