I have been reloading for about 2 months now and having a ball. I am loading the Missouri Bullet 225 grain flat nose lead bullets as follows: 5.4gr of Win 231, Blazer small primer once fired brass, and Federal Small Pistol primers to an OAL of 1.22 +/- .01. Very happy with the performance in my S&W 1911 E series 45. I am currently getting, out of 8 shots at 25 feet, ~6 in a 2 1/2 to 3" grouping with a couple outside that. I am thinking that shooting more and working on technique is important and would eventually help the groupings, but it would be nice to get some help from the round. I have seen it said many times that making your own bullets will improve your shooting, but was wondering, what do I change in this load to try and improve groupings?

George

Make up 10 rounds of the minimum powder charge ,then make ten more with 1/10th of a grain more and so on til you get close to max.Set yourself up with a shooting bench and some sandbags.Use the bags to support your wrists with a two handed hold and shoot each of those groups of ten into it's own target.Take your time doing this and take a break when you get tired.Somewhere in there You'll probably find the sweet spot.Once you find the tightest grouping you can try that load with various primers.Good luck!

What exact bullet are you using? I do not find a 235 gr FN 45 ACP bullet.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Maybe their 225 grn FPs?

SMSgt and Rule3 thanks for your response. I just checked Missouri Bullett. It is there number 452225M 45 acp Flat Head 225 grain Brinell 18 lead bullet. Hopefully this answers your question
ARJAY thanks for the advice. I will give that a try.

I feel reloading for accuracy is much more effective in regards to rifle rounds versus handgun rounds. There's only so much one can do with pistol loads at the usual distances fired. The majority of handgun accuracy is in the shooter. I'm no pistol ace, but I can keep them in a small paperplate at 15 yards all day long.

You can reduce the powder load to reduce recoil, enabling the shooter to get back on target faster, but that comes back to shooter control. I've been loading 5.0 grains of HP-38 behind Missouri's 230 LRNs and have had excellent function and grouping. But any inaccuracy is on me. I haven't found where loading to higher velocities help accuracy.

arjay hit the nail on the head. Experiment. Low load may cause cycling malfunctions. High load may bring no better accuracy but eat up more powder. That's the fun of reloading. Any cost savings are just gravy.

George,
Sorry I can't give you what might improve your 45 ACP load since I load almost exactly the same round.

I am charging 5.5gr W231 under a 230gr LRN bullet with an OAL of 1.255".

Using a Missouri Bullets 225gr TC bullet over 5.4gr W231 isn't going to change things much. BTW, 8 round groups @25 yards are hard to keep very tight. Most handgun groups are shot with 5 rounds so your groups, especially without a rest are not bad at all...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Well, regardless , it is a 225gr not 235 gr but that will not change anything in regard to accuracy. As mentioned, accuracy is a very subjective thing and there are so many variables, especially in handguns and hand held. Unless you have a ransom rest to rule out the human factor.

Just keep everything consistent and practice as much as you can.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Guys, thanks for the great advice/information. I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around improving performance by altering the load. I guess you can to a degree but you have confirmed my thought that more good practice time will hopefully improve my shooting. I apologize for the typo on the bullet weight.

You could dable with powder and bullet style/weight changes but I would argue that you are not likely to see a significant improvement with home cast bullets if your shooting at 25'. Move that distance out a bit and practice, practice, practice.

p.s. Competitive Bullseye shooters I know lean towards a 200 gr SWC design (often driven by Bullseye powder). There may be some message there if you have a reloading itch to scratch. ( As we often do!)

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Dave

I doubt it will help much, but with such a light target load of powder, I think you might be better off with one of their softer lead bullets.
The 225 grain with a Brinell of 18 is made to really be pushed.
i would experiment with their 200, or 230 grain in a 12 Brinell that might help a very small amount.
I am also a believer in the shooter being the biggest factor though in short range pistol shooting. I do realize that 5.4 grains is right up there for 231 , but it is 231. I load that bullet with 7.5 grains of Power Pistol, or 11 grains of Accurate #7 that is more in line with hardness I think.


Chris

what oal are you using with these bullets? I just got 500 of the 225 gr bullets today that I ordered Tuesday. They always amaze me on how fast they ship orders

In addition to the mention of Bullseye another good old powder choice is Unique. I use both with MBC 230 softball. Good function,good accuracy.

Steveno, the oal is 1.22. See my first entry for all the details of the load.
Once again, thanks to all that responded. Your input is really appreciated from someone who has only be realoading for a couple of months. Getting info on what loads you all are using for the same bullet and powder is extremly helpful in zeroing in on what I need/want.
Thanks,
George

I use the MBC 200gn RNFP, but I use the Cowboy #4, shown as a 45 Colt load, because it is a 12bhn instead of 18. Loaded with 5.0gn of HP38/231 at 1.195 OAL it is very accurate and reliable with no leading.