# I have a serious problem!



## bshort (May 30, 2007)

Hello, 
I am new to handgunforum.net, and have specifically gained a login for discussion and information on my .454 casull 

As stated above I have a 454 casull, (made by Ruger, super redhawk Alaskan, 2.5 inch barrell)

I have had it for about a year, and have experienced a few problems with proper powder ignition.

recently I have had a new problem that is of yet unexplainable. 

I am loading 185 grain hornadys (copper case, no cannelure), which are performing in a way that scares me:

these handloads will fire the primer but not burn the powder,(h110, 30grains)
so the bullet goes about 1 inch into the barrel and sticks, all of the powder is compacted behind the bullet, but does not appear to be burnt at all.

I have loaded other 250 grain hornady (copper casing, WITH cannelure which I crimp into very well) and all of them will fire without a problem.

any thoughts????????????????????

bshort


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Certain ball-type powders (including H110 and Win296) can be hard to ignite, and when they fail to light, you get what you described. To successfully use these powders, you need to watch three things: neck tension/bullet pull, crimp, and primer type.

Neck tension/bullet pull -- size all cases, even new ones, to maximize case mouth tension on the bullet once it is seated. A heavy crimp will NOT replace a tight bullet/case mouth fit; you need both to resist premature bullet movement (caused by the primer pop) until the powder can ignite.

Crimp -- Use a bullet with a cannelure or crimping groove, and crimp the case securely into the groove. If your cases are used/previously fired, check lengths regularly and trim when necessary to prevent inconsistent crimping (too high or too low in relation to the crimp groove).

Primer type -- Use magnum primers whenever possible (but make sure your load data were developed with mag primers; NEVER substitute mag primers into a non-mag-primer load). The longer/hotter flame of mag primers increases ignition reliability of these powders, and usually improves performance in cold-weather conditions, too.


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

DJ Niner wrapped that up in a nut shell. Real good information. Good luck.


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## bshort (May 30, 2007)

*Thanks jfor the info. what to do next?*

DJ Niner:

Thanks for the thoughts, I am currently doing 2 of your 3 reccomended procedures (Crimp and Primer choice)

I don't fully understand what you mean by neck tension/bullet pull (I understand the concept: make sure the entire neck is contacting the bullet with as much tension as possible, not just the crimp at the end).

But I don't know how to achieve it, I use a RCBS 3 die carbide die set for reloading,

But don't know if this has the ability to adjust the neck resizing?????

Do I need to buy a special neck sizing die? or just be sure to run my cases through the sizing die always?

Thanks 
B Short


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## Bob Wright (May 10, 2006)

DJ Niner has been doing his homework.

I had the same problems many years ago with Winchester 296 in the .45 Colt. Complete re-run of my situation.

Bob Wright


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

bshort said:


> DJ Niner:
> 
> Thanks for the thoughts, I am currently doing 2 of your 3 reccomended procedures (Crimp and Primer choice)
> 
> ...


No special die is usually needed, just make sure you are full-length sizing all your cases, even new ones, before loading. If your second die has a case neck expander, make sure it is set to the MINIMUM amount needed to get the base of the bullet started into the case. If you are expanding/belling the case neck excessively before seating, you're just "undo-ing" the sizing (squeezing down) of the case neck in the sizing die.

One final note: if you are trying to crimp a bullet that doesn't have a crimping groove, you could actually be decreasing the case neck tension. When a standard roll-crimp die tries to crimp on a bullet without a groove, the case neck often bulges a tiny bit right below the case mouth, and this raised area no longer contacts the bullet, reducing the tension. To crimp properly and successfully, you must have a bullet with a crimping groove, or a special collet-type crimping die that will crush the case neck into the bullet hard enough to MAKE a groove.

I understand the urge to launch light, fly-weight pistol bullets at ultra-high velocity (I've burned more than a couple of pounds of powder in my .44s trying to turn them into ".44 Swifts"), but without a crimping groove, and with a short, light, hard-for-the-case-to-grip bullet, I think your problems will continue unless you make some changes. Things you might try: find a light bullet with a cannelure, or change to a faster and easier-to-ignite powder (although this will probably not provide the highest possible velocity).


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Bob Wright said:


> DJ Niner has been doing his homework.
> 
> I had the same problems many years ago with Winchester 296 in the .45 Colt. Complete re-run of my situation.
> 
> Bob Wright


Just reliving my past in print.  I learned all about W296's quirks many years ago in a .357, but the problems and fixes are pretty universal, from what I've been able to gather. It's my favorite powder in jacketed-bullet .44 magnum loads, and thanks to my previous "experience", I've never had any trouble at all with the .44s.

And I can safely get a 180 Sierra JHP going over 1700 FPS out of my Redhawk using W296. You hit any critter under 20 pounds dead-center with that load, and it rains fur for a week. :mrgreen:


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

*Good laugh!!!*



DJ Niner said:


> And I can safely get a 180 Sierra JHP going over 1700 FPS out of my Redhawk using W296. You hit any critter under 20 pounds dead-center with that load, and it rains fur for a week. :mrgreen:


ROTFLMAO!!:anim_lol::anim_lol::anim_lol:


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