45ACP 230gr Full power load

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ObeOne

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I have been reloading 45 ACP for a while with Bullseye, but I want to find something that will work better with 230gr Bear Creek Mollys at the upper end.
I have tried a couple of other powder so far. W231, Unique, Blue Dot, AA#5 and AA#7. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to shoot the AA powders yet.
I am looking for a powder that fills up the case to help avoid double charges, (never had one yet, but don't want to take a chance) that gives good velocity and meters well in my Dillon 550.
So far this is what I am thinking:
W231 OK,
Unique I liked this a lot and is currently the front runner.:)
Blue Dot very dirty, to bad because it does well filling up the case.:(
AA#5 herd some good things, but doesn't fill the case real well, have
not shot yet, herd it might not meter well in a Dillon:scrutiny:
AA#7 have not shot yet
Are there any other powders I should conceder like Power Pistol? While I will pay a little more I f I find a Powder I like, part of the reason I am reloading is to reduce costs/ increase shooting.
Uses for the load will be target practice and IDPA. I like full house loads, so no plans to download. :D
Another possible consideration. I will be loading a lot of 10MM soon, and if it works in both all the better! I am not real hopeful on that front. IT is just I don't want to have a bunch of half open powders lying around if I don't have to.
Thanks for the help
Obe One
 
Universal Clays is fairly bulky and works pretty well in the .45. Similar to Unique in that respect. :)
 
Would you say Clays is better, worse or about the same compared to Unique. How dirty is it? I have herd some people complain that Unique is a little dirty but I haven’t had a problem so far.
Obe One
 
45 ACP Loads

I tried AA#7 in 45 ACP. High velocity, good accuracy, but very dirty in 45. In 10mm AA #7 works great and is clean.
 
I have tried AA#7 and HS-6 with less than satisfying results, Unique and BlueDot are my heavy hitters. Power Pistol is a powder I would like to try, this might be the powder your looking for. AA#5 and W-231 are among my favorites good luck with your quest.
 
AA# 5 gives me the best results in full power .45 ACP loads with plated bullets. Universal does very well though and as I said, it is bulky, which is what you were asking for.

I have no problem seeing AA# 5 in the case though.

WSF is one I intend to try out as a challenger to AA# 5.
 
Another vote for universal. Should get ya 800+ fps, with no problems. Be sure to not use clays, unless you want a powder puff load:D
 
Another vote for universal and power pistol.I've got some smoking loads out of power pistol that are very accurate-even for a not so good shooter like me.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. I have picked up some Hodgdon Universal Clays So I hope to load it up in the next couple of days and try it out with the AA. I haven't been able to finde Power Pistol yet here in San Diego. Will try SoCal Guns and Turners tonight when I go to the IDPA Qualifier tonight.

Obe One
 
I use Winchester Super-Target (WST) for nearly all of my .45ACP. In all but hot weather, I use 5.0gr behind a Rainier 230gr RNTMJ for about 810-820fps.
You're almost there, though, with your Bullseye. That's what the .45ACP cartridge was orgininally designed with. The late Jeff Cooper used to say use five grains of the old standard to get military power. Depending on your bullet, that should do it.
The .45 likes the fastest powders for good function. Plus, they recoil less with the heavy bullet.
Try it, you won't believe how much harder a medium powder kicks. Do some back-to-back shots with equal power loads of Bullseye and Unique. I did, last year. The Unique kicked noticeably harder at the same velocity.
Start with 4.0gr or so of Bullseye and keep going until you flatten the primers. Alliant calls for maximums of 4.0 for lead round-nose (810fps) and 5.0 for FMJ (905fps).
You won't really get a better load for the 1911.
Bill
 
Last edited:
My full power .45 ACP 230 gr. load:

Pistol: SIG P220 Stainless
Barrel Length: 4.4"

Powder: Bullseye - 5.3 gr.
Case: Starline
Primer: Winchester Large Pistol
Bullet: Hornady 230 grain FMJ/RN ENC

Trim Length: 0.893"
C.O.A.L.: 1.230"
Crimp: 0.4695"

Dies: Redding Competition Pro Series + Redding Taper Crimp Die
Press: Forster Co-Ax Single Stage

Temp: 75F

Avg. Velocity: 834 fps (10 rounds)
Standard Deviation: 8.07 fps
Extreme Spread: 27 fps
Power Factor: 192

Bullseye was the first powder I tried for .45 ACP. See no reason to change.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the additional inputs.

