New to reloading .45 ACP--advice?

[Waywatcher]

My head is spinning.

I'm not sure where to start for bullets and loads for .45 ACP to shoot in my Colt 1911 (Series 70 reissue, factory throated so it should feed most anything.) I have extensive experience reloading .38 special, and I also have experience with .40, .44 Special, and rifle calibers.

Anyway, I'm new to .45 ACP, but not new to reloading. What loads do you recommend? I'm still weighing cast vs swaged vs plated vs FMJ. 200 vs 230 grain. Et cetera. I have quite a few powders to try, but no bullets yet. (Powders on hand: 231, Power Pistol, Red Dot, Universal, Clays, AA#5, HS-6)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rule3]

200 or 230 gr Lead Round Nose is the easiest and classic bullet.

Or you can use plated or FMJ if you do not like lead.

Easy in that it will feed well and you will not have to fine tune COAL like with a Semi Wad cutter.

The GI load was/is Bullseye 4.8 grains for 100 years.

Of the powders you listed, W 231/HP 38 You want a relatively fast to medium burn rate powder,

You head has just begun to spin as there a many options

 

[D A Wood]

The .45 ACP is thee commensurate CCW pistol to carry, if, you can hide it well enough. Here in Wisconsin we do have "open carry" and I do that, where I'm at, here in Washburn County occasionally. I prefer Redding dies which include the taper crimp die. I only load 230 grain ball ammo, with Accurate #5, because that's what the "MAN" designed this pistol for. I will carry my 70 Series, unaltered, Colt 1911 in a belt slide holster as an advertisement that things could get very serious should somebody ask for my wallet. The Timex, they can have.

 

[colt_saa]

When I started hand loading in the 70s, plated was not an option. I was also pretty strapped for cash in those days.

I used to cast 200 grain H&G68 SWCs from wheel weights that I pulled at the local junkyards. I used to load this over 5.1 of Unique, but I have switched to 5.1 of 231. It burns a bit cleaner and is just as accurate.

I still shoot the same projectile/load today, 35 years and more than 100,000 rounds later.

This load has worked well for me in 1911s, USPs and SIGs

Now I tend to buy the cast projectiles because I have less time, but I keep my old molds on hand since I still cast other unusual projectiles anyway.

These days, lead prices have risen and plated are almost as cheap, that is probably the way I would go if I were starting over and had enough cash.

If you do not go plated, use hard cast. Only go soft swagged if you are going to shoot a hollow base design at low velocity.

 

[fredj338]

Red dot or w231 is a good place to start. The 45acp is very easy to load for, just about any bullet type & wt works. Powders from Bullseye to as slow as aa#7 work. Being low pressure, faster powders work better IMO.
Paper punching, 200gr LSWC are classic. All my 45s run on nothing but lead bullets but for the occasional training class or night shoot (smoke & flashlights at night are rough). If you go lead, a 0.452" dia shoud be minimum. Plated can be finicky to load, so starting out, avoid them & go jacketed IMO.

 

[David R]

45 auto, its hard to go wrong. I have shot tens of thousands of 200 swc out of my 45. First they were all loaded with 3.5 bullseye for NRA Bullseye matches. since then I have quit shooting matches, so I am using 5.0 Promo (Red dot) behind the 200 swc. I am getting awesome groups with the Promo out of 2 guns. Velocity is 929 fps out of the 5" and 845 fps out of the 3" officers model. I use lubed lead, I cast my own for years using a 452460 200 grain mold. Now I buy them and all seem to work fine for me with leading never a problem.

I still have the brass I bought when I bought the gun in 1987. I also have a few thousand more brass because its easy to find and not expensive. It never splits.

Pick a weight or find out which your gun shoots better and stick with it.

Enjoy. Its a sweet caliber.

David

 

[JDBoardman]

I use 4.8 grains of Clays under a 230 grain plated round nose or FMJ. It burns clean, meters very well and gives great consistency. I can't state group size, since I am not that great a shot, but I have used this load for 20+ years, and see no need to change. Besides, Clays has been easy to find, and it can be used in a wide range of loads.

 

[Coaltminer]

Been using plated 230 gr. round nose from Berrys or Rainier for a decade or so. Very clean, and I find them easy to load. Pistol is '70 series Colt Government from 1976, unaltered. It doesn't like anything but ball ammo, which was normal then. I shoot mostly 38 Spl. in a Smith 581 or Python, just hate picking up auto brass! I do have one of those foldable pickup things that when you squeeze the handle, the jaws on the end will grab them one at a time. Easier on old peeps.

