45ACP 185gr Missouri Bullets....

[gilly6993]

I'll be starting to load 45 ACP's and just bought some Missouri Bullets....185gr Lead SWC.....I will be using Titegroup as a powder....looking through my manuals and online data I found data for 185 gr Horandy JSWC with a starting load of 5.0 and a max of 5.5....I'm going to drop those by 10% (4.5-4.95) and start at 4.6...thoughts?

 

[Special_K]

I personally wouldn't start that low with those loads. Start at 5.0 and see if there is leading going on

 

[Quoheleth]

Give Hodgdon a call - they'll help you out.

Q

 

[LiveLife]

You didn't state the make of pistol or barrel length as bullet diameter to bore diameter fit and barrel length affect chamber pressure, powder burn and shot group accuracy.

I usually load 10 rounds of each in 0.2-0.3 gr increments and cover the Start/Max load data range while looking for the most accurate shot groups that will reliably cycle the slide.

Most of times, you will obtain the most accurate shot groups with mid-high/near max load range charges, but not always. 180 gr 40S&W bullet with 3.8-4.3 gr of W231/HP38 at 1.125" OAL is below the starting load for this bullet weight/powder combination, but it is scary accurate at 7-10 yards with light recoil.

 

[gilly6993]

You didn't state the make of pistol or barrel length

S&W 945 performance center 3 1/2" barrell....

Give Hodgdon a call - they'll help you out.

thanks!....they gave me a range 4.4-5.5

 

[ArchAngelCD]

It's always better to get the data from them directly but you could have used the data on the Hodgdon site for a 200gr LSWC bullet. Since it's just a little heavier the data would have been safe and it is for the same profile bullet. The data on the site lists 4.8gr - 5.4gr which would have worked safely. When I can't find data for the exact bullet and there's data for the same profile bullet but just a little heavier I go with that because it's safe to use.