I did shoot kegs of W231 with a 230 FMJ. My standard load was 5.5 grains which was just at 800 fps.
But, I decided to go with the old standby. The original 1910 rounds, the ones used in the development testing between the Savage and the M1910 (the pre thumb safety 1911)
picture from
Sam Laker’s ColtAutos.com
was a 230 FMJ with 5.0 grains Bullseye. and the desired velocity was 800 fps.
Examining old boxes, that was the way back then velocity
and for "Hardball" match ammunition, that was the velocity when the 1911 was the issue pistol.
I am going to claim, that if your semi auto 45 ACP does not function with a 230 FMJ and 5.0 grains Bullseye powder, there is something wrong with the gun. And, this load is still a load that 1911 shooters use, or used, when they shot hardball matches. Titegroup is also an excellent powder in the 1911, a lot of Bullseye pistol shooters walked to Titegroup when Bullseye Pistol powder was unavailable. Powder charges are so close to be indistinguishable. What I like about these faster powders is, they give the slide a quick, hard kick, and then the pressure drops rapidly. I had one Colt 1911 frame peen out, due to poor fitting of the barrel lugs and slide stop. Only learned why the Colt opened so violently after reading this post
Old School Barrel Fit vs Modern Fit
https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t18500-old-school-barrel-fit-vs-modern-fit
However what I did learn, it is undesirable to accelerate the slide too fast. Of course it is undesirable to accelerate the slide too slowly. The load the 1911 was developed to use, accelerates the slide to the correct speed, and that means a gun that does not function with this load, there is something is wrong with the gun.
This is a load that was successfully used in two World Wars and a bunch of bush wars, and it is hard to make a realistic claim that there is a better.
