New to 45 ACP Reloading

[b.guggenmos]

Hello. As the title says I am new to 45 ACP reloading but not new to reloading. I have mostly reloaded 38 Special, 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum along with shotgun shells for trap shooting for many years.

I am just going to target shoot myself and am thinking a standard 230 grain plated or jacketed bullet? Any suggestions on who/where to buy 500? I looked at Berry's, XTreme, Montana Gold, Missouri and a couple others but not really sure.

The powders I have on hand are Red Dot, Blue Dot, 2400, Bulls Eye and SR4756.

Primers I need to check but I should have several choices in large pistol.

A favorite pet load you may have would be nice.

I am about 90% S&W but I recently purchased a Springfield Trophy Match that I will be reloading for.

Thank You,

Brian

 

[arjay]

They are all good bullets.I use 200 gr lswc with either Bullseye or Unique for most of my loads and 250 gr rnfp with Herco for" moose killers."
When you make up your first dummy round,pull the barrel and do a plunk test to make sure the ogive doesn't engage the rifling and that you've taken all the flare out of the case.Good Luck,it's a fun round to play with.

 

[johnnyflake]

You really should be looking at a few reloading manuals to acquire load data. But, for what it's worth, I'll say that I prefer Barry's 230gn Plated Bullets for plinking & target.

As far as powder goes, many will say Bullseye, which is really good for .45acp, however, I prefer W231, Titegroup & 700X. My pet load with W231 is 5.4/5gn under a 230gn Bullet. With Titegroup my pet load is 4.6/7gn under a 230gn Bullet and finally, my pet load with 700X is 4.1/2gn

All of the above loads will give me around 800/830fps out of my 4" 1911s. For me, Titegroup is the most accurate by a very small margin.

I prefer Winchester Primers, but Armscor, Tula and others all work well. I have never had a problem with any primer.

 

[federali]

The .45 ACP is easy to reload and Bullseye is an old standby in this caliber. As I use up my commercial lead bullets, I'll go exclusively to either plated or coated bullets. 180 to 200 grain bullets lower both the cost and the recoil a bit.

Some people prefer the traditional 230 grain ball load for self defense purposes. I don't think there would be any difference in effect between either the 230 grain ball or plated bullet. Also, plated bullets can't be pushed fast enough in the .45 ACP to worry about stripping material from the bullet.

 

[carpriver]

I use Accurate number #5 for 45 ACP, with Rainer plated 230 grain bullets, and normally CCI large pistol primers. I have used IMR Sr 7625, Hodgdon 700x AA#2 and #7.

 

[waxman]

The only powder I use for 45 acp is 231.

 

[hdwhit]

I like Blue Dot in 45 ACP under 185 and 200 grain bullets.

The Alliant powder website (Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide) gives a maximum load of 10.5 grains with a 200 grain jacketed bullet. Different bullets will have different loadings and you may need to consult more than the Alliant website for information.

Remember to always reduce the maximum load by 10% and work up to maximum.

 

[imakmst]

I load 200 gr LSWC over bullseye. And a lot of it.

 

[max]

Of the powders you have, Bullseye would be my choice.

 

[Cdog]

I load more 200gr SWC than anything else. My go to powder in the .45 is Universal. Accuracy is excellent and it allows a fairly large velocity range while maintaining decent load density.

Accurate #5 delivers excellent performance in high velocity/defensive loads.

As others have stated, W231/HP38 is also very good in the .45.

 

[OldChief]

I also load 200 grain semi-wadcutters (Plated) but mine are pushed by 4.2 grains of Bullseye and I get excellent results. This is a real accurate and comfortable load to shoot.

 

[SLT223]

Any fast powder works well. Xtreme makes great products and are typically the cheapest when they offer free shipping. If you don't mind lead look at Summer Enterprise and Dardas for best prices.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I "think" the original 45acp load was 5 grs of Bulleye behind a 230 gr. FMJ bullet.........Saying that my all round shoot em up load is 5.5 grs of WW231 behind my cast 230 gr. RN or TC.......NEVER take a "recipe" from the internet....ALWAYS consult a loading manual prior to loading ammunition.

 

[Vortec MAX]

My "pet" load is 5.1 grains of Bullseye under a Berry's 230 GR RN, lit by a CCI 300 primer. I have sent thousands of those downrange.

Mike

 

[LAA]

Last week, and today, it's 6.1 grains of WSF, with a Berry's 230 RN. They worked well with my Shield 45 & XDM 45. But.....I haven't run them through the chrono like I usually do. Both Winchester & CCI large pistol primers have worked every time. I do have a tendency to try a lot of different powders. Might never settle on just a few.

 

[Bugkiller99]

Of your powders listed, Bullseye would be the first choice. But I've known those who use Red Dot and are happy.
One thing to be acutely aware of is that some 45 acp brass may use small primers. So inspect your brass carefully.

 

[cowboy4evr]

I use 5.0 grs Bullseye w/230 fmj . It is accurate and cyles my S&W MP 45 and my Sig 1911 . That 5.0 gr load = 1400 loads to a pound of powder . Bullseye is not expensive and is time tested . Good Luck

 

[b.guggenmos]

Thank you all very much. I do have all of my manuals and would never just guess at a load. I am very careful with powder measuring and use my calipers to get the oal correct. You provided great information like I should consider lighter bullet than the standard 230 grain. That is the type of information I was looking for. Plus I figured several of you had some "pet" favorite loads for the 45. Brian

 

[Neumann]

Up to now, I've used FMJ or Hornady XTP HP bullets for .45 ACP. However I have 1000 hard-cast RN bullets on hand for target or possibly woods carry. I have used hard-cast bullets by Oregon Trails for several years now for .357, .44 and .45 Colt revolvers and carbines with excellent results. Leading does not occur, even at 1800 fps through a carbine (Magnum rounds).

For .45 ACP, I generally use a medium fast powder like Unique. Unique is dirty at low power, but burns clean at the upper end of the loading range. W231 is somewhat faster but burns clean and consistently in pistol rounds. IMO, Bullseye is a fast powder best used in low velocity target rounds.

Most .45 ACP brass uses large pistol primers. However some, particularly Federal, use small pistol primers, because lead-free primers are only available in that size.

Rather then turn up my nose, I put small primer brass aside until I have a few hundred on hand to run a batch.

My 1911 feeds SWC bullets okay, but they tend to hang up when loading a revolver with moon clips or speed loaders. They punch clean holes in paper, though, as to XTP hollow points.

 

[rwsmith]

Do not use..

Do not use 2400 in a .45 ACP. It is a slow magnum powder and best suited for those loads. .357 magnum, .44 magnum, .41 magnum etc. .45 ACP is a low pressure round. Only few semi pistol calibers are set up for what could be called 'magnum' loads for a particular caliber. 38 Super and 10mm are pretty tough rounds. I understand that some .38 super shooters have them beefed up even more for certain power requirements.