New to 45 ACP Reloading

[fredj338]

Bullseye & RedDot work great in the 45acp, any bullet weight. I havent loaded BE in 35yrs, prefer WST, but RedDot is very accurate, especially with lead bullets. Reloading manuals are your friend, any std primer will do.

 

[fixitfred]

I used to use 4756 it was a sad day when I found out they discontinued it. I think I used 6.5gr on the low end and never moved up because it suited my needs.

I shoot Hi-Tek coated Bayou bullets and never have fouling problems. Let me correct that lead or copper fouling. You will always get carbon fouling.

 

[Wise_A]

185 or 200-grain LSWC. Skip plated bullets in general--they're mostly passed-over by the BE crowd. 185 JHPs are popular for the long line, but frankly, I think the expense isn't worth it unless you find LSWCs aren't accurate in your gun at 50 yards.

For powder, WST, WSF, HP-38/WW-231, Titegroup, Bullseye...you really can't go wrong with any of them.

Pay attention to OAL and crimp. Load length to flush. If you're very concerned about accuracy, crimp a dummy, pull it, and check for deformation from overcrimp. Many prefer as tight as possible without bullet deformation. Mine are usually just barely enough case mouth left to catch a thumbnail dragged over it.

 

[rwsmith]

Plus 1

+1 on passing right over plated bullets for coated.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I am just going to target shoot myself and am thinking a standard 230 grain plated or jacketed bullet?

I've settled on XTREME's 225gr (.4518") FP (actually a truncated cone flat point), standard plated, for all my 45 ACP autos. (I use their 230gr HP (.4526") heavy plated, concave base bullet for my 45ACP revolvers.) They give very good results with the loads I've worked up for them.

Of the powders you listed, 5.4gr/Bullseye was the best for me with the 225gr FP seated to 1.200" OAL for all my 3rd Gens (1.165" for my Colt Govt. Series 70). However, CFE-P & Power Pistol are my two best powders with this bullet.

.

 

[Wise_A]

+1 on passing right over plated bullets for coated.

I want to try the coated bullets--the guys at Bullseye-L have apparently been getting decent results. But I don't mind the lube smoke enough to justify the modest price increase.

So my irrational need to experiment has been kept at bay. So far.

 

[Forrest r]

I'd look no further than your bullseye powder.

The 50yd line I'd be looking at the nosler 185gr jacketed hp's.
4.5gr bullseye powder
1.250" oal
.469/.470 crimp
825fps

For cheap shooting or general range plinking, the h&g #68 200gr swc.
3.6gr to 4.0gr of bullseye powder
1.250" oal
.469/.470 crimp
775fps

Other use the h&g #130 they say they are better for the 50yd line. I've always used the h&g #68 so when I read a bunch of good things about the springfield armory 1911's I figured I pick 1 up and see what all the talk was about. When with a plain jane ro (range officer) just wanted accuracy, not the bells and whistles. A 10-shot group @ 50ft.



Interestingly enough I picked up a custom mold for the h&g #68. It casts solid swc's and hp swc's. I use the same load for both and the hp swc (190gr) does better on the 50yd line.



Like the springfield ro nm1911 in 45acp enough that I bought another one, this time a full sized 1911 in 9mm. The 9mm ro will give the 45acp ro all it can handle. A 1100fps 125gr hp plinking load that can be used for bullseye, 10-shot group @ 50ft.



I only shot bullseye @ 50ft anymore so that why the 50ft targets.

Good luck and enjoy your springfield. I enjoy mine. Note the early grips on the 45acp ro (no range officer name in them).

 

[federali]

The Bullseye/230 grain load

It is interesting that a number of you offer five grains of Bullseye behind a 230 grain bullet. I've chronographed this load in my S&W M&P and I got 717 FPS. 5.6 grains of Bullseye produced 805 FPS.
This is from an old lot of powder and I wonder if that has something to do with the velocities obtained?

6.2 grains of Unique produced 820 FPS with a 230 grain plated bullet. This load is practically a duplicate of the common factory load for this bullet weight.

 

[johngalt]

I've used the following loads:

185 gr cast LSWC 3.9 gr Bullseye
200 gr swaged LSWC 3.9 gr Bullseye
185 gr Nosler HP 4.5 gr Bullseye

Several 230 gr hardball loads:
4.? gr Titegroup (don't remember the exact load)
5.0 gr Bullseye
5.1 gr Green Dot
5.7 gr W231
6.2 gr Unique
6.2 gr Universal

Bullseye seems to be a trend...

In general, I like swaged better than cast lead. I like Hornady swaged bullets. Soft bullets are more accurate than hard. I don't like plated, have never tried coated. Just started using Nosler, the Nosler load has been pretty good so far.

I've had less luck finding a good 50 yd hardball load. W231 seems to work as well as any. Bullseye works great for 185 and 200 gr target loads, I'm less convinced it is the best choice for 230 gr hardball.