[ktmhk53]

Greetings,
I am about to start reloading with a new (to me) 45 bullet and I have some questions.

I have always loaded a 230 gr lead RN (.665 heigth) to an OAL of 1.250," and used 5.6 gr of Win 231.

The new bullet is one I got from a friend and he says its a "linotype," with the box marked "45LC." The new bullet is a 255gr lead SWC (.695 heigth) and needs to be loaded to an OAL no greater than 1.155" - 1.160" to fit in my Barsto barrel and not have the rear of the case extend beyond the hood.

My primary questions are these:
Will I have an excessive pressure condition by using a bullet that now extends about .150" further into the case than the bullet I had been using?

What powder charge should I now adjust to with this 255 gr bullet?

Thanks for the help...

[facedown]

I could be wrong but I believe that bullet is for 45 Long Colt, not for use in ACP.

[moxie]

I'd be nervous about seating that bullet any deeper. I don't understand why you can't make a round with an OAL a little longer than you've been using with the 230 and seat to the same depth. You can usually go up to 1.275 OAL in the .45ACP without any problem. But you say you are going after an even shorter OAL. Doesn't compute. There isn't a lot of load data published for such a heavy bullet, but Hodgdon does have data for a 260, which is the closest I've found. By the way, "linotype" refers to the lead being from a printing press or having a similar alloy. Upon reflection, I'd find a LC shooter and trade or give those 255s away. Then again, this is a good reason to by a LC!

[JPM70535]

If the bullets are marked LC they are for the 45 Long Colt Revolver round and could quite possibly build up excessive pressures if seated too deeply. You didn't say what diameter the bullets were sized . 45 ACP bullets are usually sized .451 and if the LC s are sized larger than that, it will add to the pressure increase. I dont believe I would use them for 45 ACP loads.

[HSMITH]

I would shoot them, I have shot a truck load of .452 bullets with no problems at all. USE DATA FOR THE BULLET WEIGHT, shape if close is generally good enough so you don't have to worry about it. Seat as long or LONGER than your light loads. DO NOT seat shorter than the data you use to load. As always start light and work up. Use your head and no troubles. Nervous Nellie never did anything worth comment, and Reckless Randy is DEAD, stay somewhere in the middle and enjoy shooting.

Linotype makes great bullets, but they still have to be cast well and lubed with a good lube or it was a waste. Lino is like a super hard lead, most hard cast bullets are close to the same hardness of linotype.

There is PLENTY of data for heavy bullets in the 45 ACP, and .451" vs 452" is a waste of breath. .451" usually cause a lot of heartache anyway with leading problems. Make sure the bullets are under .454" and have fun.

[tomr8368]

I'd recommend a good reloading manual which will give you info covering most of the q's you asked. Also, I stick to bullets made for my 45acp...try a lot of the various .45acp designs to see how each works and get experience with the 45acp bullets, brass and loads. If I wanted to shoot LC bullets I'd buy Long Colt brass and a Colt 6 gun. I tend to be conservative when it comes to this stuff, particularly since I'm pretty new to it.

[stans]

I used them in 45 ACP while playing the IPSC game a few years ago. I think Hogdgon lists loads for a 260 gr bullet. I developed loads using Winchester WSL, which is no longer in production. I started at 3.4 gr (660fps) and worked all the way up to 4.8 gr which was very hot (871 fps). These loads were safe in my gun, but my barrel (Bar-Sto) was modified by reaming the chamber to standard size and giving the barrel about 1/2 inch of freebore so that I could shoot these heavy bullets seated to 1.183" using Federal brass and Winchester WLP primers.