45 acp loads

[warhorse302]

Been loading 38 and 40 and now I got my hands on a set of 45 acp dies. I bought some Berrys plated 200 gr. hps. I hav HP-38, Universal and power pistol on hand. Any ideas would be helpful. Hard to get data on these bullets or maybe I am not looking in the right place.

 

[glen_farmer]

200gr plated

My wife has 5.5 gr of HP38 as her favorite with that bullet.

She made a 60+ yard head shot on a IDPA target with that load and her S&W 1911. It must be pretty good.

Please post what you come up with.

 

[Engineer1911]

For plated bullets, use the mid-point for cast lead bullets of the same weight. Don't be too concerned about the exact bullet shape / profile. Hold cartridge length so that 0.020" bullet side wall is exposed.

I interchange Berry and Rainier bullets without any problems. I adjust powder charge to eject fired brass about 2 feet, from ejection port to brass impact point, with a factory recoil spring.

 

[rfd]

perhaps a zillion different good load recipes for .45acp will surface in this thread sooner than later.

i mostly use the venerable time tested bullseye and w231 powders, but have dabbled in the more critical clays and titegroup. there are many other powders folks favor, such as wst, unique and n310 or n320. they're all good in one way or another.

my "go to" target load for paper punching or bowling pin popper is 4.2 grains of bullseye with a 200 grain missouri or penn lswc and an oal of 1.235", using a slight taper crimp. no feed, fire or eject failures in my remington 1911 r1 w/16# recoil spring. as always, ymmv.

 

[SonnyCrockett]

I prefer PP......but have also used Universal....PP gets the nod

 

[Dave T]

Numerous sources now claim HP-38 and 231 are the same powder so keep that in mind.

My load with Berry's 200g RS is 6.2g 231 for 904 fps average from a 5" barrel. I call it my "JMB Original" as John M Browning's idea for the 45 ACP started with a 200g bullet at 900 fps. It was the Ordnance Dept that specified a 230g @ 830 fps for the newly adopted 45 pistol.

For Berry's 230g RN I'm getting about 840 fps with a charge of 5.9g of 231. YMMV!

Dave

 

[TSQUARED]

Been loading 38 and 40 and now I got my hands on a set of 45 acp dies. I bought some Berrys plated 200 gr. hps. I hav HP-38, Universal and power pistol on hand. Any ideas would be helpful. Hard to get data on these bullets or maybe I am not looking in the right place.

I am not using the powders on your list. I tend to use Trail Boss in revolver loads and either VV N-310 or American Selext for semi auto pistol loads. In my limited experience the velocity of plated bullets is ca .75-100 fps lower than lead bullets with the same powder charge.

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

I'm giving serious thought to reloading the .45 ACP, so a big thank you to the OP for bringing this up.

Hog

 

[MikeChandler]

I loaded berry 230gr PRN with 5 grains N320, clocked ~770fps from a 4.25" commander.

The hardest part with the berrys I think is the crimp. I ended up with almost no crimp whatsoever. Over crimping them made them keyhole. The copper plating is very thin.

m1911.org has a bullet dimension chart you can check for determining COAL for many 45ACP bullets.

 

[RussellD]

WST is my favorite powder in .38, 9mm and .45. Burn rate is close to hp38. Burns clean and has less smoke with cast bullets.

 

[sourdough44]

I've loaded a 200 grn plated RN with 6.1 grns of H Universal, worked fine in several guns, cycles well, nothing that will ruin your day.

 

[robctwo]

The Hodgdon site has data for Universal and 231 for 200 gr bullets http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

I have used 4.8 tp 5.3 W231 with success in my 1911s and my 25-2s. Day in and day out I shoot 4.0 Clays under a 200 gr lswc from a local caster.

I like Universal with 230 gr jacketed bullets and full bore to slightly over the max for bowling pins. Universal leaves unburnt powder for me in mild loads. Clays burns fast and has a very pleasant burnt powder odor.

