Questions..questions!

[chrt396]

I just bought a Dillon RL550B a couple weeks ago and have turned into a re-loading obsessed recluse!! I've got enough ammo to fend off a small Ethiopian army! However...I have me some real questions...cuz' I am a tad confused. Here we go.!
1. Is a 230g lead round nose more accurate than a FMJ?

2. Other than cost...is there any GOOD reason to use FMJ or plated over lead for target shooting?

3. Tonight..I loaded up 400 rounds of 230g LRN, 5.2 g Bullseye at 1.245 OCL. Will I be OK at that combo as to prevent leading?

4. Is a 230g LRN more reliable out of a 1911 than a 185 or 200g lead SWC?

5. I bought 500 rounds of VANCE LRN projectiles from a dealer at the gun show in Tampa and was wondering how good that brand was? OR...what is your experienced feeback?

6. What IS the best lead bullet out there these days?

7. @ 825-895 FPS, will my barrel load up with lead??

8. Is cast the same as a lead bullet? Dumb question I know..be gentle..I'm fairly new at this whole shooting and re-loading hobby.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Help us out

Welcome to hand-loading and thanks for asking our advice. Asking quest
ions is good.

Please take this advice in the spirit in which it is given. I almost bypassed your thread because the subject line was just to uninformative. Please be more specific. I guessed that you are loading for a .45 ACP semi-automatic handgun of the 1911 persuasion. But there are other firearms out there you might be asking about.

My answers are all for the 1911, 5" barrel. Shorter barrels have slightly more feeding problems.

I would suggest a subject line like "45 ACP Lead bullet and other questions" to attract people who have knowledge in those areas. Be specific about the caliber and platform, at least.

I just bought a Dillon RL550B a couple weeks ago and have turned into a re-loading obsessed recluse!! I've got enough ammo to fend off a small Ethiopian army! However...I have me some real questions...cuz' I am a tad confused. Here we go.!

Don't knock the Ethiopians. They may be starving, but deprivation breeds toughness.

1. Is a 230g lead round nose more accurate than a FMJ?

No. Nor the other way around either. It will depend on the gun, the load, the powder. One could be more accurate than the other just as easily as the other way around. The only thing certain is that NO blanket statement can be made.

2. Other than cost...is there any GOOD reason to use FMJ or plated over lead for target shooting?

Sure. Leading would be my major concern. