Post range sanity check

.45 ACP is often dirty. It's a function of the (relatively) low pressure - 23,000 psi is the highest they go. Notice the soot only extends halfway down the case, meaning the the brass at the rear allowed nothing by. The sparks you are seeing typically come off the muzzle and are fragments of lead, copper and general debris.

I wouldn't be concerned about any of it.

I agree 45 acp is dirty. Even with factory loads i have gotten soot on the cases.

The primers look fine but by the time you see flattened primers in 45 ACP, you are way past maximum pressures.

I get soot on the muzzles of my 1911's shooting 230 gr RN over 4.9 grains 700-X, max load per Hodgdon.

Agree with the above, as I get a little soot on the brass too. But that's a lot of soot on the gun.

I've never loaded with Longshot, so take this with a grain (ha!) of salt. There are multiple sources for load data, and a quick look shows that 8.1 grains under the 200 grain XTP is well under maximum - using the Hornady app. But when I looked at the Hodgdon load data, their listed max is 7.8 grains for the 200 grain bullet. Could this be an overload issue? Did you start out at a lower load?

The best solution to get optimal results is to go with a faster powder. Bullseye, tight group and ramshot competion all will give good functionality, seal the case and are accurate. The 45 is the locomotive not the race car.

The primers look fine, soot looks normal to me. How was ejection? I use ejection as normal and felt recoil more than anything when working up 45 acp loads.

That's what Longshot looks like on the brass. My brass looks the same
You can not tell anything from primers on handgun loads until it is to late!

You may be a bit high on the 200 XTP per Hodgdon data

As mentioned, if you have a faster powder you may want to try that,but if that's all you have, it's fine.
I like longshot,

Flat primers? Not even close!

Seems like its a product of a slow burning powder in a low pressure cartridge. Everything looks good to me and I wouldn't worry about it. My Hornady #10 manual shows a max of 8.6 with the 200xtp, so you could likely step it up a little if you'd like. But I doubt you'd seem much difference in the dirtiness.

Are you SURE you weren’t using Blue Dot? That’s exactly how my cases look when I load 185gr JHP Noslers with Blue Dot. Good load. Real accurate. Dirty as the Devils socks.

Zahn said:

Agree with the above, as I get a little soot on the brass too. But that's a lot of soot on the gun.

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700-X soots up the muzzle of the slide worse than the OP photo.

Hey, it wipes right off.

I've been loading 230 RN with 700-X since the early 1980's. It is my favorite powder/load in 45 ACP. I have alternate loads developed with Accurate #5 and Unique if I cannot find 700-X.

I do not have any experience with Longshot.

Hard to tell if they’re sooty and scorched or just sooty, but they still look very much like mine do. I’ve never been able to duplicate factory rounds where the cases are so clean after firing you don’t even want to tumble them. I don’t worry about the gun getting dirty, it’s expected and why there’s a bevy of cleaning products.
What I want to know is how did your loads do on paper? That’s just as important as checking cases. Good luck.

Like Walkalong moving to faster powder will help remove the scorching. I use WST exclusive for my 45acp. It burns extremely clean at reduced loads. WST is reverse temp sensitive.

I've used quite a few different powders for 45 ACP, and have found that I like Bullseye the best. I use 4.5 gr under a 230 gr Berry's TMJ. It's a middle-of-the-road load, but cycles flawlessly in all of my guns, and isn't terribly sooty. It meters well, and doesn't require much powder per case. It doesn't hurt that I also load 9 mm with Bullseye, so I don't have to have as many different powders on my shelf. The sootiest powder I've used for 45 ACP was Unique. They always went bang, but they were filthy. If it were my only choice in powder, I would have happily kept using Unique.

If all you have is the Long Shot, and it's going bang and cycling your slide, I'd stick with it. Once powders become more readily available/prices come down, then find something that's a bit cleaner.

And as has been said, you're not going to see flattened primers in a .45 ACP unless you're WAY over pressure.

Walkalong said:

Sooty is one thing, scorched is another. Longshot is going to give more recoil and velocity, but use a lot more powder to get there.

N320, N310, WST, W-231, Zip, Competition, Clays, 700X, AA #2, Sport Pistol, Solo 1000, Bullseye, are some I would be looking for locally.

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+1 on WST. Using 230gr jacketed RN bullets and between 4-7 and the max of 4.9 grains has given me the cleanest burn. Excellent recoil and accuracy. I have not used WSF for 45 acp loads yet, but have used WSF for 40 S&W. I like the way WSF is less fluffy (and therefore less messy) than WST, but for 45acp, it's my goto powder.

CH

Atavar said:

I’ll

There was no paper this trip. The snow was knee deep so I just went to the hut and shot 8" steel tipping plates at 15 yards. I was hitting 23 of 25 with the two being my fault.

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It looks to me like it's acgood enough load IF (and only IF) Longshot is all you have and all you can get OR (big OR here) you plan on using it in a long-slide .45ACP. I worked up a Blue Dot load WAAAY back when I got an AMT Hardballer Longslide for bowling pin shoots - which is a LOT harder than it looks, by the way - and my cases always looked like that; scorched and sooty. But it shot pretty darned accurate, near-max loads at low pressure, without stressing the pistol because that's what Blue Dot (and, I'm guessing Longshot as a similar powder) does well. It's about all Blue Dot does well in pistol cartridges but it does it well. I'd say do some more load development but look for accuracy and keep an eye on the extractor/ejector marks on the case heads. If you start seeing ejector scoring on the case head, or tearing on the rim from the extractor, back off and don't shoot those loads. Pull them and reload with a lower load.