45 Auto Rim - Good Commercial Heavy Bullet for Penetration

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quickdraw03

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What 225 to 250ish grain bullet would you use for penetration (bear discouragement) loaded in the 45 auto rim? I know that a 44mag is a better choice, but what's the best available for this caliber.
 
quickdraw03 said:
What 225 to 250ish grain bullet would you use for penetration (bear discouragement) loaded in the 45 auto rim? I know that a 44mag is a better choice, but what's the best available for this caliber.
Click to expand...

Since it won't be for everyday shooting I'd suggest looking at Buffalo Bore or Double Tap for their loaded offerings. Probably not cheap BUT your not looking to consume a large number of rounds either.
Just my $0.02!
 
The best 225 gr. bullet is the Barnes XPB. I load it with a stiff charge of Power Pistol and easily get over 1000 FPS out of my 3" 625. I ignore the crimp groove and load this bullet long. Also, to get proper bullet pull I do not bell the case before I seat the bullet. Being .451" it gives a good tight fit and then I apply heavy taper crimp. It doesn't move under recoil.

I also use the 255 gr. SWC cast from the RCBS mold with a stiff charge of Power Pistol. I can get 915 FPS in the same 3" 625 and this would be my choice for bear country.

And I have the Hornady 250 gr. XTP loaded with the same charge of Power Pistol that the 255 gr. cast bullet gets. It's the most accurate and consistent heavy bullet I have used in a 625. I just obtained a box of the 240 gr. version XTP with the thicker jacket but I haven't tried it yet.

I case you haven't noticed I like heavy bullets in my 625s.

Dave Sinko
 
Dave,

That's awesome. I appreciate the advice. I wish I had the opportunity to cast. Any good commercial recommendations for a 255.

I will look into the Barnes. What powder is your favorite for it?

I have a four inch gun. I see a three and a five in my future!

Thanks,
QD
 
Personally, I like these bullets:
45AR_1.jpg


They are a homecast H&G #502, 240gr LSWC of the Keith type. I load them with a stout load of SR4756 from the Speer #8 manual and they run 1100fps from my M625JM, which has a 4" tube too.

The nice thing about the M625JM, it will take anything I have given it and put them all in the same hole, from mild to wild!

Here are some of the other bullets I have loaded in this cartridge:
5grUnique.jpg

These are 250gr muzzle loading sabots. I think the ones in the picture are T/C but don't remember. They are loaded long and have the same charge as the 240gr LSWC. Pretty sure they are around the 1000fps mark.
Then there are these:
45bullets2.jpg

The one on the right is a 270gr bullet I got a few from Paul5388. The one in the middle is the 240gr I cast and the one in between is the RCBS 255gr.

I also cast the 200gr H&G #68, second from left and the Lee copy of it, far left.

Just recently I started casting the 45Colt bullet, RCBS 45-270-SAA, but I haven't tried it in the Auto Rim yet. I have a hollow point mould and they will weigh in right at 270gr, 285gr in solid form.

Maybe this weekend! ;)
 
Good morning
What kind of bear are you refering to ?
I do not think I woud be trying to descourage any bear that weights more than 400 pounds with a 45 unless it was a 45 Colt with a 270+ grainer at 1200 FPS. If bears are a real threat I would choose a 12 guage with round ball or solid slugs.
I own and shoot a 45 with Auto Rim and would not consider it much of a bear threat instrument unless it was all I had. I cast a Lee Flat RN that drops at 265 and I would not want to pop any bear that was looking at me ugly with that underpowered load even at a max load getting to 850 fps. Get a 45 Colt with a 270 grain + at max load. Does not weight anymore and will give you twice the power.
 
Smithcrazy,

I like the looks of those 240's. Any commercial caster that sells them?

How do the sabot bullets perform? I would thinl that's really expensive to shoot. Neat idea.