W231 meters better in my LnL than Clays.

 

[fredj338]

You'll find precious little loading data fo rplated bullets. They actually load between a lead & jacketed of the same wt & shape. Yes, shape of the bullet matters, soemtimes quite a bit. It affects OAL & bearign surface. So match as closely as possible to a jacketed bullet & use starting jacketed data or a lead bullet & use direct lead bullet data. The plated run a bit slower than a lead bullet, faster than jacketed w/ equiv powder charges. A plated bullet is a soft lead bulelt w/ a thin copper palting so acts more like a lead bullet., often sized 0.001" larger like a lead bullet as well.

 

[ChuckS1]

Use cast bullet data for loading plated bullets.

 

[BCDWYO]

I loaded berry 230gr PRN with 5 grains N320, clocked ~770fps from a 4.25" commander.

The hardest part with the berrys I think is the crimp. I ended up with almost no crimp whatsoever. Over crimping them made them keyhole. The copper plating is very thin.

m1911.org has a bullet dimension chart you can check for determining COAL for many 45ACP bullets.

I've routinely used Berrys 230 gr RN with good results with a variety of powders. Forgive my ignorance, but can you explain what "keyhole" means, and how I would tell? I've wondered about the amount of crimp using a Dillon 550B...seems kind of subjective but I'm probably missing something. Thanks

 

[sourdough44]

The term 'Keyhole' with shooting refers to the bullet striking the target sideways, leaving an elongated hole. One of the most common reasons would be a bullet weight(length) used that is totally beyond what the twist of the barrel calls for, like a 77 grn 223 bullet in a 1/12" rifled barrel. The above poster may of had problems with some plating coming off his bullets, sounds like anyway.

 

[Fishslayer]

I'm giving serious thought to reloading the .45 ACP, so a big thank you to the OP for bringing this up.

Hog

Just do it.

.45ACP is about the easiest and most forgiving caliber to reload. TONS of data available online for free. Everybody and his dog makes bullets for it, brass is free to dirt cheap and lasts till ya lose it. And commercial ammo is pricey enough that you'll have no problem seeing the $$$ advantage to reloading it.

 

[jim28080]

I loaded berry 230gr PRN with 5 grains N320, clocked ~770fps from a 4.25" commander.

The hardest part with the berrys I think is the crimp. I ended up with almost no crimp whatsoever. Over crimping them made them keyhole. The copper plating is very thin.

m1911.org has a bullet dimension chart you can check for determining COAL for many 45ACP bullets.

The best crimp is one that just takes the flare out of the case on plated bullets. There is no need to go farther. If your cases are sized properly they will have all the neck tension they need in .45ACP

Jim

 

[nickn10]

Been loading 38 and 40 and now I got my hands on a set of 45 acp dies. I bought some Berrys plated 200 gr. hps. I hav HP-38, Universal and power pistol on hand. Any ideas would be helpful. Hard to get data on these bullets or maybe I am not looking in the right place.

I've been shooting rainiers in my 40 SW ( 155 grn) and 200grn HP in my 45. The info should be good for Berrys as well. Good luck you will save a ton of money reloading.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=67715&d=1195690246

 

[Kaltbluter]

Berry's data

Been loading 38 and 40 and now I got my hands on a set of 45 acp dies. I bought some Berrys plated 200 gr. hps. I hav HP-38, Universal and power pistol on hand. Any ideas would be helpful. Hard to get data on these bullets or maybe I am not looking in the right place.

I have been loading Rainier 200 gr hps with 5.6 grains of W231 @ 1.225 OA. Mild-recoiling plinking load with average MV of 775 fps.

I'm not sure if the Berry's and Rainier bullet are exactly the same shape. The Rainier bullet is .587" tall.

I did a 110 round test with 5.0-6.0 grains of W231 at 0.1 grain increments. Results are shown in graph.