CW 45 short chamber

[dallas don]

Has anybody had problems with their CW 45 not going into battery with some handloads tat do feed in other 45ACP guns? Mine seems to require shorter then usual OAL....1,244 to 1.255..my SWC's are just showing the edge of the bullet band at the case mouth edge to feed...

[jocko]

if it feeds factory ammo, then it is OK. reloads is another thing. some guns are throated differently as you well know. I have never to this day read of what you are relating to . If u must shoot those particular rounds, send to a good smitty and have him throat it more for you. It is fixable for what you want but not sure it is kahrs problem either.

[500KV]

Has anybody had problems with their CW 45 not going into battery with some handloads tat do feed in other 45ACP guns? Mine seems to require shorter then usual OAL....1,244 to 1.255..my SWC's are just showing the edge of the bullet band at the case mouth edge to feed...
Welcome aboard dd.
You didn't say what bullet you were using.
The 1.244 to 1.255 OAL is a bit too long to chamber well in a CW45.

I use an OAL of 1.200 with a 185gr Montana Gold bullet that works really well in my CW45.
I also seat 200 gr lead bullets to 1.200 to 1.220 that also work well.

You definitely need to taper crimp all your rounds to assure proper feeding/chambering.(A must)
CW45's, or any Kahrs for that matter, don't like weak loads BTW. They'll stumble every time with them.

Anyway, good luck. CW45's are great little guns.

[jfrey]

A close friend of mine is having the same exact problem and we are looking for the same answer? He has to tap the rear of the slide once loaded to get proper detonation of the round. Factory ammo works fine. I'm going to try some of my loads in his pistol this weekend to see if it OAL or possibly his crimp.

[500KV]

A close friend of mine is having the same exact problem and we are looking for the same answer? He has to tap the rear of the slide once loaded to get proper detonation of the round. Factory ammo works fine. I'm going to try some of my loads in his pistol this weekend to see if it OAL or possibly his crimp.
OAL is definitely a contributor, however a good taper crimp is essential.
Tolerances are snug in these guns.

[jfrey]

Good point on the crimp. That is why I want to try my ammo in his gun too. He loads on a Dillon 550 with ? dies. I load on a Dillon SDB and I know my resizing is good and crimps are tight. Older .45 cases can stretch some too, if not by much, so in a tight chamber it could be a problem. His chamber may be a tad short thus the problem.

[wyntrout]

Good point on the crimp. That is why I want to try my ammo in his gun too. He loads on a Dillon 550 with ? dies. I load on a Dillon SDB and I know my resizing is good and crimps are tight. Older .45 cases can stretch some too, if not by much, so in a tight chamber it could be a problem. His chamber may be a tad short thus the problem.
If you are rolling your own, you have a lot of control over the case length and seating depth and crimp. You should monitor case length and trim as needed. I cleaned the primer pockets as well as tumbling the brass. You can seat bullets deeper to match a factory load that works well. Just watch compression of the powder, raising pressures. I liked to use cannelured bullets and crimped the case there to cut down the chance of the bullet being pushed back during chambering. Stick to tried and true book loads -- there are many -- and try to find something that gives you the results you want. I "down" loaded .38 S&W and .44 S&W loads for target shooting in magnum revolvers, but you need enough power to cycle semi-autos, especially Kahrs. Case length and crimp is kind of critical with revolvers, too, as they can't protrude and stop cylinder rotation, which can happen with loose or no crimp, especially with magnum loads.
I was kind of anal with reloading and don't recall any duds or surprises. I hand primed(with a tray-fed RCBS -- don't handle primers) and visually and physically checked each primer seat, as this is the most likely cause of misfires. Even with a turret station press, I checked that powder had dropped and checked charges frequently with a scale and tried to maintain the powder column so that it keep enough above the powder measure's baffle for even flow and consistency. Yeah, I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I seem to like that, 'cause I like yakking.:blushing:
I sold most of my reloading stuff, but I still have my reference books by major manufacturers and I used to try a load from a magazine once in awhile after checking it against my references.
Reloading was "fun" and I felt a great sense of satisfaction in loading my own ammo, producing the best round I could.:)
Anyhow, have fun and be safe.
Wynn:D