Bullseye seemed to work well for me at 5.0 grns, but seemed to be more suited for lighter bullets and loads. I was also worried about having a double charge and not noticing it. It has never happened so far, but I don’t want to take the chance.

I was able to pick up some Universal Clays and have them loaded up ready to test. I liked how it was easy to see in the case and did a good job of filling the case, just have to see how it shoots.

I got to try my AA#5 loads and some of my AA#7 loads. They seemed all right but a little dirty, and my gun wasn't going back into battery, I had to push it closed. I attribute that mainly to my gun being very dirty though:eek:.

I also loaded up about 175 reds of Unique to test out. I did fire a few of them at the end and it cycled the gun, will have to try them some more and see. Unique did meter well out of my press and seemed to work well from that aspect.

The other aspect I will have to conceder is how easy it will be to get large bulk quantities of powder. Before I was getting them at the Del Mar (CA) Gun show since that seems to be the only place I can buy the 8 lb kegs. Unfortunately, I know they don't carry AA powder (which I will probably need for my 10mm, will start working up loads after I get done with the 45:D), and I don't know about Power Pistol and Universal. I do know they will have Unique if I am there early enough. So, is there a good place online to get powders, that doesn't have the huge HAZMAT charges,:fire: or am I just have to pick up a LOT to make it feasible?

Thanks for the help.
 
ObeOne-
The hazmat shipping fee is nationwide. It's the reason so many ordinary reloaders just buy locally.
Unique is very, very good. But I say Bullseye is better, in the .45 auto. You'll see. The USPSA boys, who pick at every single hundreth of a second, substitute the more modern (and a bit cleaner) Vihta Vuori 310, WST, and similar fast powders, but the idea is the same.
You're right to be concerned about double charges, but a powderless squib can wreck a gun just as well. You'll want to be looking down into every charged case no matter what, just to make sure there's powder there at all.
If you're doing that, the double-charge issue goes away, so don't let that make your powder choice for you.
Have fun!
Bill
 
Cherryriver,
I understand that if you ship powders you have to deal with the HAZMAT. Unfortunately, other than Unique, I am not sure if I will be able to find someone who sells bulk powder. I was hoping someone might know of a good website to order from, I would get a bunch and see if others would want to get some powder too to defray shipping and hazmat costs.
As far as safety concerns, I have yet to have a problem and have been very safe, just looking at another way to reduce my chances.
Obe One
 
I like Blue Dot, but I'm a beginner in the reloading aspect. I chose it because I can load my wife's 9mm, my 45ACP and my 10mm all with the same bottle. Didn't think it was too dirty, but I don't shoot a 1000 a session either. Cakey stuff isn't it. I'm going to have to try Clays. I've asked these questions before and it's been considered one of the cleanest in many threads.
 
My experience with powders for .45 ACP:

HP38--Good powder; I have used 4.5 grains under both the 200 and 230 grain bullet.
Unique--Start with 5.8 grains and work up. 6.2 under a 230 grain bullet will duplicate the military Ball round.
Power Pistol--when they named this powder, they meant it! Think of it as a "magnum autoloader powder". Will give REALLY high performance loads from the .45, especially when using JHP bullets. I have used 6.5 under 230 grain ball. Be advised--this is a HOT loading, still within manual specs, but HOT. I recommend a minimum of an 18 lb recoil spring with this one.
Blue Dot--too slow for the .45 ACP.
Clays--my favorite. Good and clean burning; I use 3.8 under a 200 gr. LSWC for a target load--accurate at 50 yards. 4.0 to 4.2 will give you a sweet shooting load under 230 grain ball ammo.

I crimp to .470 at the case mouth with these, and load with Winchester or Federal primers.
 
Don't forget, if you are really concerned, just weigh your finished loads. Pull those over what ever your double charge would be.
Click to expand...
Not going to work - the variance in case and bullet weight would completely obscure an extra 3-5 grains of powder.
/Bryan
 
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