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[QUOTE=Scotty]After about 200 rds or so, the weapon starts gumming up and jamming. I've been shooting the Winchester battle packs.....What do you guys shoot for target/what do you do to the weapon to keep it from gumming badly?
.....Custom built Strayer-Voigt frame, Caspian slide. Completely built from the ground up by master gunsmith Tommy Abernathy.
Scotty:
The guys have some excellent advice and I will comment on your questions FWIW.
One of the guys said to keep it lubed and it really didn't matter what you use for lube. I agree totally but will add this for you. Don't mix the types of lube you are using. I have been using LSA-T on my .45 and it works quite well. This last week I decided to lube with LSA-T on some of the parts and good old CLP on others. It was hot out and I shot a-lot that day. The LSA-T tried to mix with the CLP and it resulted in a gummy substance that also got mixed with carbon. The .45 got sluggish but continued to function. A quick wipe down of the barrel and slide followed by straight CLP did the trick.
I think that the Winchester cheapo ammo that you are using isn't as hot as it should be. Liability issues are at play with commercially purchased ammo and the companies will always use the low end of loads to avoid law suits. The loads are perfectly safe of course but are one size fits all and I have found the Winchester 230 grain loads to be very mild although they function every .45 I have seen them fired through. Could be that these loads are a bit light for your custom pistol and once you get some carbon mixed with the lube -- that is enough to make it sluggish.
I think some of the fellows remember the final days of the issued .45 ACP -- early 1990s. IMI .45 ball. 230 grain round nose. Very hot loads. Much more felt recoil than the issued WCC .45 ACP we used to get. So hot in fact that I stopped shooting them.
You may want to ask this gunsmith what loads should be shot from this particular pistol before hand loading for it. He would probably know what is best and I would go with his advice before screwing around with something else.
'Target' loads is kind of a generic term. Real 'Target' loads normally use a 185 grain bullet and very light loads of powder -- requiring a much lighter recoil spring than what you probably have. I don't think you really want to deal with true 'target' loads as 185 grain .45 bullets can be very picky about the feed ramp.
Instead, let me advise you to hand load with some 200 grain truncated cone or cast bullets to moderate loads. I feed my .45 a constant diet of 200 grain bullets. My loads are a bit hotter than what bullseye guys will use but that ensures function. I have found the 200 grain bullets to be superior in accuracy than the 230 round nose anyway and if you are worried about 'knock down' power -- I wouldn't due to bullet design and the increased speed you get with the 200 grain bullets.
Guys generally use five grains of Tite Group or WW 231 with a 200 grain bullet to good effect. There are other powders -- Bullseye, AA-5, AA-7, Unique, and some shotgun powders but I think that most guys tend to stick with Tite Group and WW 231. Plus or minus a few tenths of a grain to suit their own tastes but that is the general load for this bullet weight. Works with standard recoil springs and the accuracy is superior to a 230.
One final comment -- there is no excuse for any firearm not to function with the ammo that the manufacturer claims should be used. I have very strong views about firearms that someone says needs to be 'broken in' by firing ammo before it will function consistently and perfectly. To me, there is no excuse for a firearm made by a custom guy or even out of the box to fail to function flawlessly for the full amount of ammo expected to be shot in any shooting session. 200 rounds in a session for a pistol without wiping it down or adding lube is pushing it in my view so keep that in mind as you go down your path.
Gene
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