Any 45ACP Tips For A Brand New Handgun Loader, But Longtime Rifle Loader

[Landy]

I've just started loading handgun, only resized a batch of brass thus far.

I want a factory equivalent 230gr, but with a bit of a meplate, load.

I'm still just buying my cast bullets, but learning to cast is why I signed up here.

If I can use one powder that is, also, good for reduced rifle loads that'd be a plus. Thus far the only pistol powder I've ever had, as a rifle only loader, has been Unique for mild (slowest loads in my old Lyman) cast loads in rifles of x57mm and '06 case capacity.

[DougGuy]

Unique will work in .45 ACP, I think the last batch I put up was the 453423 LSWC over 6.0gr Unique. I prefer W231 but 700x works good too, and of course Bullseye. You want a relatively fast powder for this load.

First thing, pull the barrel and use it as a "plunk" gauge as you set your seating die so the rounds you load will indeed chamber correctly. IF you have to go shorter than the recommended COA in the load data, 2 things to consider. First and foremost, doing this will raise pressures, sometimes dangerously, so you have to compensate for this by using less powder. Second, the barrel may need to be throated so you can chamber and fire the rounds at your chosen COA instead of having to create a second problem as a workaround to the barrel with too short or too small a throat. A properly throated barrel shoots lights out with cast.

Second thing, use a taper crimp and not the roll crimp that the seating die will apply. You want the crimp in the seating die to just barely take the flare out of the case mouth when it seats the boolit, then use the taper crimp die to finish the round.

There are some molds out that have the ogive of hardball but a wide meplat as well. Lee makes one, and others make improved versions of this same boolit style.

[Landy]

Thanks for the tips.

I found this good graphic here:

[jcren]

Try the various 230 tc style bullets. Shoot well, feed in most anything and hit like a sledgehammer. I use 6.8-7 grains of hs-6 under this bullet for about a stock hardball velocity. Haven't tried it my self as I have lots of unique, but several guys here have used it for reduced rifle plinkers.

By the way, don't over think the 45. It is by far the simplest and most forgiving caliber I cast and load for. Just follow the safety guidelines and dive in. You might want to look at powder coating as a beginner, start up cost is little more than tumble lube, bullets are cleaner and slicker and I haven't seen lead in a barrel since I started using it.

[fryboy]

best advice ? shoot it lots and shoot it often !!
meh hardball is over rated but to be fair i shoot alot of hardball type projectiles ( cast of course ) at a bit less than hardball velocities ( no sense in being hard on the gun, the brass and me just to punch holes in paper or tin cans ) with unique as a charge , i started low and worked up a wee little bit and found a load that several of my guns loved , i'd hesitate to even call it a middle of the road load but it's accurate ( the main thing ) it functions flawlessy ( the other main thing ) and it's just a hoot to shoot ( bonus !! )
a shok-buf helps whatever direction you go

[Landy]

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I admit to lurking here a bit giving me the info to choose 45ACP as my handgun then casting 'training wheels' cartridge.

[Rdbronco]

Veral mold over at LBT is my favorite . I tried em all , and Veral's is easiest most consistent for me . His barrel slugs are great too . Your mileage may vary ...

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I use a Lyman mold (don't have the number handy) and cast straight wheel weights dropped into water. They weigh a pretty consistent 225 gr., but are a round nose (you mentioned a meplate), over 6.0 gr. of Unique. I used to routinely load 6.5 gr. of Unique, but was told repeatedly that it was "a bit hot". Where I got the load, out of a magazine article many years ago, the writer said that it had never failed to operate any of his pistols and had never damaged any of them, and my experience was the same, but I dropped the load back and the 6.0 gr. works just fine. Both loads are very accurate in my pistols, and the 6.5 gr. load speaks with authority. You can feel a difference. I shot many hundreds in target practice, but honestly, when it comes to defense I'll load one of the newer design JHPs like Gold Dots.

[Landy]

Thanks again.

Warning, more questions likely when casting begins.

I'm only waiting on bullets, now.

I'm trying a Lee 230TC and a NOE 230HP from Western Bullet. I like that they ID their molds, thus if they work well I can try casting my own. I gather that hollow points are not easy for beginning casters, that one was just too great of a looking bullet not to buy and try if not cast.

