[lazyeye]

Hi everyone.
I'm going to rejoin the cult of J.M. Browning (PBUH) and thus I'm going to start reloading .45acp.

In choosing bullets I had some questions about bullet types.

I see round nose, semi wad cutter, flat nose, and truncated cone.

What kind of properties do they all have? Basically I'll be loading for practice, steel shoots, IPSC, that kind of stuff.

Thank you.

[rcmodel]

JRN = Probably work in any 1911. Usually loaded to full power in factory loads.

LRN = loaded for cheaper practice to simulate JRN recoil & velocity.

L or J SWC = May or may not feed without ramp work & tuning in some guns. Usually loaded light in factory & hand loads for paper punching.

L or J FP & TC are probably going to be pretty much the same bullet design. They will usually work in all guns, but maybe not without some fiddling. TC is usually loaded to full velocity in factory loads. Often used for steel plate target shooting because they are thought to give better knockdown power then RN, which might slide off easier with an angle shot.

There is actually much more to it then that, and any decent reloading manual might go into more detail about bullet designs & intended uses.

rcmodel

[g.willikers]

You probably will receive a ton of info on this subject real soon, so I'll start it off.
Round nose are shorter bullets overall, with less engagement with the rifling than the others you mentioned, but they generally are less trouble for feeding.

Semi wadcutters are longest overall, providing more bullet to rifling engagement for accuracy. They also cut nice clean holes in paper and cardboard targets to aid in scoring and judging bullet placement from afar.

The other two, truncated cones and flatnose are compromises between the round nose and the swc.

Most of these types are available in both lead and jacketed.

At short range it doesn't really matter. Use whatever is the most reliable.

I use 200 lead grain semiwadcutters for everything.

[parisite]

200gr cast lead SWC is the most accurate bullet I've encountered.

[Sunray]

A 230 grain RN will feed well out of nearly any .45 pistol. That's the original weight and shape. Other weights and shapes, especially SWC's, will need a bit of the ramp work, rcmodel mentions. That's just extending the feed ramp half way up the sides of the chamber. It's just chamfering the sides of the chamber to extend the feed ramp. Easy to do with a fine jeweller's file. Easier to do than it is to describe. However, if you're in the least bit concerned about doing it yourself, go to a smithy.
RN's, of any weight(my Colt doesn't like 200 grain bullets much, but the felt recoil, such as it is, will be less.), will do nicely for all shooting, but they don't make a clean hole in paper targets. FP's, TC's and SWC's will. For plates, pins and practice, that doesn't matter much. A plate doesn't care how it gets hit. A bowling pin does, but any bullet placed right will knock it off the table.

[Quoheleth]

For what it's worth, my Springer GI 1911A1 likes my loads of Missouri Bullet 185 LSWCs over 5.3gr of Universal, with the bullet seated so that the shoulder of the wadcutter is just above the mouth of the case. In fact, at 10 yards, that load is a bulls-eye punching sunofagun. Not knowing whether it would feed or not, I only bought 2 sample-paks (200); now I wish I had bought a thousand boolits.

Q

[neal7250]

I have started using woodshed bullets, made by custome projtile. It has a rebated boatail, and seem to be more accurate than anything that I have ever used. I worked up the load to 6 grams of unique.
Here is their web site. www.customprojectile.com

[lazyeye]

The handgun in question is a Springer GI 1911a1, I just adopted it yesterday.
I'm going to head down to my local candy store and get some sample packs and see what it "likes".

Thanks for the info guys!

[Walkalong]

The Berrys 200 Gr HP (http://www.tjconevera.com/berrys-45-cal-200-gr-hp-1.html) shoots real well for me. It cuts cleaner holes in a target than the Hornady 200 Gr SWC, which surprised me. It has a nice rounded profile and feeds very well in any decent gun. (Berrys bullet page (http://www.berrysmfg.com/categories/49-0.php))

The Ranier 200 Gr SWC (http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=781450) also shoots very well and cuts even cleaner holes, but SWC's can be finicky in some guns. If you try them, buy 100 first before buying 500 or 1000.

I also really like the Zero 185 & 230 Gr JHP's (http://czcustom.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_46&osCsid=ab7d3a83c5932fb7c96e26c2aac8410e). They shoot great and feed very well.

Precision Delta (http://precisiondelta.com/products_new.htm) has a great rep, but I have not tried them.

Your cheapest route will be any decent quality lead bullet. Round Nose will obviously feed the best. Semi Wad Cutters will cut the cleanest holes, are usually more accurate, but don't feed in all guns. Most, but not all. Trunacted Flat Points usually feed well and shoot pretty well. I do NOT like under 230 Gr .45 TrFP's as I have had too many things outshoot them.

[nambu1]

The only problem I have experienced was the feeding of SWC in my Charles Daly, 1911 clone. I had to polish the feed ramp and problem gone. Everything else functioned fine.