.45 Colt load that uses 230gr RN .45 ACP bullets

[TTv2]

I bought some 230 grain Berry's RN bullets meant for .45 ACP, but intend to use them in .45 Colt. There's no load data in any of my manuals or on Hodgdon's website for this bullet in .45 Colt, so I'm a bit unsure how deep to seat the bullet. Right now I'm working on a low end Ruger only load for my Redhawk using 8 grains of Titegroup, which is the starting load Hodgdon lists for a hot .45 Colt load. Long story short, I'm trying to get anywhere from 950 to 1000 fps w/ this bullet out of my 4 inch Redhawk.

I chose Titegroup because it's a powder I have, but also according to Hodgdon's data 8gr of it with a 225 or 240 grain bullet would run 1000-1050 from a 7 inch barrel, so 3 inches less barrel should get me between 900 to 975.

Anyway, I measured the case and bullet and my OAL is 1.700" and I have about .220" of bullet in the case. Is that seated deep enough?

Sine Titegroup isn't position sensitive, I figure it should be okay. Thoughts?

 

[BBarn]

I've been seating them to 1.62", though I don't recall how I established that OAL. An older Hornady manual I have specified an OAL of 1.60" for their 230 gr RN. That may be based on the SAAMI max OAL of 1.60"

 

[Ru4real]

.... 230 grain Berry's RN bullets....using 8 grains of Titegroup....950 to 1000 fps w/ this bullet out of my 4 inch Redhawk.

1.700”....Is that seated deep enough?

Thoughts?

IMO, your OAL is fine. And Tightgroup is fine as well. 8 grains is a good place to start.

I put a roll crimp on the Berrys plated bullets, always. This is one of the tricks to get velocity Stan Dev into the teens with Tightgroup. My guess is that you will end up at about 9 grains to get your target velocity. I’ve experimented with as much as 10 grains of Tightgroup in 45 Colt.

If you are getting ready to do a run, set your die for 1.600” OAL if you want to be consistent with standard 45 Colt ammo.

 

[loadedround]

The current Lyman 50th edition of their reloading manual shows the seating depth of a 200 gr SWC bullet as 1.550'' as loaded in the 45 colt. This is the same lead SWC bullet I load in my two 45 ACP pistols.

 

[Walkalong]

Use 250 grain data and taper crimp them with your .45acp seater

 

[TTv2]

I've been seating them to 1.62", though I don't recall how I established that OAL. An older Hornady manual I have specified an OAL of 1.60" for their 230 gr RN. That may be based on the SAAMI max OAL of 1.60"

I did a plunk test at 1.7" and there were no issues, After I test these out later this week if I notice any crimp jumping I'll seat .05 to .1" deeper.

 

[TTv2]

Use 250 grain data and taper crimp them with your .45acp seater

Can I do this if I wanted to do a standard pressure .45 Schofield load using the 230 RN bullets? Will use these in a Taurus Judge.

 

[BBarn]

I did a plunk test at 1.7" and there were no issues, After I test these out later this week if I notice any crimp jumping I'll seat .05 to .1" deeper.

My Blackhawk will handle longer OALs as well. But now that you point it out, I'm thinking I shortened the OAL for two reasons. The first reason being more room for crimp jump. And the second (related) reason, the shorter OAL puts the mouth of the case in the area of reduced bullet diameter, which allows bit more crimp without denting the bullet.

 

[gotboostvr]

My Blackhawk will handle longer OALs as well. But now that you point it out, I'm thinking I shortened the OAL for two reasons. The first reason being more room for crimp jump. And the second (related) reason, the shorter OAL puts the mouth of the case in the area of reduced bullet diameter, which allows bit more crimp without denting the bullet.

It also won't hurt when using charges of powder that don't fill the case very well by taking up a little bit of that room. That could help position sensitive powders.

 

[Walkalong]

Can I do this if I wanted to do a standard pressure .45 Schofield load using the 230 RN bullets? Will use these in a Taurus Judge.

Yes, assuming your sizer/expander gives pretty good neck tension, which it likely will.

I don't shoot these anymore, but they never "jumped crimp" (Avg 1257 FPS) and shot great with a serious taper crimp.
I shoot coated 158 Gr SWCs now for "full power" .357 Mag.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I bought some 230 grain Berry's RN bullets meant for .45 ACP, but intend to use them in .45 Colt. There's no load data in any of my manuals or on Hodgdon's website for this bullet in .45 Colt, so I'm a bit unsure how deep to seat the bullet. Right now I'm working on a low end Ruger only load for my Redhawk using 8 grains of Titegroup, which is the starting load Hodgdon lists for a hot .45 Colt load. Long story short, I'm trying to get anywhere from 950 to 1000 fps w/ this bullet out of my 4 inch Redhawk.

I chose Titegroup because it's a powder I have, but also according to Hodgdon's data 8gr of it with a 225 or 240 grain bullet would run 1000-1050 from a 7 inch barrel, so 3 inches less barrel should get me between 900 to 975.

Anyway, I measured the case and bullet and my OAL is 1.700" and I have about .220" of bullet in the case. Is that seated deep enough?

Sine Titegroup isn't position sensitive, I figure it should be okay. Thoughts?

——
The Lyman 44th edition lists loading data for a 235grain cast RN, bullet #454309. It lists the same OAL for every load but notes some bullets need a roll-crimp on the first driving band. It also lists 10.7gr of Unique as a max load with a velocity of 1095fps from a 5-1/2” barrel Colts SAA. Hope this helps.

 

[styles]

1.6 is groovy

 

[AJC1]

If I was trying to use 45acp bullets in 45 colt I would seat them deep as possible to maximize surface area for neck to bullet contact. This should prevent bullet movements because the standard roll crimp may not be appropriate when loading things like plated bullets. The case volume is huge so a minor reduction in powder to maintain the same pressure is easy.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I use OAL of 1.605 with a 230 grain (but use 6.0 grains of TrailBoss as the load).

 

[derek45]

I would load those up in a 45ACP, and get some 45LC bullets with a good crimp groove.

Roll crimp for revolvers, taper crimp for autos

 

[TTv2]

I shot these today, tried both 8gr and 8.4gr of Titegroup, both seated to 1.700" OAL and both shot accurately at, IDK, 10-12 yards. Didn't shoot paper, just steel. Also used the chronograph and was getting 850-900 fps with the 8gr load, 936-965 with the 8.4gr load, so the higher powder charge was more consistent.

So, I was close on the powder charge to velocity, but it turned out the heavier charge got me what I wanted, so it was wicked smaht of me to load that ammo last night.

I did get crimp jumping and it was very noticeable on the 5th and 6th rounds in the cylinder, but they still shot fine. Next time I'm gonna use the same charge and seat the bullets to get a 1.6" OAL instead. I really do with Berry's offered more bullets with a crimp groove or cannelure. It is what is is, hopefully the extra .1" of tension will reduce or eliminate the crimp jumping.

The reason I'm shooting these bullets in .45 Colt and not ACP is I also have some Berry's hollow points also 230 grains and those are pricey, so these are to test velocities and now that I know I have to go into Ruger Only pressures to get the velocity I want, I can move on to loading the hollow points with that 8.4 grains of Titegroup.

 

[BBarn]

With the shorter OAL, you may be able to apply more crimp since the case mouth should be beyond the bullet ogive. But I suppose it doesn't matter much since your ultimate goal is to use a different bullet.