.45 ACP cast target loads

[bph9]

With the suspension of Alliant powders for sale to civilians because of the huge amount of their powder production being made for the Russian/Ukrainian War there is a mad rush to find a substitute for Bullseye Powder. There is only one caveat and that is people have been pursuing this for decades and all have failed.

In the long run ignoring civilian sales will only lose Alliant tens of thousands of customers permanently when they get used to using substitute brands of powders. Once a person gets used to using a product, even if it is slightly inferior, there is a great reluctance to changes horses in midstream.

 

[redbanks]

This brings back memories of my first starting to reload 200 gr SWC for my series 70 1911 in the early 80’s. The reason I got a Dillon 450, now a 550. A much older and partially deaf range guy named Carl would sell sized and lubed 200 gr bullets for way cheap. He kept all of us 45 acp shooters supplied. Bullseye and Unique were the standard powders! When primers were less than a penny a piece…
Anyone recommend a decent online supplier of quality but economical bullets these days? I order from Everglades for mostly all the other calibers I currently reload for.

 

[rockquarry]

I meant the type of shooting not what powder.

Yes, bullseye.

 

[ARgon]

This brings back memories of my first starting to reload 200 gr SWC for my series 70 1911 in the early 80’s. The reason I got a Dillon 450, now a 550. A much older and partially deaf range guy named Carl would sell sized and lubed 200 gr bullets for way cheap. He kept all of us 45 acp shooters supplied. Bullseye and Unique were the standard powders! When primers were less than a penny a piece…
Anyone recommend a decent online supplier of quality but economical bullets these days? I order from Everglades for mostly all the other calibers I currently reload for.

Missouri Bullets

Missouri Bullet Company

Missouri Bullet Company offers premium lead bullets at affordable prices. We make hardness optimized bullets for the velocity of the loads you shoot.

www.missouribullet.com

 

[gym cat]

you betcha!!!!!!!

 

[gwpercle]

Watching. I want to develop a cast 185 gr SWC load for my S&W 625, 45 ACP.
Target shooting to 50 yards, non-competition, just my amusement.

Check loading data ... Find a powder you can get and use a load in the 750 to 800 fps velocity range .
Fast and medium burning powders work well ...
The 45 acp is Easy to load for ...just about any sensible powder will give you a decent load .
The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4 th Edition has a lot of good info with the 185 LSWC cast bullet

 

[gunfun51]

I have used WW 231 for 40+ years, 5.6 231 230 gr RN cast lead, 5.8 grs 231 for 200 LSWC,. also use the 5.8 231 for 185 JHP. Round nose for 625 and 200 swc for 1911.

I use the same load in w231. Use w231 for 38 special and 45 acp.

 

[500hunter]

Thanks for the loads, but I prefer to use the same load and same bullet for both distances, at least for now. I have no doubt what you suggested is in the spirit of fine tuning a load for a specific distance, but I don't shoot well enough to appreciate the difference.

It's been a while since I shot outdoor Bullseye, but IIRC there was no sight adjustment needed between 25 and 50 yds with these loads.

 

[rockquarry]

It's been a while since I shot outdoor Bullseye, but IIRC there was no sight adjustment needed between 25 and 50 yds with these loads.

Mine could all stand a sight adjustment when changing from 25 to 50 yards, but yes, they're fairly close. However, I'm not an excellent bullseye shooter.

 

[Exchipy]

As this is the S&W forum, here’s what my favorite .45ACP load did at 50 feet, standing two handed, from my (somewhat altered) Model 645. At the rate of 2,000 loads per pound of Bullseye, a pound can last a very long time, unless one is a truly high volume shooter. This particular load (except that I now use Missouri bullets) dates from the 1950s, probably even earlier, and was reportedly a favorite of the top competitors of the time for use out to 50 yards.

 

[rockquarry]

View attachment 775254
As this is the S&W forum, here’s what my favorite .45ACP load did at 50 feet, standing two handed, from my (somewhat altered) Model 645. At the rate of 2,000 loads per pound of Bullseye, a pound can last a very long time, unless one is a truly high volume shooter. This particular load (except that I used Missouri bullets) dates from the 1950s, probably even earlier, and was reportedly a favorite of the top competitors of the time for use out to 50 yards.

