.45 ACP Pet Loads

cast bullets for 45 acp

I have been shooting cast bullets from the 1911 platforms since the early 70's.... I competed for years in bulleseye, PPC and IPSC....I ran a 200 gr cast SWC over 4.5 of bullseye and ran the 230 gr RN over the same charge for IPSC major....back in the day Bullseye was one of the "holy trinity - Bullseye, Unique & 2400".....if you are shooting 3" groups at 25 yds....that is very good.
I have shot over 50,000 rounds of these 45 acp loads thru a trio of Colt 1911's and a couple of Smith N frames....they group comparably to what you are shooting....they will cut the "X" and ten ring out of bullseye target if the shooter is doing his or her job. I also have shot thousands of Lee 190 gr 45 SWC's through these guns with the same results....this bullet looks like a hockey puck with a small dome on the business end, but it shoots good.
I have also had very good performance from Unique in a variety of calibers.
Good shooting.

45acp/200 swc

My favorite is 4.5 new Red Dot with a 200 SWC. Works good in my 1911A1 and my M&P. I say new Red Dot because the old stuff is too dirty. 4.4 Tightgroup is dead on with 230 LRN. I use Winchester Primers and Federal/ATK brass.

Classic Bullseye 45ACP, 200gr cast loads ... posted a few years back on the BE forum.

4.2 Titegroup (best groups)
4.0 BE (next best)
4.2 WST (tied with BE and Titegroup)
3.9 Clays
3.8 VVN310
4.2 VVN320
4.6 W231
4.2 AA#2
3.8 BA10
4.5 HP38
4.2 S1000

And a host of others!
OAL: base to shoulder .928" +.002"
Primers: CCI, Federal, WLP (WLP and CCI were more consistent)
Crimp: .469" -.002" (set with the tallest case we could find)
Cases: Starline

I use Ba-10 myself but my stock is just about done and it's no longer imported. BE will be my next choice. Clays is great but doesn't meter particularly well.
/B

Unique has always been my go-to powder in 45. I have been buying by the keg for decades. I found a deal in single pound cans of HP-38. Out of curiosity I worked up some loads with my favorite cast bullet. Very happy with performance but seeing that I have around 12 pounds of Unique in stock will keep shooting it. When I bust the seal on the last keg I will order a backup. Too old to switch from something that has done so well for 35 years.

45 cast bullet accuracy

If you really want to get down to "tong & hammer" on accuracy, then a ransom rest is in order....if you want to see what accuracy the gun/load combo is really capable of without the human factor. You didn't elaborate on how you were shooting from 25 yrds......but if you really really want to see what the gun/load combo will do...then you need to eliminate the human variables. But for my money...3" groups from a stock 45 acp at 25 yds is quite acceptable.

Hard_Cast said:

My load is using RCBS- 45-200-SWC and they cast at 205 gr.
Sizing at .451 and lubing with White Label BAC
Powder selections so far have settled on 5.1 gr TiteGroup and 6.4 gr. Unique
Primers are WLP.

What are some load suggestions for Cast, 200 gr., accurate loads?

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I would suggest you size those 200gr SWC bullets to .452" instead of .451". that size works better with cast bullets whereas the .451" sizing works better with jacketed bullets.

Hard_Cast said:

Thanks! Im going to check out the HP 38, as I have it, and will get some BE as soon as it comes available.

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Even though a lighter load was suggested i get very good success with a charge of between 5.2gr and 5.5gr of HP-38/W231 with a 200gr SWC bullet. I don't know why the above list shows different charge weights for HP-38 and W231 since they are the same exact powders, confirmed by Hodgdon.

ArchAngelCD said:

Canuck-IL said:

Classic Bullseye 45ACP, 200gr cast loads ... posted a few years back on the BE forum.

4.6 W231
4.5 HP38

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I don't know why the above list shows different charge weights for HP-38 and W231 since they are the same exact powders, confirmed by Hodgdon.

