I'm just starting to load .45 Auto for my 1911.
Does .001 diameter make a difference with the bullets?

My Hornady manual uses data for .451" so that's what I started with.
I see lots of bullets for sale advertised as .452".

Aside from the obvious .001", is there any difference? Is there any reason to pick one over the other?

Thanks for any help.

Makes no difference. HOWEVER, with some brass having thicker case walls, the loaded round may be bulged enough if a larger bullet diameter is used that the round may chamber with difficulty if the chamber is a little on the small side of the tolerance range. . I have had that problem on occasion with using .452 bullets. A good idea to try a few in your chamber first before you make up several hundred, especially if you are using cases with mixed headstamps.

I think you will find .451 jacketed and .452 lead and coated.

0.001" doesn't sound like much but in the right place it can make a big difference. You didn't say if you're using jacketed or lead. Typically jacked bullets run .451 and lead run .452.

I believe the original difference in diameter was because the 45 ACP ran jacketed projectiles of .451" and the 45 Colt used .452". As a matter of fact, a few years ago Hornady offered exactly the same projectile at .451" and .452". They didn't do it without reason.

Were I using jacketed I would stick to .451"; if I am buying cast, the extra .001" can only help. The trick is to make sure you are buying for the auto, as some profiles of projectiles may not feed in the 1911 if they were designed for the Colt cartridge.

Actually the 45 colt used 0.454" bullets in early loadings. Does 0.001" make a siff, it sure can with certain bullet types. Lead or coated lead want to be 0.452". Jacketed can get by at 0.451". Plated, imo, should also be 0.452", they are after all just coated soft lead. This allows best fit & the ability for the rifling to engage properly.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

This is the question we must have info on to determine the Droids you are seeking!

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Still Running Against the Wind

It could . All my 45's will do fine with .451 jacketed or .452 cast , Except one , a revolver...Taurus model 455 , 45 acp , cast bullets have to be sized .451 to fully chamber, .451 jacketed do just fine. It has minimum sized chambers and throats (tight) . I'm not going to complain because that rascal is scary accurate, it shoots tighter groups than my Colt Gold Cup target pistol ! I just size the cast .451 and load them up.

I don't know about the .45 but.......

.355" 115 & 124gr bullets were ok but when I shot a
.356" 147 gr bullet is was almost twice as accurate in one of my 9mm pistols !!

A .358" coated would not chamber in the same weapon.

You just need to do a lot of loads and find out what your pistols like........ per its chamber dimensions.

I've started out with 230gr. JHP from Everglades.
It doesn't much matter to me which I shoot - plated, jacketed, etc. I just wasn't clear on why the difference in diameter between bullets.
I was looking around for something a little cheaper to shoot. I just have a feeling that the 17.8¢ per bullet I paid could add up fast and make a guy go broke shooting.

That's why so many of us shoot 200 gr lswc.They cost about 10¢

Home cast lead semi-wadcutter cost about $0.02 each once you get the mold and sizer paid off. Mining bullets from a dirt berm can be a real chore though.

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S&WHF 366

1) No. SAAMI specifies 0.452" jacketed and 0.453" lead bullets for .45 Auto. SAAMI sees no difference in pressure with jacketed bullets ranging from 0.449-0.452" for the industry.
2) No. You start at the starting load and work up watching for pressure signs. Even if a larger bullet affected pressure, you find that out during load work-up.
I use 0.356-0.357" jacketed bullets for 9x19 and have never seen any "premature" pressure signs in over 40 years. Unlike .45 Auto, I find that over-size bullets tend to be more accurate than 0.355" jacketed bullets in 9x19.

Re: bullet costs--
Best bullets I have found for consistent accuracy in my .45 Autos are H&G #68 200gn L-SWCs and clones.
The two that I prefer are:
1) Precision Bullet's 200gn swaged and coated L-SWC. Price is $96/1000 or $203/2250 bullet cases (9 cents/bullet)
2) Zero 200gn swaged L-SWC. Price from Powder Valley is $154/2000 (7.7 cents/bullet). This is, to me, the best deal going--fantastic bullet at a fantastic price.
Even standard 200gn cast L-SWCs are running about 8+ cents/bullet.

You "must care" now that you reload. All forms of MINUTIA are important , throw expenses to the wind!!

Get the coated lead bullets, cheaper than jacketed, better than plated and no leading like regular lead,

A Win Win.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Extreme bullets 45 ACP bullets are specified at 0.451 inch. Berry's plated 45 ACP bullets are specified at 0.452 inch. Seems like there is a 0.001 inch difference between the two. Until you get out a Mitotoyo digital Micrometer that reads to 1/2 of one ten thousandth. Then you will find that the Extreme bullet actually measures at 0.45170 inch and the Berry's bullet measures at 0.45170 inch. So, does a difference of 0.001 inch really matter? Not if the actual measured difference is 0.00000 inch.

Point is you really don't know the diameter of the bullet you are using unless you actually have tools to accurately measure that bullet. I can also tell you that you can purchase a Vernier Micrometer that reads down to the tenths for under 20 dollars. Downside is they will be made in China and they will need to be properly zeroed before you use them but they do work once you have them adjusted properly. See link

Production Tool Supply

If you don't want to deal with zeroing a micrometer or using a vernier then see the following link. However, I will warn you they aint cheap.

Production Tool Supply

I have some jacked everglades bullets too but they were relegated to my backup stock. I bought 44 and 357 bullets to push to mag velocities.

I tried Hi-Tek coated bullets and they work fine in my 44 mag. I push my 240gr SWC with 20.2gr of #9 and I get no leading. I buy them a thousand at a time from Bayou + the abused $15 herniate the mailman flat rate which makes them 12.5¢ a piece. You were talking about 45acp which is about a penny cheaper.

The problem with coated and plated too is you need to be careful not to break the coating. I went to separate seating and crimping dies to avoid doing that.

If economy is your goal casting might be in your future.

Commercial jacketed ammo for 45 Colt is generally .452 and commercial jacketed ammo for 45 ACP is generally .451. For reloading, the two diameters are usually not an issue, although some .452 jacketed bullets are two heavy or the wrong shape for standard use in a semi-auto.