Favorite .45acp powders & loads

There are multiple threads on this topic.

With that said, it's hard to beat Bullseye! I also use Red Dot/Promo and AA#2 with great results. Good luck in your quest!

My cast plinking loads are simple. 5.0 gr of Unique regardless of whether it's a 185, 200, or 230 gr bullet. I prefer the 185 gr SWC, though. Soft shooting and accurate.

5.0 unique. 6.0 power pistol

I believe there are more powders that Will work in the 45acp than Will Not work.

My favorites are AA#2 and Ramshot Silhouette. HP-38 if loading cast lead.

What are you loading for? Target shooting, defense, plinking? I load mainly for bullseye target shooting, with 200 grain SWC bullets and WST or Bullseye powder. I have a light recoil spring, and load them down a bit for a soft recoil while maintaining function. If you're loading mid- to full-load rounds, there are a lot of powders that will give you very good results. A few I particularly like are Red Dot, Green Dot, TiteGroup, AA #5 and SIlhouette. The .45 is one of the easiest cartridges to load for. Just make sure to plunk test your loads to make sure the bullet profile/length works. I have a Blackhawk that has very tight cylinder holes and won't take many of the loads that my 1911s gobble up.

Target loads.

Cast 200 gr SWC and 3.6 gr Clays, or 3.8 gr of Red Dot or IMR Red.

Hornady 230 gr XTP and 6.6 gr CFE Pistol.

I've used over 30 different powders loading 45 ACP. The above loads are the ones I use the most.

My .45s both seem to like 4.7 or 5.0gr of HP38 (W231) with a 230.
5.0 shoots maybe a hair better, 4.7 is softer.
HP38 is my go to powder for .45 practice loads.

AA#2 and N320 have also shot well for me.

SNS 200 grain coated LSWC over 4.2 grains WST.
Bullseye, Clays, N310, W231 also work well.

Load Bullseye with 200gr LSWC or 230gr LRN.

5.0grns of Bullseye and 230grn.FMJ will give you about 830fps. from a 1911. This is the old standby. Its is the first loading I ever used (40years ago) and I still use it. There are many but this one works well.

5.2 HP 38 230 FMJ

MBC LSWC BE #1(185gr) & #2 (200gr), WST 4.1-4.2gr soft shooting. WST burns supper clean at these reduced loads.

Bulletski said:

I recently got a Kimber Custom 2 in .45 acp. I'm a long time reloader but not for .45.
I'd like to get feedback from those that load for .45 as to which powder/s are their favorites. I've already loaded up some CFE Pistol with 200gr bullets and they shot nicely, but would still like to get opinions on other powders.

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Since your question is specific to a Kimber Custom, you might get better input asking at https://www.kimbertalk.com/forums/ammo-can/.
In other words, what shoots great in a Springfield, Wilson or CZ may not perform the same for a Kimber since all guns are different.

Just received about 5.5lbs of an 8lb jug of Hodgdon Clays so I'll soon see what it can do too.

I have a Kimber TLE 2. I mostly use it for plinking. I use 4.5gr titegroup for 230gr RN plated bullets and 4.7gr for 230gr RN FMJ. I use factory SD loads for carrying. All of which I mentioned shoots good.

Bulletski said:

Kimber Custom 2 in .45 acp. I'm a long time reloader but not for .45.

I'd like to get feedback from those that load for .45 as to which powder/s are their favorites. I've already loaded up some CFE Pistol with 200gr bullets and they shot nicely, but would still like to get opinions on other powders.

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IMO, for lighter target loads, faster burning powders tend to deform/bump the bullet base better to seal with the barrel to produce more efficient powder burn and more consistent pressure build.

To me, W231/HP-38/Sport Pistol fall right at this juncture and this Shooting Times article tested several faster burning powders for bullseye match shooting - https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/loads-for-the-bullseye-shooter/99418#:~:text=The powders used by Bullseye,45 ACP.

Sport Pistol is a newer clean burning powder that meters even better than W231/HP-38 (Think N320 that's cut thinner and more consistent than flattened ball W231/HP-38 as shown below) and meters with around .05 gr variance for me while W231/HP-38 meters with around .1 gr variance. IMR Target is another faster burning newer powder that's been producing smaller test groups compared to other popular powders - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/powder-shape-and-burn-rate.852012/#post-11144164

Bulletski said:

I'm loading for Target ... with 200 gr heads

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I shoot railed Sig 1911 XO and with "harder" 18 BHN MBC 200 gr SWC (IDP #1), 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 is my reference 45ACP load.

For lighter target load, especially using "softer" 14-16 BHN Z-Cast 200 gr SWC or 12 BHN MBC 200 gr SWC (Bullseye #1), 4.0 gr of Red Dot/Promo have produced accuracy with softer recoil and is a dream to shoot in Sig 1911/M&P45 and particularly compact PT145.

Groups produced with Sig 1911 and Promo - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...blended-promo-for-more-accurate-loads.841097/

I like HP38 for my 45 with 200gn extreme RN. It meters great and its easy to get a good load in 45 and 9mm.

For target loads I like CFE Pistol at 6.1gr with a 230gn RN FMJ and a col of 1.245

I like 200gn plated bullets (mainly RMR) and like Clays for reduced recoil loads, and BE86 for hotter loads.

The long time benchmark for 45acp is Bullseye. I’ve had good luck with AA#2 and #5, as well as Shooters World Auto Pistol (same as AA#5). Red Dot (and Promo) work well. Lots of powders work well, but 45acp is a relatively low pressure round, and powders generally burn cleaner at higher pressures, so I prefer to load at the upper end of the charge range in 45, and pick powders with faster burn rates for lower velocity loads.

Now it may be just me, and I expect to be challenged for saying this, but two powders that I don’t like for 45 are HS6 and Sport Pistol. HS6 would foul up my gun enough to prevent rounds from going into battery after just a few mags. Sport Pistol gave very wide extreme spreads, was case position sensitive, and showed wide variations between different primer types. (I started a thread about this).

I almost exclusively shoot a 200 grain coated swcs. 4.5 grains of bullseye for target loads, 7.0 grains of unique for a full power load.

Nosler 185 grain JHP; 4.1 grains of Vihtavuori N310 to a loaded cartridge overall length of 1.20”, the Dorman load.

wbbh said:

the Dorman load.

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??
I like Clays, Target, WST, or N320 for light loads. I’ve yet to try N310 just because I haven’t placed an order in a while. Hopefully when the component situation calms down I’ll try that as well.
I can load those for major PF as well.
For mid to full loads 244 all the way to CFE Pistol all work good. Like others have said, tough to find a powder that doesn’t work. Good luck!

4.4 grains of Clays with a 185 LSW or 4 grains of Clays with a 200 LSW.