Where to buy 45 cal LSWCHP / LHP?

Personally, for a general plinker and maybe self-defense bullet, a nice wide flat-nose cast bullet would work just as well. At that sedate velocity, I don't think you would get reliable expansion out of a cast HP bullet, the weight of the bullet is going to do all the work.

GT Bullets lists quite a few options.

Zero bullets; rozedist.com
Precision Delta; precisiondelta.com

These have an outstanding reputation in Bullseye and PPC competition circles.
Hollow point and SWC both are available.

mattsbullets.com should have what you want!

Oops! I just checked and the website says it’s down for maintenance!
But they are worth waiting for. Great bullets, good service.

NoirFan said:

I know a 45 flat nose bullet is just fine for plinking, and most likely this gun will never be used for defense. I just have this mental tic about loading and stocking HPs "just in case". In your experience what velocity is required to get a cast HP to expand? From what I have read the GTbullet HPs are cast but not all that hard.

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Well, I don't really know... I don't load HP cast bullets. I do what you do... but I have a box or two of JHP or JSP for each pistol I load for... just in case.

I bought a bunch of HPs from Matts Bullets. Just checked their website and it's up. I looked for .452 hollow points and did not see any in that caliber.

https://www.mattsbullets.com/

Magnus bullets sells a swaged version.

I must have a half dozen factory and custom hollow point molds. Frankly, I do not want to do the homework to get a home cast bullets to work right at higher velocities. The only home cast hollow point I use is for the 45 ACP. The mold was made from the Lyman 352378 225gr. RN bullet. My choice is to use semi-wad cutters with wide nose in my revolver calibers. Where I'm going is that making a hole in the nose of a bullet does not automatically make a highly effective bullet. An authority on this subject is Eric Ohlen at Hollow Point Bullet Mold Service. My 45ACP mold was made by Eric Ohlen. For me, the SWC with wide nose is the way to go. Glen Fryxell has written some on HP bullets. What he is about is much higher than my pay grade.

Addendum: I may take some of my very soft 45 ACP HP's and load them into 45 Colt to see how they work in my Ruger's.

With cast hollow points it comes down to the alloy used. I use a 20-1 alloy and am getting expansion at velocities below 800 FPS in the .45 ACP.

Right, when I was ordering the 45ACP mold I asked about alloy. At one time the suggestion was half WW and half unalloyed lead. Mr. Ohlen suggested that would be the hardest and spoke of unalloyed lead. I'd rather go with the half and half as it makes good bullets for breech loading black powder rifles also. For my use 20-1 or similar is great. The 357's and 44 Magnums are a different story.

Addendum: Looks like cast HP are at their best in 38 Special, 44 Special and 45 ACP range of performance.

For "self defense" does it really matter if a soft flat nose 250 gr bullet 45 colt at 800-900 fps make a hill of beans difference??

Rule3 said:

For "self defense" does it really matter if a soft flat nose 250 gr bullet 45 colt at 800-900 fps make a hill of beans difference??

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Right, the heavy LSWC does rule. I had in mind taking the 200 gr. approx. hollow pointed 225 RN bullet with the velocity up higher than usual for normal Colt loads. This is for curiosity sake. I took my carry permit class using a Ruger Vaquero with factory cowboy loads. Needed the brass for a friend. Basically, it's unnecessary to hot rod the 45 Colt so far as I'm concerned.

For a SD load I use Missouri Bullet 255 gr Keith style. Push it to 900-1,000 fps. Several powders to choose from.

Mowgli Terry said:

Basically, it's unnecessary to hot rod the 45 Colt so far as I'm concerned.

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The problem with the .45 Colt... is all that case volume! It screams "fill me up!"

Charlie98 said:

The problem with the .45 Colt... is all that case volume! It screams "fill me up!"

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The 45 Colt is a pleasant round to shoot. It sends a heavy bullet down range accurately without drama. The velocity range with 45 Colt is good for hollow point lead bullets. Now the next problem is to find a lead bullet that will behave right. Behave right means the HP will open. The bullet mold I have was made by Eric Ohlen with Glen Fryxell. That's as good as it gets. I can work around not having a crimping groove fairly easily-this mold is the modified Lyman 452378-225gr..RN. I'd go this automatic bullet route first rather than hunt down a 45 Colt HP bullet. If I get a notion it's possible to send a mold to have modified by Eric Ohlen. His work is excellent and in very brief conversation proved to be a very pleasant person.

Addendum: Becoming redundant may be a sign of advancing age. I'll do better!

I really enjoy these undertakings however my reach, time wise, exceeds my grasp. I'm truly thankful to be the only on so afflicted with this plate too full problem in this forum.

Charlie98 said:

The problem with the .45 Colt... is all that case volume! It screams "fill me up!"

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Trail Boss
Tin Star
Black powder

Charlie98 said:

The problem with the .45 Colt... is all that case volume! It screams "fill me up!"

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IMR 4227. It shines when compressed.

I care not to buy second hand 45 Colt caliber handguns from you guys!

Jesse Heywood said:

IMR 4227. It shines when compressed.

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In my experience... not so much in pistol length barrels... but it truly shines in carbine length barrels. It is the new darling of the dance in my 20" .41 Marlin...

What I meant to suggest is... with all that case volume available... was to fill it up to crazy .45 Colt Magnum levels... certainly a no-no. It seems like every 6-months or so I see a post about how far you can pump up .45 Colt loads...

Behind a 255 LSWC 20.0 gr. 4227 is safe for Colt SAA and replicas. http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt45lc.htm I would not recommend anything hotter. I have loaded hotter for a modern model 25, but was not happy with the recoil. You're right, it is not to loaded to magnum levels in non-Ruger guns. If you want more, go to a different cartridge.