Heavy bullet loads for .45AR

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Fullmetaljacket

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Looking through my odds and ends stash I found a box of 255 gr. cast SWC bullets intended for a long ago departed .45 Colt. I have a good supply of .45 AR brass and a model 25 that hasn't had any exercise in a long while. I was finally able to score some LP primers, so far so good.
The powders on hand are Bullseye, W231 and Red Dot. Can anyone recommend a good target load with one of those powders? I have an old Lyman manual that lists 4.3 gr Red Dot or 4.5 gr Bullseye for a 238 gr bullet, nothing heavier. My newer Speer Manual does not have any loads with those powders and a 255 gr bullet, they list 5.0 RD and 4.5 BE for the lighter 230 gr bullet.
Seems like 4.0 gr BE or 4.5 of RD should be reasonable for a 255 gr bullet.
Anyone have a 255 gr target load they like in the .45 AR?
 
I've used the Lyman #454424 design (255 gr. SWC) in .45 Auto Rim with with Unique, HS-6, Power Pistol, and 231. I haven't tried Bullseye, but your mentioned starting load of 4 grs. Bullseye would be worth trying. I don't know what the velocity would be, maybe 700 fps which should have mild recoil.

Heavier loads (not max.) with the powders I was using contributed to noticeably more recoil than when using my favorite ACP and Auto Rim bullet, an H&G #68 copy at about 200 -205 grs.

One or more of my old Speer books shows some heavy cast bullet data, but I don't recall any of them being light target loads.
 
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My personal opinion is the the WIN 231 powder you have on hand might be more appropriate for a 250-ish grain target load vs. Bullseye, which is one of my favorite pistol powders.

Because you want to shoot these in a revolver you have a lot of "wiggle room" vis-a-vis your OAL. Start at around a published START load for a lighter bullet (45acp with 4.2gr of WIN 231 for a 230gr, for example) and just work up until you find the point where you are satisfied accuracy-wise: there should be plenty of room as there are 230gr loads for 45 Super with HP38 using as much as 6gr that still don't exceed 45acp maximum pressure levels.

The 45AR can be a very flexible round to load: everything from very light to heavier bullets.

Cheers!

P.S. There's a whole lot of published load data for these heavier bullets in 45acp (& 45AR) for the Accurate powders, BTW.
 
I use nothing but W231 for my 45 ACP ammo and the 45 Auto Rim is no different.

With a 255gr SWC bullet I would use a 5.0gr to 5.5gr charge of W231 but you have to decide what you think is safe, not what some person tells you on the Internet.
 
I use 6.5 grains of Longshot behind any 250-255 grain lead SWC with really good results. If you trip over a can of Longshot, you might try it. I use Starline AR brass.

I get usually 800-850 fps from my 4" 625.
 
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If you can, find a copy of Handloader Magazine February 2017. Brian Pearce writes an extended article on the 45 Auto Rim with a lot of data for heavy bullets.

The Preacher
 
Using a 230 gr round nose , cast or plated I use Winchester Super Field . WSF is my go to powder for revolvers and semi auto's . My 2nd choice is Winchester Super Target . Regards Paul
 
Thanks for all the replies. I have a good supply of Red Dot and Bullseye, not as much 231, so was hoping to find a load using one of those powders. I do have that issue of Handloader magazine...somewhere, I need to dig it out. Happy Saturday all.
 
Using a calculator, a 255 gr bullet is 11% heavier than a 230 gr bullet. My usual load in .45 ACP (200/230 gr bullet) is 5.8 gr WW 231. 11% of 5.8 is 0.64, so about 5.1 gr of 231 and a 255 gr bullet should be a service level load. Maybe 4.5-4.8 gr of 231 for lower velocity?
 
I have the magazine in hand . The load data is for " +P " 45 auto rim loads . Using a 242 gr cast bullet with Bullseye powder the load range is 4.0 -- 5.0 showing the 5.0 grs is the most accurate shooting at 824 fps using a S&W revolver w/a 6.5" barrel . That was the only load listed using Bullseye powder Hope this helps , Regards Paul
 
Before you load a bunch of those SWC bullets, try one and check for chambering. The band forward of the crimp groove might be a tight fit in the cylinder throats.
 
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