 

[venomballistics]

I dont even look at swaged lead anymore. Cast, being harder, is just less problematic.
Better still, powder coated, or hy tek coated cast is brilliant.
In light of coated cast, I dont know that FMJ is worth the expense.
Plated might be in trouble too.

Its the high end stuff like the gold dot and XTP that we cant quite dethrone ... yet.

 

[SMSgt]

230 grain LRNs pushed by 5.2 grains of HP-38 (WW231) works fine in my Glock and 4566. Lower than that and it gets dirty. No leading issues at all. Definitely cast over swaged. If you want to spend more, plated will do.

.45 ACP is probably the simplest pistol round for reloading.

 

[blujax01]

I'm a big fan of 230 PRN from Berry's. Shot thousands of them. X-Treme also makes fine plated bullets and they have a perpetual sale (check Novalty's "In-Stock" thread for the latest).

My 25 year old Colt Gov't. doesn't much like anything but round nose bullets. It's been said that if a 1911 was meant to shoot anything except round nosed ammo, John Moses Browning would have invented it!

231 works just fine, but if you could find some Bullseye...

 

[Mcwsky09]

So far I have only used 200 and 230 grain plated - partly due to availability and partly because if you buy in bulk then the cost difference between FMJ and LRN is maybe 1 cent per round plus I figured FMJ is less likely to result in any issues with leading the barrel and not that it is a big concern but with FMJ I don't have to be concerned about handling bare lead.

 

[RussellD]

Order some 200 SWC from Bayou bullets. Load them using 231 to an OAL of 1.250 and enjoy

 

[jag22]

Mostly just personal choice, I don't like the smoke you get with lead so I go with FMJ when ever possible. If you're considering price or availability then lead will certainly do. From the powders you have on hand, I have used 231, #5 and HS-6 with good results from all of them. When this #%&^!* powder shortage is over you could try others but if you are like me your'e using what you have. I'm guessing that with the other calibers you load you tried different setups, this won't be any different except it may take longer since you can't just go out and buy what you want.

 

[dickttx]

I have went to the coated bullets from Bayou Bullets for 38 Super and will stay with them.
Still have about 6K of Missouri Bullet Co. 200gn Lead RNFP for the 45, so I will use them till they are gone with 5.4gn of HP38/231. This is the bullet I started in the 45 with and have had no reason to change. I shoot the same load in five different 1911's, from Rail Gun to Officers in size.
I am completely happy with this bullet but would probably go to the coated if MBC starts offering them.

 

[fredj338]

45 auto, its hard to go wrong. I have shot tens of thousands of 200 swc out of my 45. First they were all loaded with 3.5 bullseye for NRA Bullseye matches. since then I have quit shooting matches, so I am using 5.0 Promo (Red dot) behind the 200 swc. I am getting awesome groups with the Promo out of 2 guns. Velocity is 929 fps out of the 5" and 845 fps out of the 3" officers model. I use lubed lead, I cast my own for years using a 452460 200 grain mold. Now I buy them and all seem to work fine for me with leading never a problem.

David

Drop back to 4.5-4.6gr, you'll probably see even better accuracy.

 

[H Richard]

There are so many good 45 loads I won't recommend any more, but be sure to tailor your recoil spring for the load you shoot to get the performance. Lighter loads need lighter springs. I use from 12 lb to 18.5 lb.

 

[fredj338]

So far I have only used 200 and 230 grain plated - partly due to availability and partly because if you buy in bulk then the cost difference between FMJ and LRN is maybe 1 cent per round plus I figured FMJ is less likely to result in any issues with leading the barrel and not that it is a big concern but with FMJ I don't have to be concerned about handling bare lead.

Don't be afraid of lead bullets. You pump your own gas, way more toxic than handling lead. Just wash your hands after loading.

 

[fredj338]

My 25 year old Colt Gov't. doesn't much like anything but round nose bullets. It's been said that if a 1911 was meant to shoot anything except round nosed ammo, John Moses Browning would have invented it!

231 works just fine, but if you could find some Bullseye...

The vast majority of 1911 today will feed just about anything. Consider that when the 1911 was invented, the RN was the bullet of the day. It wouldn't take much to get your 25yr old colt to run 100% with other styles.

 

[Waywatcher]

Lots of good advice so far, thanks!

I am intending to load full power loads, nothing light. Nothing +P either, just plain old fashioned .45 ACP is what I'm looking to load (230 @ 850fps or 200 @ 900fps).

I am especially tempted by the 200 SWC load over 5.0 of Red Dot, or, the 230 LRN over 5.2 of Win 231. (Special thanks to David R and SMSgt, respectively.)