Loading .45AR...

hillmonkey

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Is it true one can load the .45 AutoRim "hotter" than .45ACP? I want to load some revolver ammo for a 625 and want want the most boom for the buck...gonna whack some coyotes with this load.
 
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Is it true one can load the .45 AutoRim "hotter" than .45ACP? I want to load some revolver ammo for a 625 and want want the most boom for the buck...gonna whack some coyotes with this load.
 
It's only true to the extent that the .45 AR can not be fired in an autopistol. The autopistol will not take the pressures of hot loaded .45 ACP without issues: bulged cases, blown magazines, broken extractors, and general battering. In your strong 625 you can get relatvely hot performance with 240grain softpoints at over 1,000 fps. How hot do you wanna go?
 
In a modern gun like the 625, you can usually load to a bit higher pressure than you find in most load data. Curiously, load data for 45AR often seems lighter than for 45ACP.
If the gun will handle 45ACP+P loads, then it will handle the equivalent in 45AR. Push them much above 23Kpsi, and you are in experimental territory with some potential risks. It is not particularly difficult to get 250gr Speer swaged LSWCs @ 1000fps out of a 4" 625, and do so safely. That works for most critters.
 
The reason that most data is light for the caliber is because of the Model 1917s that are still out there. Some not all, may not handle the higher pressures. Modern M625 or whatever the new models are, should be able to handle anything you can put through them, within reason.

I have a M625JM that I love to shoot. I shoot 200gr LSWC plinkers to 240gr THUMPERS in it and have never had a problem once.

Here are what my 240gr bullets look like:
45AR_2.jpg

I also experimented with some bullets I took out of a pack of muzzle loader bullets. They LOOK mean! They shot well too. They are 250gr bullets. I got around 900fps with them. Cool!
SST45ACP2.jpg


The last ones are in ACP brass but they will not chamber in an auto, period.

I have found some real good data for the 45AR in some of the older Speer manuals. Those are the recipes I use for my 240gr LSWC.

Elmer Keith had some loads for the 45AR. I have tried them. They work well but the ES and SD were a little too wide for my liking. I settled on a powder that would work better in the stubby case. Here is some data to consider:

ElmersLoads.jpg



aab.jpg



As always when I post data from other sources than currently available or that are outside of the current data: You are responsible for using it. I am not recommending anything, use at your own risk.
 
I shot 13.0 gr of 2400 with a 270 gr bullet and standard primer out of a S&W M1917 without any adverse incidents. The main problem was trying to regulate the add-on adjustable sights, which wasn't an easy task.

That load clocks around 950 fps out of my M625.
 
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