I've still a tiny bit of that Unique, and you've given me some good loads with it - so it's first up.

[GhostHawk]

I have only had my SA 1911 a bit over a year, best advice I can give is SHOOT IT!

I have been using the lee .452 round nose with 4 - 4.5 grains of red dot. 3 gr if tutewad aksi worked.
I like that they are a little lighter recoil than factory loads. I can honestly say my groups are getting beger with every trip to the range. It helps IMO if you don't have to grab your intestinal fortitude with everything you have, then pick up the gun and turn the beast loose.

With practice comes confidence which is huge.

[Motor]

Landy. Welcome to the cast boolit side. Looks like you are getting about the same initial advice that you got on gunboards which is a good thing. For casting questions and cast loading advice you can't go wrong on either forum but many of these guys are dedicated cast boolit shooters and cast boolit makers.

Motor

[DanM]

Hard to add anything really useful to what has already been said, but I will give it a try. A chronograph is a most useful gadget. I have found that most published loads for 45ACP overstate the velocity that you are really getting for a given powder charge. Nothing unusual there, but especially true with 45acp. Also, since 45acp is a low pressure round, it is one of the few cartridges that you can read useful pressure info from your spent primers. Primers that are fully flat do indicate an overpressure load with 45acp. Some may disagree, but I insist on round edges on my spent 45acp primers. If the primers are flat all the way across, then I back off the load some. I am now powder coating all my 45s, and the stuff works really well. You could actually save some money not buying a lube sizer and powder coating your pistol bullets, and then sizing with a simple push through sizer on your regular press. I have settled on Hogdon Titegroup for my 45acp loads but YMMV. A lot of fun awaits....DanM

[garym1a2]

If shooting a lot I would drop the weight down to a 200gr SWC. The SWC is super-accurate and makes an extra 4.5 rounds per lb of lead. (30.4 verse 35 per pound)

[w5pv]

It has pretty much all has been said Welcome and God Bless.

[Landy]

It has pretty much all has been said Welcome and God Bless.

Thank You.

Here just days, and I'm already confident in saying that 'CastBoolits' is populated by as welcoming and helpful of people as can be found on the net.

[Landy]

A chronograph is a most useful gadget. I have found that most published loads for 45ACP overstate the velocity that you are really getting for a given powder charge. Nothing unusual there, but especially true with 45acp. Also, since 45acp is a low pressure round, it is one of the few cartridges that you can read useful pressure info from your spent primers. Primers that are fully flat do indicate an overpressure load with 45acp. Some may disagree, but I insist on round edges on my spent 45acp primers. If the primers are flat all the way across, then I back off the load some.....DanM

In that vein, the flattest primers I've seen, from anything that I've bought or loaded, were some in this batch of brass that I resized. They were in the cases from the Winchester standard 230 JHPs.

My thinking is to chronograph some factory 230s average and try to match.

[DougGuy]

The 1911 is a balancing act really. You can change the weight of the recoil spring and fine tune it to whatever load you develop. Since the physical movement of the 1911 in the shooter's hands is such a critical part of it's operation, doing this is highly advisable. The heavier loads impart more recoil impulse against the slide and frame, and can stand the heavier springs. Lighter loads obviously have less energy to convert into recoil so lighter springs work better than heavier springs for these loads.

How do you know which weight spring to use? I choose my spring weight by doing a quick double tap at combat distance, which is 7yds. The point of impact of the second round fired is TOTALLY dependent on how the gun cycles in the hands, so when I can get the second shot within about an inch and a half of the first, about as rapidly as I can fire them, this is the correct spring *for ME* as it takes into account my grip, sight picture, AND the recoil impulse of the round itself when the gun is fired.

What actually happens when you do this, the gun cycles then returns to battery with the sights aligned again for a follow up shot. When groups open and the second shot wanders significantly away from the first one, either the gun has not finished cycling fully because the spring is too light, OR it finishes with the front of the pistol dipping downward because of a spring that is too heavy.

If you change loads and there is significant difference in either boolit weight or velocity, you should perform this test for each of the loads you may want to keep in your regular rotation.