45 LC load info for 230gr 45 ACP Bullets

Without a canneleure on the bullet, you might experience bullets backing out of the brass as the other rounds are fired. Neck tension will overcome some of this tendency but since 45 Colt brass is rather thin, sufficient neck tension is difficult to attain.

Typically, bullets designed for 45acp are .451", and for 45 Colt they are .452". So that makes the neck tension issue Kp321 mentioned even worse. And accuracy can suffer, but that depends more on the firearm.

Accurate and Alliant both list loads for the 230-grain JHPs at standard pressures, so they certainly can work. Just be sure you have modern dies (not with the old .454” sizer) and keep loads low. It is recoil which pulls the case off the bullet, and keeping velocities under 900 fps should eliminate any problems.

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Question; why would a 230 grain FMJRN bullet at 800-900 FPS pull the others when firing out of a heavy, steel framed revolver but not when fired out of a lighter (sometimes 50% lighter) semi auto? Serious question.

1KPerDay said:

Question; why would a 230 grain FMJRN bullet at 800-900 FPS pull the others when firing out of a heavy, steel framed revolver but not when fired out of a lighter (sometimes 50% lighter) semi auto? Serious question.

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Two reasons, one being that acp brass is a little heavier (mine, anyway) and gets better neck tension as the expander plug is smaller than for the 45 Colt. The other is, and this is speculation, there isn't much place for the bullet to pull out in a magazine. Has little to do with the weight of the gun but that could be a factor. I've had 44 mag bullets, heavily roll crimped, pull out of the cases with full loads in both my 29 and Super. I've shot some 230 fmj from the big Colt and roll crimped right into the jacket, just forward of the parallel. ( On the ogive, I guess)

1KPerDay said:

Question; why would a 230 grain FMJRN bullet at 800-900 FPS pull the others when firing out of a heavy, steel framed revolver but not when fired out of a lighter (sometimes 50% lighter) semi auto? Serious question.

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Because in the revolver, the cartridges are held firm by the rim. In the auto, they "float" in the magazine -- in recoil, the whole cartridge moves forward, not just the bullet.

Vern Humphrey said:

Because in the revolver, the cartridges are held firm by the rim. In the auto, they "float" in the magazine -- in recoil, the whole cartridge moves forward, not just the bullet.

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Hmm. Never considered that.

Further to Vern's point, think about precisely how the recoil-generated rearward motion is imparted to the rounds. In a revolver, the rim is attached to the cylinder, and gets yanked backwards with the gun. In a magazine, the front of the magazine likely pushes into the front of the round - the opposite..

I've used hundreds of both FMJ and JHP 230s in my Colt Anaconda. I use a Lee factory crimp die, and crimp slightly heavy. No problems at 1,000 FPS.
(BTW, the 230 JHP ACP bullets, driven to 1400 FPS will dang nigh "explode" when they hit something solid)

Looking in Lyman #49 for 45 Colt loads. Shows loads for 225 gr and 240 gr. I would use the lower end of those loads as a starting point and work up.

Okay, I was recalling starting with a .452" 230gr RN lead slug. I'd point to Hodgdon's load data using Clays because I used a variation of this with a .7cc Lee dipper which put the charge weight in the middle of their recommended range. This load shot fine in my gun. However, using FMJ's, expect squibs.

I’ve shot many many many hundreds of rounds of 45 Colt loaded lightly with cast and FMJ bullets that were originally intended for my 45 ACP. I never had any functionality or accuracy issues in my Blackhawk convertible or Bisley or Model 25, but then again I never stopped firing midstring to look for bullet pull. If the bullets were pulling under recoil, it was not sufficient to either cause differences in power/accuracy or to functionally tie up the gun.

The bullets all got a heavy crimp, using the same crimp die set up as I used for traditional 45 Colt bullets. The cast bullets (MBC IDP#4) were already sized to .452 and had a groove suitable for crimping just south of the natural shoulder. For the FMJ, as was commented in an earlier post, I seated the bullets deeply enough for the crimp to occur just forward of the start of the ogive.

My key thoughts at the time were to keep the loads light, and to make sure I had adequate resistance to bullet pull. Maybe I got lucky, but this all seem to work just fine for me.

mustanger98 said:

Okay, I was recalling starting with a .452" 230gr RN lead slug. I'd point to Hodgdon's load data using Clays because I used a variation of this with a .7cc Lee dipper which put the charge weight in the middle of their recommended range. This load shot fine in my gun. However, using FMJ's, expect squibs.

