After getting my first Smith & Wesson 4506-1, 45ACP I want to come up with a hand load using one of the powders I am use to loading and that I have in stock.

After searching the load data charts I was shocked not to find 2400 powder in any of them. I do not understand why 2400 is not being used to load for the 45ACP.

Someone enlighten me as to why it would not work. I plan on using the 230 gr. .451 FMJ bullet for my loading.

I have excellent accurate loads worked up for the 32-40, 38-55, 44-40, 357 and 45 Long Colt cartridges using 2400 and really believe it would be an excellent powder for the 45ACP.

Look forward to hearing your opinions.

djh

2400 is an excellent powder, but is too slow burning for the 45 ACP. The 45 auto needs some thing faster, along the lines of Bullseye,Clays,HP38,or W231.

Well after looking at the burn charts I see what you are saying. 2400 is considerably slower then hp-38 or w-231.

2400 is used in the loading of the 357, 41 and 44 mags, I'm just shocked it would not work in the 45ACP.

I do use both hp-38 and w-231 but don't like them as much as 2400.

I have e-mailed Alliant about using 2400 so it will be interesting to see what they say.

Thanks for the info.

djh

13.0 gr of 2400 in ACP brass with a WLP primer will produce about 870 fps average with a 195 gr Tumble Lube bullet (OAL 1.24"). The same load will produce 874 fps average with a 240 gr tumble lube. These were shot out of a 5" M625.

Of course, this isn't much better than what Bullseye will do with less than half the powder, so why waste powder?

Boy I sure don't need to waste powder for sure. I think I will try the hp-38 and w-231 since I already have quite a bit of it in my loading safe.

Thanks for the info.

djh

My WW book says that 5.3 of 231 will give 830fps with a jacketed 230 gr. My standard load is 5.0 with a 200gr lead swc.

Try Unique or Herco; you can use either of them in your other cartridges as well. 2400 is best for top end magnum loads.

THe .45 acp was designed using Bulls-Eye powder... and it remains a top choice for use with the .45acp.

Another plus to Bulls-Eye is the fact is requires less powder to achieve the desired velocity... which means it saves money... a serious consideration these days...

The first commercial smokless powder available to hand loaders introduced around 1893, Bulls-Eye is still unsurpassed for accuracy, consistency and economy. Bulls-Eye is unchanged from the initial product and every batch is still bench marked against samples of powder from the first batch produced.

FWIW

Chuck

Some say Unique is a good choice, especially if you choose to load a heavier bullet - say a 250g SWC.

I prefer W231/HP38 over BE as it burns cleaner and is slightly slower in burn rate.

Try 5.3g W231 under a 230g bullet, it's sweet.

For my 1911 I use Bullseye,W-231 and AA#5, for my Marlin Camp 45 I like AA#5 and Unique anything slower may not agree with the straight blow back action of the carbine.

Winchesters load data is a wee bit optimistic in my experience with WW231 and the .45 ACP. The load to make IPSC major was 5.5-5.7 gr with a 200 gr. I clocked a 230 TC over 5.7 at around 900 fps.

5.0 gr Bullseye and a 230 gr ball is the old standard recipie.

jibjab has it right, listen to him.

Bullseye for cast lead 185-200 grain semi-wadcutters and Unique for jacketed 230 grain round nose takes care of me with the .45 ACP.

quote:

Originally posted by jibjab:
For my 1911 I use Bullseye,W-231 and AA#5, for my Marlin Camp 45 I like AA#5 and Unique anything slower may not agree with the straight blow back action of the carbine.

I have used all of the way down (or up, however you look at it)to AA#9 on the burn rate chart in the 45ACP. The loads with the slower powders haven't been shot in my friend's Marlin Camp Rifle yet. I have shot some pretty stout HS-6 loads out of it. They worked well. Even faster powders, like Bullseye, take advantage of the longer barrel of the carbine. I got an increased velocity out of my standard 1911 rounds of over 200fps! Something not thought of when dealing with Bullseye. If I had a rifle in this caliber I would be experimenting with even slower powders to see what could be developed to achieve full use of the barrel length.

quote:

WR Moore:
Winchesters load data is a wee bit optimistic in my experience with WW231 and the .45 ACP. The load to make IPSC major was 5.5-5.7 gr with a 200 gr. I clocked a 230 TC over 5.7 at around 900 fps.

Yes so very true!