HP-38 230gr 45ACP Load Range Results

[Skip Sackett]

Well, I finally got to the range for a load test. My load was my own cast 230gr LRN from a Saeco mould. This is a nice mould to say the least. The lube was White Label's 2700 Carnuba Red. This is the first time I had used this lube. Recently I was using Lyman Orange and White Label's BAC. Before that I was using a homemade lube concocted of 50% White Label's Xlox and 50% Beeswax by volume melted. The alloy was just wheel weights this time. No quenching or Linotype added. There was no leading whatsoever. Smoke was exceptionally little.

That lube worked really well but took a bit of time to make. Something I have precious little of right now!

At any rate, back to the load. I used HP-38 for this test and was very pleased with the results. The weight was 4.7gr with the minimum being 4.3gr and the maximum is 5.3gr. I chose a load very near the middle and was overall pretty pleased. OAL was 1.250" too.
I use the same weight of Bullseye under the same weight bullet with good results too.

Here are the results:
Low 709fps
High 768fps
Avg 730fps
ES 58fps
SD 18fps

Another thing I kind of "tested" today was my new to me phone. It is "Windows" based and has "Documents to go". Made it real handy to make an Excel Spreadsheet for my load.

This load was "minute of golf ball" accurate at 25 yards. Someone had left them there and moving targets are pretty cool!

Also, the SD will come down a bit, as is normal with HP-38/W231, with a load closer to the maximum load. I'll try to get that done after a bit and see just how low it can go.

This may just help someone. Hope it does!

Almost forgot, every round cycled through the Taurus. No failure to feed or fire!

 

[moxie]

Nice report. Thanks.

 

[OKFC05]

Aside from the lube and another .1gr of powder (I use 4.8gr), that's my usual load for 230gr lead. Killed off a lot of steel and cardboard cutouts with it in USPSA matches.

I'm very glad to see you got good results with it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thank you for the range report and information...

W231/HP-38 is my favorite powder for loading .45 Auto ammo, especially when using a lead bullet. One thing, up the charge to 5.5gr and see how you like that load. I've been loading a 230gr LRN bullet over 5.5gr W231 for many years and it's an extremely accurate and clean load.

 

[Rule3]

Here are the results:
Low 709fps
High 768fps
Avg 730fps
ES 58fps
SD 18fps



Also, the SD will come down a bit, as is normal with HP-38/W231, with a load closer to the maximum load. I'll try to get that done after a bit and see just how low it can go.

This may just help someone. Hope it does!

Almost forgot, every round cycled through the Taurus. No failure to feed or fire!

The SD of 18 looks pretty darn good to me. You can get it more accurate than that??

 

[ArchAngelCD]

While low SD numbers are a good indication of your loading consistency it doesn't always translate into more or less accurate ammo. For some reason the load manuals are listing 5.3gr W231/HP-38 as the Max charge while MANY reloaders have been using a charge of 5.5gr for decades.

 

[Wayne Dobbs]

My standard 231/HP38 charge for 230 grain lead .45 bullets is 5.1 grains and it works great with 200 and 230 grain bullets. 231/HP38 remains my favorite general use standard pressure powder for the .45 ACP, .38 Special and 9mm.

 

[Skip Sackett]

If I can!

The SD of 18 looks pretty darn good to me. You can get it more accurate than that??

Usually with my favorite powders, SR4756, H110/W296, any one of the AA powders 2-9, I can achieve single digit SD's.

Archangel has a good point too. Numbers are not always indicative of accuracy potential. But for us "numbers freaks" it helps settle our nerves!

 

[Snapping Twig]

5.3 under a cast 230g TC is my go-to load. Shoots straight and feels just like a box of factory.

I'm estimating @ 800 ~ 850 fps.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Anything else to share with that recipe?

5.3 under a cast 230g TC is my go-to load. Shoots straight and feels just like a box of factory.

I'm estimating @ 800 ~ 850 fps.

Snap,
Got an OAL to go with that recipe?

I think it is the next load on the agenda!

The book says that the minimum OAL is 1.200". Mine were .050" longer. Just wondering what yours was.

 

[revolvergeek]

Thanks for posting this! I am about to start cooking up some .45 Auto Rim using 230 LRN and Win 231 so this gives me a good starting point.

 

[SMSgt]

I've been using 5.0 of H-38 with a 230 Penn LRN in my G30 and 4566. I don't shoot golf-ball size groups with anything but am pleased with the loads. I do get a lot of powder residue all over me though. (Prime candidate for a CSI episode!)
Last time I loaded some 4.7 grn loads but haven't been out to the range with them yet. I rarely load the hotter end of the spectrum.

 

[FrankD45]

Great report Skip. 230 gr LRN is next on my agenda as the FMJ variety is a bit too pricey. As an aside, do you always use your Taurus for load testing? I just cooked up some 200gr LSWC that clocked right at 1,000 fps and I ran them through my Taurus as well. I think subconciously I did a cost comparison and decided on that rather than a Colt GC.

Frank

 

[Skip Sackett]

Frank,
I only have one 1911 at the present time. Two revolvers that shoot 45ACP, an M625JM and a Ruger 45 Convertible.

I used the Colt 1911 in the Corps and said I would never own one they were so bad. The ones we had, you could throw at the enemy and have better success in defending yourself. When I got out, money was super tight and the price of buying a C**t (it is a four letter word! )1911 that had to be worked on in order to shoot every bullet possible just didn't appeal to me. The first 1911 I bought was a Springfield Champion that didn't like light loads. The next was a S&W 1911SS that I sold to get something else I just had to have.
To each his own, but, this Taurus devours everything I throw at it and has only choked on my H&G #502 240gr SWC.