[getsome]

Hi Wyn, quick question for you since you are an experienced reloader...I currently reload with a single stage redding kit because I wanted to learn slow...Its a fun hobby but I don't think its saving much money with the cost of supplies... I can almost do better with WWB from wally world...But anyway here is the question, on my powder measure how much powder should you keep in there and what does the baffle do and is it necessary? I keep about an inch above the baffle and every 20 or so throws I will tap the powder measure with a plastic bullet pulling hammer to try and keep the powder flow constant...Not sure thats really necessary but the weight of every 10 shell throws doesnt differ more than .01 grain...Thanks

[wyntrout]

Hi Wyn, quick question for you since you are an experienced reloader...I currently reload with a single stage redding kit because I wanted to learn slow...Its a fun hobby but I don't think its saving much money with the cost of supplies... I can almost do better with WWB from wally world...But anyway here is the question, on my powder measure how much powder should you keep in there and what does the baffle do and is it necessary? I keep about an inch above the baffle and every 20 or so throws I will tap the powder measure with a plastic bullet pulling hammer to try and keep the powder flow constant...Not sure thats really necessary but the weight of every 10 shell throws doesnt differ more than .01 grain...Thanks

It should have a baffle that evens the powder flow and gives a consistent measured amount. Without the baffle, the entire column of powder would compress the loads starting out and gradually lessen, causing quite a difference in the weight of the powder charges. The idea is consistency so your rounds hit the point of aim consistently. I had a Lyman powder measure that had the baffle and each pull and return of the operation handle "knocked" the powder hopper a bit, helping to keep the powder settling and flowing past the baffle giving a consistent level below the baffle.
Wynn

I started out with a Lee Hand Loader for 20ga, shot shells. I had a drill press attachment for a hand drill that I used for consistent crimping, instead of a mallet! I had a little powder scoop that you shook from side to side to level the powder charge. Not exactly precise and I went through a variety of shot shell presses getting more automatic from the Mec 600(?) to the Duomatic(?) with full-length case sizing and indexing -- each of (6?) the shells was encased in a full length die throughout the loading process to insure uniformity. Most loaders just size the base and the shells can pootch out a bit with insertion of the wad and the crimping, causing feed problems.
I always wanted a Dillon press and planned to get one before coming here. The indoor range doesn't allow picking up brass so I sold all or most all of my reloading stuff. I still have a single-stage Lee Loader (that I used for de-priming and separate functions that get messy with a turret press) and a bunch of miscellaneous parts and tools. I just use the cheapest fodder that works for me for targets. I prefer the 124-grain FMJ because that's what I favored for 9mm.
Wynn:D

[getsome]

Thanks Wyn, I sure would like to get a dillon in the future...The the only problem with the single stage is the anmont of time it takes to make 50 rounds...It almost makes you not want to shoot them cause a nights work is gone in 15 minutes at the range...

[wyntrout]

I just used the single stage for de-capping and small ops as needed. The turret is too much trouble to change after a caliber is set up. Sometimes you need to do some stuff to one shell or a few. It's nice to have both and extra dies or holders for some things. You can't have too many options and stuff for reloading. Those one-caliber Dillon progressives always looked nice but I wanted the next step up, with a setup for each caliber. I even bought some stuff for one that I ran across.
When I was stationed at Abilene, Texas, a buddy or two and I would sit out in the garage and load shot shells for dove. Usually a little beer was involved. :p We carried buckets of shells dove hunting, no little boxes to mess with.:D
Wynn

[jocko]

carried my dove rounds in a 5 gallon bucket, no beer but alot of water in another iced down bucket. Just me and my yellow lab. I never ever had to get off mya ss with that dog. I don't know about most but I truly loved dove breast in a nicebakes gravy type sauce..Also keep and ate ever dove heart to,

[woodman]

If your powder measure does'nt have a baffle just put a funnel in the top, fill the powder measure and the funnel. Every time you throw a load powder flows out of the funnel and the powder level in the measure stays the same. When the funnel is near empty just refill it.

