Bullseye Question

[NOLAEMT]

I've just recently started reloading, and I have a question.

I'm loading for 45acp, using 230 grain plated bullets, and bullseye powder.

I'm using an RCBS "lil Dandy powder rotor" with a number 10 rotor. according to the manufacturer it should be 5.5 grains of bullseye, when i weight the charges they are right around 5.2 to 5.3.

When I went to shoot my first 100 rounds yesterday, they seemed to have a lot of recoil, more than I was expecting. I don't have a chronograph, but they seem to be more powerful than I was expecting. I dont see any signs of high pressure on the cases or primers.

Do you think its just in my head? or is 5.3 grains of bullseye too much? my manuel says it is somewhere in the middle between the min and the max load for jacked 230 grain bullets, it doesnt have any loads for plated. should i just switch to jacked bullets?

 

[Slamfire]

I don’t have chronograph data with a FMJ. However, my tests with lead 230’s tell me to stay under 5.0 grains. I am using 4.5 grains with a 230 gr lead.

Velocities shoot up with half grain increases.

I would cut your loads. Will not hurt a thing.

Kimber Custom Classic M1911

230 LFN Bull-X 3.5 grs Bullseye Mixed Brass WLP OAL 1.20" taper crimp .469"
8-Jan-06 T = 61 °F

Ave Vel = 643.6
Std Dev = 14.07
ES = 63.63
High = 679.9
Low = 616.3
N = 32
shot a little high Pistol cycled each shot

230 LFN Bull-X 4.0 grs Bullseye Mixed Brass WLP OAL 1.20" taper crimp .469"
8-Jan-06 T = 61 °F

Ave Vel = 715.9
Std Dev = 11.45
ES = 48.32
High = 742.9
Low = 694.8
N = 32
shot a little low

230 gr LRN 4.0 grs Bullseye Mixed Brass WLP OAL 1.250" taper crimp .469"
29-Jan-06 T = 68 °F

Ave Vel =698.8
Std Dev =10.19
ES =36.33
High = 713.5
Low =677.1
N =28

V. Accurate

230 gr LRN 4.5 grs Bullseye Mixed Brass WLP OAL 1.250" taper crimp .469"
21-Jun-06 T = 97 °F

Ave Vel = 805.2
Std Dev =11.4
ES=54.08
High=836.9
Low=782.8
N =32

 

[LiveLife]

You can try backing off the powder charge and make incremental loads to see which load gives you the best accuracy/recoil with good slide/cycling function.

 

[NOLAEMT]

thanks for the help.

I was afraid to go too low, my speer manual has a minimum charge of 5.2 grains for a jacketed 230 grain.

The Alliant website also has a listing for 5.7 grains of bullseye for a 230 grain jacketed bullet.

It could have just been that I was nervous, i have been very carfull, but after reading about people destroying guns and hands/faces while reloading, I guess im a little paranoid.

 

[DaveBeal]

FWIW, Lee's Modern Reloading, for .45ACP with 230 grain lead bullets shows both starting and max loads to be 4.0 grains of Bullseye.

 

[1911 Nut]

Bullseye in .45 ACP w/Plated Bullet

I have loaded literally thousands of 230 grain RN plated bullets in .45 ACP.

Here are the velocities I have in my records. All of the below loads are loaded over 5.4 grains of Bullseye powder with a Winchester Large Pistol primer and the OAL cartridge length is 1.270". Reliability is perfect and accuracy is excellent.

5" Colt Government Model: 848 FPS - 3 sd
4 1/4" S&W 1911 PD: 832 FPS - 7 sd
3 3/4" Glock G36: 808 FPS - 13 sd
3 1/2" Colt OACP: 768 FPS - 3 sd

No pressure signs or premature case failures in any of these loads. Been shooting them since plated bullets became available.

Hope this information is of use.

 

[rcmodel]

FWIW, Lee's Modern Reloading,

Lee's Modern Reloading is nothing more then reprints of all the powder & bullet manufactures published load data collected into one book.
Lee has never done any lab testing on thier own, because they don't have a ballistic lab.

At the time the Lee book came out, Alliant published only one powder charge for each powder / bullet weight.
4.0 Bullseye was the Max recommended load.
It should be reduced 10% if you want to know the starting load.

rc

 

[Oyeboten]

Is Bullseye even an ideal choice for .45 ACP?