Load 'em light, it'll shoot 'em, load 'em hot and it'll shoot them too.

p.s. I did notice there was a bit of powder on my strong side forearm after shooting this load.

 

[FrankD45]

I know exactly what you mean about the pony gun. I have a Gold Cup Trophy that is only a little bit better than a paperweight. It functions OK but the fit and finish didn't even measure up to the Taurus PT-1911. As far as the black specks on the forearm are concerned, they tend to go away when the loads get closer to the max. When things cool off a bit here I need to run one more series of tests on my 200 gr LSWC over a bunch of SR4756 before I publish a report.

Frank

 

[Skip Sackett]

SR4756, the REAL reloader's choice! HAHAHAHA!

I cast a 200gr LSWC for the 45ACP. A for real H&G #68 4 cavity mould and the Lee clone. The Lee has a sharper taper on the nose and a much smaller meplat. I haven't "juiced" up any of those bullets yet.
I thought I would try them in the 45Colt though. I have a Puma rifle and the Ruger. So, Ruger Only Loads, here I come!

I figured the spots would clear near maximum. I have a longer OAL than what is in the recipe, which is a good thing, but maybe I will have to go over maximum to achieve "cleanliness", like .2gr or so.

When I shorten a load, I usually decrease the charge weight by .2gr of every .030" or so. You just have to realize that after you make a change in one component or measurement, the pressure ratings from the recipe go out the window. Of course, they already are since you don't have their gun to test them out of! (A subject for another day!)

 

[Skip Sackett]

5.1gr Results

OK, 5.1gr did pretty well. I can tell you I had much less unburnt powder on my strong side forearm! Almost none.

I was a little disappointed in the velocity though. I thought I would get consistently above 800fps. Probably didn't because of my OAL being longer @ 1.255" instead of 1.200". Might be a good thing to play with to test the affects on velocity and post the results. Next time!

OK 5.1gr HP-38, Wolf Primers, mixed cases and the 1.255" and the 230gr Saeco RN bullet. Recoil was manageable; not stout or anything. Accuracy was superb as witnessed by the pictures attached.
Taurus PT1911 Blued, Government sized:
Low 761fps
High793fps
Avg 778fps
ES 31fps
SD 11fps

M625JM
Low 742fps
High 774fps
Avg 758fps
ES 31fps
SD 11fps

Now, just so some of you mathematicians don't freak out and start questioning my numbers, let me say this, I dropped off the decimal numbers and rounded.

Once again, I think it bears out that the revolver cylinder to forcing cone gap plays no practical role in velocity. If I would have shot all of the rounds I had though the PT1911, it may have opened up the spread anyway. One will never know!

The flier is all my fault, not paying attention as I ought! At any rate, accuracy was superb as stated before. I may have to work on this load a bit more and use it in competition to see how it performs there.

All in all a good morning!

Added: Forgot to mention how I shot them! DUH! These targets were 20 yards away and I used my range bag as a support. Not really rested but supported!

 

[45FMJoe]

That velocity sounds about right. Out of a 5" barrel 5.2 gr will give around 820 and 5.3 gr about 835 FPS. So 5.5 or 5.6 gr should give you 850. I'm using W231 and that's what I'm looking for.

 

[Skip Sackett]

More:

OK, had the itch to do some comparison testing and went back to the range today to do it!

First off, I christened a new cylinder! My 45ACP cylinder for my Ruger 45 Convertible! Surprising that I didn't use SR4756 to do so!

At any rate, here is some eye opening stuff right here.

The rounds I took this afternoon were identical to the ones fired this morning EXCEPT the OAL was changed to 1.210". The charge weight setting had not been changed, the bullets were from the same casting session with the same lube, the same 100 pack of primers were still in the SDB. So again, the only thing is that I dropped the OAL by .045".

Look at these results:
Taurus PT1911:
Low 819fps
High 855fps
Avg 834fps
ES 36fps
SD 12fps

That's an increase of 56fps on the average just by shortening the OAL to near what is specified in the data. This gives the exact average velocity of the maximum charge given in the Hodgdon data only with 5.3gr. Interesting!

M625JM:
Low 836fps
High 860fps
Avg 852fps
ES 23fps !
SD 9.59fps !!!!!

Interesting! Very interesting!

Ruger 45ACP cylinder, 5 1/2" barrel.
Low 889fps
High 906fps
Avg 898fps
ES 17.45fps !!!!
SD 6.32fps !!!!!!!!

One thing to note is that I felt that accuracy suffered a bit. I couldn't hit a rock @ 25 yards quite as easily as before. That may have been because of POI changed with the greater recoil so I should have aimed lower.

All in all, this is an eye opener for those that need to understand how seating depth can affect pressure and velocity.

With the bullet/case combination I have, an OAL of 1.200" is unattainable unless I wanted the last driving band inside of the case!

The next part of this test is to increase the OAL back to 1.255" and go up to 5.3gr and see what happens. I'm thinking that I can safely go to 5.5gr or so and get the velocity associated with the recipe at Hodgdon.

That would not be the case if I was to simply go to 5.5gr at the shorter OAL. Of course, in the Ruger that can handle 1500fps 45Colt loads, I'm not going to hurt it with this kind of shooting.

Just food for thought and information to ponder.

Have fun, be safe!