I've mentioned it somewhere on this forum before, but in the 1960s, the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN published a listing of loads used by nationally recognized Bullseye competitors in both .38 Special and .45. The 3.5 BE / 200 gr. #68 was easily among the most popular loads and for good reason.

 

[Exchipy]

I've mentioned it somewhere on this forum before, but in the 1960s, the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN published a listing of loads used by nationally recognized Bullseye competitors in both .38 Special and .45. The 3.5 BE / 200 gr. #68 was easily among the most popular loads and for good reason.

That was my information source.

 

[Krogen]

That was my information source.

Can you provide a link to the American Rifleman article? I'd like to try some different Bullseye loads. Currently I'm shooting the Marine Corps load published in American Rifleman. It's a Nosler 185 gr JHP over N310. I had good luck with Laser Cast 200 gr SWCs and 231 in the past. I'm thinking of going back to cast bullets.

 

[Riposte1]

Sadly I don't know much about target loads, but I think Armand Swenson used 4.0 or Bullseye behind the H&G 68 to test his builds - if they did not all hit a 1" target paster at 25 yards (shooting one handed standing) then he considered the build a failure.

The standard military load with a 230 gr. bullet is 5.0 gr. of BE - so 4 with a 200 is still pretty light.

I have good luck, accuracy wise with the 200 H&G at almost any speed.

Just Ramblin'

Riposte

 

[rockquarry]

Sadly I don't know much about target loads, but I think Armand Swenson used 4.0 or Bullseye behind the H&G 68 to test his builds - if they did not all hit a 1" target paster at 25 yards (shooting one handed standing) then he considered the build a failure.

The standard military load with a 230 gr. bullet is 5.0 gr. of BE - so 4 with a 200 is still pretty light.

I have good luck, accuracy wise with the 200 H&G at almost any speed.

Just Ramblin'

Riposte

I wish I could hit a 1" target at 25 yards bullseye style. Pretty good shooting. My guns are capable, but I'm far from it.

 

[Exchipy]

Can you provide a link to the American Rifleman article? I'd like to try some different Bullseye loads. Currently I'm shooting the Marine Corps load published in American Rifleman. It's a Nosler 185 gr JHP over N310. I had good luck with Laser Cast 200 gr SWCs and 231 in the past. I'm thinking of going back to cast bullets.

Unfortunately, you’ll need to use the Way-Back machine in order to read those annual articles the way I did.

 

[scattershot]

I like the H&G 68 with 4.2 Bullseye or 4.0 Red Dot / Promo.

 

[rockquarry]

Can you provide a link to the American Rifleman article? I'd like to try some different Bullseye loads. Currently I'm shooting the Marine Corps load published in American Rifleman. It's a Nosler 185 gr JHP over N310. I had good luck with Laser Cast 200 gr SWCs and 231 in the past. I'm thinking of going back to cast bullets.

I have the article, cut out from my cache of old ARs that I eventually discarded. I have no idea how to make it available to you on this forum, but I'll work on it.

As for cast target loads, I doubt any jacketed bullet would be more accurate as long as the bullet fits well and is of the right alloy for the load. I'm not familiar with commercial cast bullets. Perhaps some of them work quite well.

231 is certainly a good powder for cast bullet handgun loads, but you might find excellent accuracy sooner and better with other powders in the .45 ACP. However, I have not worked with it much in the .45 for quite a while. I'd need to work with it again to make any sort of conclusive statement regarding accuracy loads.

I've never used N310 powder but read somewhere (on paper) in the pre-Internet era that it was an excellent accuracy powder in the .45. That's the extent of my sketchy knowledge on the subject, but I'll bet it would be worth a try.

 

[Riposte1]

This isn't exactly a target load, as it gets 1200 fps from the 7" barrel (1100 from a 5") but, while I don't shoot B8s (other than the Justin Dyal drills at short range) it will get the job done.

50 yards, 5 or 6 shots (I forget which).



Riposte

 

[davek42_43130]

I shoot a 45/200gn scw with 5 gns of titegroup. Works well for me.