Seems like, when within recommended charge limits, it is no improvement over the now roughly 140 year old .44 Russian Cartridge with Black Powder.


Bullseye, being a very 'fast' Powder, and for .45 ACP, in usually a more or less not quite five inch worth of Barrel, with a heavy Bullet, would a slightly slower Powder not be a kinder choice, allowing as good or better FPS, at less spikey pressures?

 

[NOLAEMT]

I'm not sure if bullesye is the ideal choice, but like I said, I'm new to reloading, and I took the advice of the person who got me started, he likes bullseye for his pistol reloading, so i bought a pound to start reloading for 45acp and 380. My rounds have all run well, I just had the perception that the recoil was high. it very well may have been that I was nervous about my first reloads. Is it possible that the fast nature of bullseye causes the recoil to feel "sharper" than other powders? I dont know?

 

[earplug]

Did you weigh the powder charge?

I have read many accounts of people using data and a charge bar but not weighing the powder to verifiy their powder measure. This has led injury.
If you haven't weighed it you don't know what you have.

 

[NOLAEMT]

I have weighed the charge. When I started loading I weighed out about 10 charges in a row, and now I weight a couple before each time I load to verify that it is still correct.

 

[LiveLife]

Is it possible that the fast nature of bullseye causes the recoil to feel "sharper" than other powders?

NOLAEMT, I also use Bullseye, but it is a faster burning powder that I use for shorter barrel subcompacts (i.e. Glock 26/27, 2"-3" 38 etc.). The recoil is "snappy"

For 4" med/full size semi-auto, I use slower burning Winchester 231/Hodgdon HP38. The recoil is less snappy than Bullseye.

For 5" 1911, I prefer even slower burning Hodgdon HS6/Winchester WSF. The recoil is more of a "push" than a "snap".

If you want less snappy recoil, try W231/HP38 or HS6/WSF.

 

[RippinSVT]

Bullseye is fine for .45acp, almost the timeless standard in mild auto-pistol loads. Keep it under 5.7gr and you shouldn't hurt yourself, preferably in the 5.0-5.5gr area. Also, regarding your comment about checking for pressure signs, remember that in low-pressure cartridges such as this, it isn't the case/primer that will fail, it is the gun itself. You will almost never find high-pressure signs on such cartridges, the gun will just blow, which is why reloading data for pistols must me carefully followed. Rifles and magnum revolver cartridges that can operate in excess of 50,000psi will show high-pressure signs when you start seeing pierced primers and sticky actions and such.

 

[Fatelvis]

I would trust your charge. Weighing 10 charges, like you did, goes a lot further in load development, than perception of recoil. If the load seems too stiff for you, back it down a half grain or so, and fire a few more. Good shootin'!

 

[bluetopper]

With a 230gr bullet I think 4.5 to 4.8gr of Bullseye is what I would recommend.

Bullseye has won by far, more 45 matches through the years than any other powder. There are lots of fast burning powders on the market that perform great in the 45 acp but I haven't seen or heard any that out performs Bullseye. Also, unlike many many other powders suitable for 45, Bullseye does not pressure spike and performs consistently and accurately in high pressure calibers.

 

[rcmodel]

Is Bullseye even an ideal choice for .45 ACP?

Bullseye was the standard powder used in the 230 FMJ-RN GI mil-spec load for about the first 50 years of the 1911.

That is the powder & bullet the gun was designed to use.

And as stated above, it was also the standard bullseye match ammo load for half a century.

rc

 

[orrwdd]

Nolaemt

I'm loading for 45acp, using 230 grain plated bullets, and bullseye powder.

If you are truly using PLATED bullets and not Jacketed you should be using load data for CAST bullets instead of jacketed.

That being the case the max load in Alliant's data for 230 gr plated is 4.6 grains of Bullseye.

Always remember that plated bullets are not jacketed, different surface tension.

Bill

 

[RVenick]

You did not list your OAL if you have the bullets seated too deeply you could be creating higher pressure thus the more felt recoil. I use 5.4g Bullseye with a OAL of 1.260 and the recoil is good with a Fullsize 1911.

 

[double d]

I can shoot all day with 4.0 bullseye loaded to 1.227". Great accuracy
in my S&W 945. (Hornady 230 gr FMJ-TC)