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Winchester and Hodgdon load data were different until 2006. In 2006, Hodgdon was licensed by Winchester to sell their powders and since then load data show the same charges for W231 and HP-38 - http://www.hodgdon.com/history.html

In March 2006, Hodgdon Powder Company and Winchester® Ammunition announced that Winchester® branded reloading powders would be licensed to Hodgdon

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My reloading mentor was a Bullseye match shooter and some of their custom tailored loads reflected the use of lighter than factory recoil springs that worked with lighter charge loads. IMHO/E, unless you are running reduced rate recoil springs, 4.5-4.6 gr of W231/HP-38 may not reliably cycle the new factory recoil springs of many semi-auto pistols, particularly compacts with stiffer rate recoil springs. Also note that recoil springs should be replaced on a regular basis and your loads should work reliably with new spring rates. Of course, if you never replaced the recoil springs in your pistols and you have 5000-10,000+ rounds through your pistols, you may have reduced rate recoil springs by few pounds.

For me and pistols I have shot, 4.8-5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 have been the minimal charge range that worked well with 200 gr SWC bullets while producing very accurate shot groups. Some pistols may require 5.5+ gr of W231/HP-38 with 200 gr RNFP bullets (which has shorter bearing surface and shallower seating depth) to work reliably.

YMMV

With a 200gr cast SWC, 3.7gr of Bullseye is a soft, accurate load that still cycles my 1911 Springfield. 5.6gr of W231 / HP38 is my everyday load. I got a deal on some Unique, 6.0gr was OK but not as accurate as the other 2 loads but plenty good for USPSA.

5 gr of bullseye with a 230 gr bullet

I too would recommend sizing to .452 for lead. My best load is 6.2 gr of Universal with a 200gr SWC, OAL 1.250. Or try 4.8gr Bullseye. Hard to beat.

My favorite loads with 200gr LSWC are as follows:

AA#2 5.5gr
AA#5 8.4gr

and for the ultimate pop gun round, with brass falling two foot to the right of me:
700x 4.6gr

I'm no slouch in the slowfire department, and I'd be very happy with 3" if we're talking about shooting offhand.

To answer the question, size those to .452 (most likely) and stack them on top of 4 grains of Clays or WST. Maybe down a tenth for Clays or up a tenth for WST, depending on how you feel that day.

When I shot the 200 gr. Speer LSWC it was with 3.6 gr. Clays, WLP for ca 730 fps an accurate bulllseye pistol load for 25 yards. My favorite is 3.8 gr. HS-700X, Rem LP behind the 185 gr. LSWC at ca 720 fps - very mild and accurate bullseye pistol load for 50 ft and 25 yards. For 50 yards with the 185 gr. LSWC I use 3.8 gr. VV N-310 at ca 790 fps.

I haven't shot any lead through my RIA 1911 Tactical, but I've been getting excellent performance from 5.0 gr HP-38 under a 185-gr XTP with CCI primers in new Starline brass.

So far my best with my Les Baer TRS .45ACP was 0.63" @ 25 yards from a Ransom rest. That was with Nosler Custom Competition 185gr bullets, 5.4gr of Titegroup.

3 inches all you can expect? I've just shot my first 1.375 inch 25 yard hand rest 5 shot group after many different combinations and hundreds of rounds fired (Kimber Classic Royale, 230 Rainer/5.0 gr. Red Dot/1.275) and I'm tickled to death! I knew the 1911 was capable if only I could do my part. I'm gonna stay at it until I get a 1 inch group.

My gun is a G21; I've used 4.5gr of bullseye w/ 230gr. FMJ ball. I tried to run 185gr. JHP with the same load; found that in my particular gun, that it takes at least 4.7gr of bullseye to reliably cycle the action w/ the lighter bullet... not that it's exactly the same as what's needed to cycle a Colt - thought I'd mention it, so if the OP ever goes to a lighter projectile and finds an intermittent fail to extract/eject, going up slightly on the charge can be the answer.

-Bill

michaelnel said:

So far my best with my Les Baer TRS .45ACP was 0.63" @ 25 yards from a Ransom rest. That was with Nosler Custom Competition 185gr bullets, 5.4gr of Titegroup.

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Do you actually think a Les Baer Custom 1911 would shoot anything buy very well no matter which powder you use within reason? That's what they are supposed to do when you spend $1980 for 1911.

4.2 grain of Bullseye with Missouri Bullet 200 g cast

Excelent load in my M&P 45c

As some others have pointed out, try reducing your TiteGroup load to somewhere between 4.0 and 4.5 grains. Sometimes you don't get the best accuracy at the higher muzzle velocities. An added advantage that will aid your accuracy is the reduced recoil.