Boolit Casting and OAL

[bk09]

Well I finally got a chance to take my 1911 to the range, WOW it's a smooth shooter. However, it wasn't the most proficient with feeding properly. I blame all this on the loads I made (first time ever casting, and first time loading 45acp).

The loads I made were 230gr LRN cast from a lee tumble lube mold in front of the minimum load of titegroup listed on hodgdons website. When I first started testing a couple rounds to get the kinks worked out I seated the bullet to hodgdons specifications (1.200"), but it was WAY too deep for for the bullets with the tumble lube grooves. So I looked around that interweb thing and found people seating bullets out to 1.275" and figured I could seat them further out with no difficulties. I ended up seating them to 1.264" which is almost exactly where the top tumble lube groove ends. Tested some of the rounds running through the magazine and they would jam, but I said screw it and took them to the range instead. About 1 or 2 rounds in every magazine would have a failure to feed, it would get started and then appear to be too long for the angle it needed to enter the chamber.

So my questions consist of...
Do any of you cast with tumble lube 45acp?
What is your OAL if you have the 230gr LRN Tumble lube boolits?
Any other recommendations?

[unfy]

Seems way too long according to:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?140369-45ACP-230gr-LRN-Load-Data

You haven't specified which Lee RN. They make two; the 228-1R and the 230-2R. The second is the closer match to ball profile. Specifying which variant will help the answers I can give you. I have and have loaded both variants.

In this instance, correct OAL with the 230-2R is more like 1.265" to allow slight shoulder protrusion and a better length match to ball ammo.

If the 228-1R, 1.250" is likely too long to allow chambering as it's a one ogive radius and this length allows some amount (probably too much) of the full caliber bearing surface outside of the case mouth. This hits the leade and prevents chambering. If your gun has some amount of throat 1.220" should be correct. If you have no throat and an abrupt leade you might need to be a little bit shorter than that.

Given your description of full chambering I'm guessing you have the 230-2R. And I'd seat it closer to 1.265."