Missionary,

I always have a rifle or shotgun with me. I 44 would be a better answer here, and I may get one in the future. We're talking about black bears, while some do get hefty, most are under 400 lbs. I bumped two hunting this weekend for my first time ever.
 
Are the warm loads in Speer #8? I plan to get a copy if so.

Also, which issue of Handloader has the auto rim heavy bullet recipes?


Thanks.
 
Last edited:
If you just want a box of commercial ammo, the Buffalo Bore is some brutal ammo.

I tried some of their +P 38 special in a alloy revolver (+P rated) and it was more like +P+ or basically a magnum. I would have no doubt their item 32A would be most potent!:eek:
 
If you're a handloader the very hard cast 255gr bevel base SWCs sold
at gun shows and available by mail order would be a good choice. They
are Magma mold bullets from a variety of sellers. I have some and they
give good accuracy. Goes without saying that you want a stiff load for
your purpose.
 
If you want to just buy bullets and load your own. Missouri Bullets makes a heavy 250 gr bullet in hard alloy.

They make excellent bullets and really, really fast delivery.

Can't give you any load data as I never loaded that bullet.

Missouri Bullet Company
 
There used to be!

quickdraw03 said:
Smithcrazy,

I like the looks of those 240's. Any commercial caster that sells them?

How do the sabot bullets perform? I would think that's really expensive to shoot. Neat idea.
Click to expand...

I haven't done any water jug tests on them. I can get them to the velocity they were designed to run so performance should be about the same.

As for the commercial bullets, try Jessie (NKJ nut) here on the forum @ tennesseevalleybullets.com. He most likely will have something pretty close. In my opinion, you want something with a conventional crimp groove. With the recoil you may be generating, the standard 45ACP bullet MAY still jump, maybe not, but maybe.

I am still looking for a guy that used to sell nothing but Keith style bullets. I never ordered from him as I cast my own but he used to be available!

I'll try to find him agian.

FWIW
 
JoeD at Black River Bullets used to sell Keith bullets and I think he's a member here too. You might also be able to talk Lynn at Dry Creek Bullets to make some. I'm not sure if he's Creeker or LAH here.
 
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. I will definitely look into some of these casters!
 
Paul5388,

Thanks. You just saved me $10! That's awesome.

Is there a treasure trove of old manuals online for free?

QD
 
There are a few portions of the older manuals at that same site. You should see "Album:Reloading Manuals" on the gray menu bar above the image. Clicking on that will get you to the limited selection.
 
Well, somethings to think about!

When you order your bullets, made sure they are sized so they go in the throats. Otherwise when you seat them like this, (see attachments) they may not fit your gun!

These are sized to .453" and will not seat in either of my 45ACP revolvers. Both of them are sized to .452" Personally, I think this is the reason I have very little problems with leading in either of them! ;)

This bullet is a copy of the 45-270-SAA bullet that in hollow point mode is right at 270gr. In solid form, it weighs in at a whopping 285gr! Formidable!

At any rate, there is .060" more of this bullet in the case over the 240gr so it will take a while to work up a load. I am going to have to try something in the Unique, AA#5, SR4756 burn rate area. Nothing too fast! :eek:

This case is not full length sized and you will notice that there is no bulge at the base of the bullet. When the case is sized properly, there would have been, no doubt. Sizing to .451" will take care of both of the problems at once, seating and bulge. The only thing I may get out of that deal though is leading, we will have to see.

At any rate, when I get time I will work up a load for these bad boys in 45ACP/AR and get back to you! These would be real interesting for "social work", wouldn't you say?

Take a look!
 

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In Handloader #251, Brian Pearce answered a question about using the RCBS 45-270-SAA in the 45AR. The bullet, weighing 282gr, loaded with 6.8g of Power Pistol in Starline brass gave 855 fps. That's pretty decent performance and a really good bullet. This exceeds standard 45AR load data (15Kpsi) but is OK in a modern Model 625.
 
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