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Walkalong said:

Why?

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A FMJ is a stiffer metal than straight cast lead. Some cast lead loads can run at lower speeds, or on less pressure... less ummph needed to get it out of the barrel. While I cannot say for certain you WILL get FMJ's hung in the barrel while attempting cast bullet velocities, I have seen it happen while substituting FMJ .358's for LFP's in a .357 revolver with no change in powder charge. No need in blowing up a gun. IMO, you need to be VERY aware of the possibility. Keep a dowel and a mallet handy.

Over the summer I used up a bunch of pulled 45acp fmj's in my Uberti Cattleman. My Lee Auto drum powder measure has a Uncanny ability to meter 700x and 800x without any issues so I used that and the new IMR Target.

I ran at the starting load of 4.7 grs of 700x Starting load of 6.2grs of 800x and starting load of 4.5grs of the New IMR Target. These are all hodgdons starting loads for the bullet weight.

I just used my factory crimp die and loaded them like normal. I didn't have any set back as checked at the range with Calipers after several rounds. I probably wouldn't have ran it much hotter than I did. Seemed to work rather well and I was able to use them up. Most were damaged on the tip from impact pulling and I didnt want to run them in my 1911's or other auto feeders.

I have since ran 230gr lee tc cast lead 45acp out of it using the same load data. Nice and soft shooting with all three powders at the minimum charge weight.

cheygriz said:

BTW, the 230 JHP ACP bullets, driven to 1400 FPS will dang nigh "explode" when they hit something solid.)

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I highly recommend using them in a Four Fifty Bushmaster. !

I have one hundred eighty five grain to try next, but I suspect they will "Poof!" like the SXSPs did in my fast twist target rifle. Still, they were super fun on water jugs with in thirty feet or so...

AnyRacoon said:

I have some extra 230gr FMJ 45 ACP bullets and was wondering if any one either loads this combo or can send me in the right direction. This is for a Ruger Black Hawk in 45 LC, but does not have to be a high power load, just for plinking.

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How many "extra" do you have and why not just use them for .45ACP? Back during the reloading component shortages a few years back, this question was asked quite frequently since folks had a hard time finding appropriate projectiles at an affordable cost. Nowadays, there's plenty of better options out there for reloading .45 Colt that are readily available and just as cost effective. Over the years I have had many friends that somehow got a box of 100 oddball bullets from some source or the other and didn't want to "waste" them. So they start looking for recipes just so they can throw them downrange. My answer has always been, "why not sell or trade them for something more appropriate, since just throwing them downrange to produce noise and inaccurate random holes in paper is a waste of good powder and primers?". A few oddball bullets in quantities of 100 or less, IMHO, is not worth the bother of working up a load. By the time you find something that is accurate and works well, those 100 are gone. I've been lucky with not just bullets I can't use(like those given to me from folks that either inherited them or got out of reloading themselves), by trading or selling on the local Buy/Sell pages, but also with those bullets appropriate for the calibers I have, but just don't like the way they shoot. I have seen the scenarios where someone buys the wrong bullet for the application, i.e. finding a good price on 1000 230 grainers intended for .45 ACP and then realize they ordered incorrectly(with most places having a no return policy on bullets) or they just like the price of the .45ACP projectiles more than the price of more appropriate projectiles intended for use in .45 Colt......and now have no published recipes available to them. Just curious as to which scenario we have here.

That said, can it be done? Sure, the lack of cannelure should not be a problem with sufficient neck tension and light to moderate loads. Only problem with no cannelure is getting correct OAL for the powder charge used. The bullet itself may or may not be particularly accurate in your revolver, but only shooting will tell. Lots of places on the web to get non published load recipes, I would definitely be looking for something I would trust, or would find someone with QuickLOAD software that knew how to use it. I would start low and have low expectations as for overall performance. All of this after the pursuit of trading/selling for something more appropriate. But that's just me. I reload not only to save a titch of monies, but also for quality ammo. Inappropriate projectiles rarely make for that. Maybe not a waste of bullets, buy IMHO, a waste of good powder, good primers and my time.