USSR
Member
Use the R-P brass for cast bullets, which will be .001" larger in diameter than the jacketed bullets.
Don
.45 ACP reloading
- Thread starter SSGMANN
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Use the R-P brass for cast bullets, which will be .001" larger in diameter than the jacketed bullets.
Don
Ironicaintit
Member
I don't cast, so I make them into key fobs. Cruddy iPad pic, and not an acp, but you get the point
USSR
Member
You can buy cast bullets, and they will be .452" instead of the .451" jacketed bullets you are buying.
Don
Don
zb338
Member
Slam knows his stuff. Target shooters have been shooting .45s with a lead semi-wadcutter
and 3.5 grains of Bullseye forever. You can change powders if you like but don't spend the
extra money on jacketed bullets.
Zeke
and 3.5 grains of Bullseye forever. You can change powders if you like but don't spend the
extra money on jacketed bullets.
Zeke
Maj Dad
Member
Slam speaks for a lot of us old Bullseye shooters. My standard load for 45, 230 FMJ, is 5 gr BE, 38 spl 148 gr WC, 2.7 gr (really easy to double charge, but you only do it once). If I had to pick 2 powders to keep, it would be BE & Unique. There are plenty as good, probably some a little better, but not by much. That said, I have a good many of the powders currently on the market, but BE & Unique are the ones I use a lot of...
bbqreloader
Member
As mentioned, if you already bought it, use and work up your loads. It was one of my first powders I bought and got so sick of it, dumped the last of it in the garden.
Lots of other good powders, +1 on BE 86. Love using it! Have run CFE, HS6, ACC5, and Universal. Liked universal, shoots soft IMO. Good luck, fun round to load. I use a 200gr plated FP.
Lots of other good powders, +1 on BE 86. Love using it! Have run CFE, HS6, ACC5, and Universal. Liked universal, shoots soft IMO. Good luck, fun round to load. I use a 200gr plated FP.
Neck tension with RP brass seems to be an issue with all calibers I load. You can feel the difference on the press.
il.bill
Member
Started with 230 grain plated bullets over Bullseye and saw no reason to try anything else, until there was no BE to be found anywhere. Tried Titegroup and ended up liking it just as well. Now I really do not care which of the two I use - they both work well for me using published load data.
RugerOldArmy
Member
I'd pick:
1st choice: Bullseye
2nd choice: N320
3rd choice: W231 / HP38
4th choice: Unique
5th choice AA #5
Bullseye shines in 45ACP.
1st choice: Bullseye
2nd choice: N320
3rd choice: W231 / HP38
4th choice: Unique
5th choice AA #5
Bullseye shines in 45ACP.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
While I'm sure Bullseye is a good choice I still like W231 better in the 45 Auto and the .38 Special.
For many years a standard 45 Auto load has been a 230gr LRN bullet over 5.5gr W231. My OAL is usually between 1.255" and 1.265" for this load.
Remember, always double check load data you get on the NET because numbers can and will be transposed incorrectly at times.
For many years a standard 45 Auto load has been a 230gr LRN bullet over 5.5gr W231. My OAL is usually between 1.255" and 1.265" for this load.
Remember, always double check load data you get on the NET because numbers can and will be transposed incorrectly at times.
I've not loaded thousands of rounds of 45 like some of the people here have done, but I've always used range pick-up brass and so have seen a great variety of headstamps and no one headstamp I have loaded in 45 has been consistently better or worse than any other.
I purchased a couple of pounds of estate sale Green Dot. They were in cardboard containers of Green Dot, I assume it was late 70’s to early 80’s. It was old enough that the shiny tinned metal bottom has a small number of rust spots. The powder did not smell bitter, I did not see any red, and I shot it up as quickly as possible as I believe it was at the end of its shelf life.