[groundhog]

Hey guys. First time user of the forum, and first time Kahr owner. I love my CW 45, but i ran into the problem of it not going into battery with a couple different hollowpoints that i have tried. It will chamber your average FMJ plinking rounds, but i tried hornady tap, magtech jhp, and golden sabres. All of the hollow points seem to not want to chamber the whole way. Any suggestions on factory hollowpoints to use? I reload, but only for my rifles.

Thanks,

Dan

[jocko]

check to see of those rounds are showing any signs of rifling marks on the bullets themselves. I could be that you just need to get more rounds down range out of the gun to.. I would think there should be marks on the bullets if that is indeed an issue.

[Vinikahr]

Hey guys. First time user of the forum, and first time Kahr owner. I love my CW 45, but i ran into the problem of it not going into battery with a couple different hollowpoints that i have tried. It will chamber your average FMJ plinking rounds, but i tried hornady tap, magtech jhp, and golden sabres. All of the hollow points seem to not want to chamber the whole way. Any suggestions on factory hollowpoints to use? I reload, but only for my rifles.

Thanks,

Dan

You may want to polish the feed-ramp a bit.

[dallas don]

In past i had progressive units-today-smaller batches-I load on single and turret models-buy I do weigh each charge-safe but slow-I do use an RCBS powder hopper and a Li Dandy both with a fitted weight to press down and compact the powder so that it reaches the charge meter hole uniformly-I find charge to charge with the hopper started at full to be less then a grain +-..with some powders-others its more + - .5 grain with the majority perfect...the weights are plastic tubes that tight fit the tubes sides and shell cases-selected for mass/weight...set down inside on top of the powder for the pressure down factor...you can use quarters I also found....just watch the powder levels keep it full and throw tests to start each time...

[wyntrout]

That doesn't sound like a good way to get consistency -- compacting the powder with weights and that much variance in a powder drop isn't very accurate. I don't know how big a charge you're talking about, but .2 of grain can be too much in light loads like .380 where you might be talking about 3 grains or so of certain powders for a charge.
I don't know about every type of loader, but I've never seen a factory product that compressed the powder like that. You would be better off using a funnel like someone else suggested earlier, if the powder measure doesn't have a baffle in it.

Here's one for RCBS: RCBS Quick Change High Capacity Powder Measure Powder Baffle - MidwayUSA (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=718734&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=9315)

Here's a better picture:RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure Powder Baffle Md: 9022 : Supplies at GunBroker.com (http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=152748319)

Cabela's: Cabela's -- RCBS Powder Baffle (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0002912210596a&navCount=0&podId=0002912&parentId=&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IA&rid=&parentType=&indexId=&cmCat=netcon&cm_ven=netcon&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=powder%20measure%20baffle&cm_ite=netcon&rid=2146251080&hasJS=true)

You can even make one with an aluminum beer can and scissors with experimentation using card stock-type paper and the templates and instructions below. With the baffle, you're maintaining an inch or so powder column and don't need to keep the hopper full, as with a funnel. But using compression with weight like that is just adding to the effect of gravity on a column of powder.
Here's a link to a site where you can get templates for making a baffle for most measures: http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=34885&highlight=baffled . You'll have to join if you're not a member but it's free as this forum is. The pdf file is too large to upload here ~ 98K.

Any accuracy critical loads like rifle or magnum handloads, I weighed each charge for consistency to 1/10 grain.

Wynn

[jfrey]

We found the answer to the original question. My friend was loading his bullets too far out and they were contacting the rifling in the barrel, thus not letting the action completely close. He reset the bullets to 1.200 OAL and the problems went away completely. It doesn't take but a couple thousandths but it worked.

[wyntrout]

Good. It's a good idea to check things like that against a factory round. You can set the seat depth roughly that way and then correct as needed for actual reloading. Case length kind of grows because the hotter the load the more the metal "flows" and merits watching, too.
Pick your factory round, too, because the OALs of those vary a bit, too. The Remington Gold Sabers are about the longest.
Wynn