Help! 240 gr .45 acp, should be 230 gr

[ccjcc81]

Hey guys, my new Lee TL452-230 6 cavity mold is throwing 240 grain bullets, according to my electronic reloading scale. Tomorrow I’m going to drop one in my balance beam scale, but if they really are 240 gr, can I shoot those in my .45 ACP?

Here’s the load data from Hogdgon for HP38 for a 230 gr bullet:
4.3 gr, 699 fps, 12,200 cup --- 5.3 gr, 834 fps, 16,900 cup

So, what would you start out with for a bullet that weighs 10 gr more?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[BigBore45]

Mine drops at 235-237. Plus powder coat. Just work from the bottom. A good coal for my 1911's is 1.18".

Use 230 grain jacketed data if your real worried. Something close in shape of your bullet the turnicated flat nose would be close to an xtp and the round nose close to fmj

If it's dropping that heavy it's gonna be a soft bullet and should not generate much pressure from swaging down to the barrel or cause much friction.

 

[ccjcc81]

Cool, thanks. These will be powder coated as well.

 

[Schwing]

Ya, most of my bullet molds tend to drop a little on the heavy side. Your alloy will impact this a bit. The closer you get to pure lead, the heavier they will be.

I also powder coat some of my bullets which adds a tiny bit. I know some shooters who will actually sort out their cast bullets so that none of them in a particular batch vary more than a few tenths of a grain.... I must not be good enough behind the trigger to tell the difference since I have never bothered with this.

It is a broken record saying but, if you just start at the very bottom of the load data and work up, you will never have a problem.

 

[Load Master]

It is not perfect, but one other way to think about this ccjcc81, 240 to 230gr is about a 4% difference in weight. You could use this to target a shift in powder load.

So, if you took a middle of the range charge, 4.8gr from your example data, factor 4% less, or about .2gr's less for a charge of 4.6gr for your 240gr bullet.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Like said above, your alloy will effect the bullet weight, that is normal. A difference of only 10gr isn't all that big. You could drop the max recommend charge back .1 or .2gr initially until you see the results or find an accurate load. You are not finding anything that others don't find all the time, not to worry.

 

[mdi]

Most home cast bullets don't weigh exactly the same as factory specs; different alloys and different techniques. Use starting loads nd work up as usual and you'll be fine...

 

[ccjcc81]

Excellent advice guys. I don't know why, but 10 gr sounded much more dire than 4% does...

I loaded 100 up last night, 50 at 4.2, 20 at 4.4, 20 at 4.6, and 10 at 4.8. I'm new, so I don't need to load up to the limit, I'll be satisfied with whatever will run in my 1911s.

These are the first .45 ACP I've loaded. I can't wait to get to the range and try them.

Thanks again guys.

 

[Load Master]

ccjcc81, Nice job! Those are looking sweet!

 

[conrad427]

Maybe I am a bit of a luddite, but what are youse guys talking about, powder coated bullets?

Is this the stuff you spray on and bake in an oven, like the automotive coatings?

 

[ccjcc81]

Maybe I am a bit of a luddite, but what are youse guys talking about, powder coated bullets?

Is this the stuff you spray on and bake in an oven, like the automotive coatings?

Yes, that would be it. I don't spray mine, I use my old vibratory tumbler. I throw about 100 bullets in it, then spoon the powder coat over it. Run it for about 10 minutes, check to see if it needs more. If not, I place the bullets base down on a small baking tray and bake in a small convection oven for 20 minutes at 350°-400°. I'm still learning to apply it correctly, so there are some thick spots on my bullets, but the resizing die makes it uniform where it counts. No lead in my Glocks.

 

[Schwing]

Maybe I am a bit of a luddite, but what are youse guys talking about, powder coated bullets?

Is this the stuff you spray on and bake in an oven, like the automotive coatings?

Yes. It works great as lube and can be a lot of fun in adding some color to things.