I was able to conduct chronograph tests in my 38 Special and more extensive tests in 45 ACP. My loads shot well in the 38 Special. Green Dot works well in the 45 ACP. My M1911’s functioned every time on the 700 fps 4.5 grain load. That load had very little recoil and yet clustered well. I judge the accuracy of the ammo by the clustering on my 25 yard gong target. Since I shoot offhand my accuracy is highly variable compared to someone shooting off sandbags. I can say that Green Dot has accuracy potential as it clustered well, but I cannot say that it is any more accurate than any other powder.
Green Dot must be just a little slower burning than Bullseye as 5.0 grains of Green Dot gave me the same velocities as 4.5 grains Bullseye. Green Dot is still a fast burning powder.
I fired my loads in two different M1911’s and I was glad to see that the velocities were similar between the pistols.
Some people are ultra fussy about clean burning powders. I am not. I cannot say Green Dot is a “clean” powder as the wind was whipping through around 15 mph. Any residue in the air was gone before I could see it. My M1911’s cleaned up as usual, but I have must have a higher tolerance about residue than the clean crowd.
I like my practice ammo to be just around 800 fps, or less, so I loaded up several hundred more rounds with the 5.0 grains Green Dot and shot that. It worked fine. Between my 38 Special and 45 ACP, I used up the old Green Dot very quickly. I am not looking to replace any of my favorite pistols powders with Green Dot. I am also not looking to add more Green Dot to the collection. But I won’t turn down Green Dot if I get it at a great price as it shoots well in the 38 Special and 45 ACP.
Code:
Kimber Custom Classic
230 gr LRN 4.5 grs Bullseye 99' & 2005 mixed lot Mixed Brass WLP (brass)
OAL 1.250" taper crimp .469"
16-May-09 high 83 °F
Ave Vel =805.2
Std Dev = 38.07
ES = 136.9
High = 912.4
Low = 775.5
N = 24
230 LRN 4.5 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 708 fps
Std Dev = 12
ES = 40
High = 727
Low = 687
N = 9
accurate, little high, mild recoil
230 LRN 5.0 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 802fps
Std Dev = 19
ES = 61
High = 841
Low = 780
N = 15
230 LRN 5.5 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 873 fps
Std Dev = 30
ES = 88
High = 922
Low = 834
N = 11
M1911 Springfield Armory 5” Kart Barrel
230 LRN 4.5 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 719 fps
Std Dev =26
ES =105.1
High = 771
Low = 665.9
N = 14
accurate, little high, mild recoil
230 LRN 5.0 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 803 fps
Std Dev = 25
ES = 97
High = 867
Low = 770
N = 16
Accurate, centered
230 LRN 5.5 grs Green Dot lot 178 WLP Mixed Military OAL 1.245" taper crimp 0.469"
27 Feb 2010 T = 48 ° F
Ave Vel = 853 fps
Std Dev =29
ES = 116
High = 918
Low = 802
N = 15
very accurate, centered
[ATTACH=full]762892[/ATTACH]Attachments
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kerreckt
Member
As others have already stated. 700X does not meter very. It works great in 45acp and 380 auto. Just be careful with the case fill to maintain consistency.
Blue68f100
Member
I had a member many years ago put me on WST. This was also widely used on BE forums that I followed too. 4.1-4.2 gr for either a 185gr or 200gr LSWC is what most are using. This powder burns exceptionally clean. After 100 rounds you gun will be cleaner than 1 mag of BE powder.
Hokie_PhD
Member
Very very true. But reading what loads people use helps us get an idea of what loads are in the normal range. Anything very light or very high should jump out.
Seeing other people's loads also give us ideas as to what works really well. For instance I saw lots of posts on RMR 124gr 9mm using BE86. So many posts saying how great it was made me want to try the combo. Of course, I verified the loads, and started a little above the Alliant start and worked up to what Jake and a few others suggested.
I'd love to find a similar combo for 45. Again, not to trust what folks say, but to get ideas.
For those who are dense HDWHIT and I actually are saying to not trust loads posted. Our minion difference is I say I like seeing what folks do and use them for ideas. I'm not sure what his position on that, all I know is we agree on being safe.
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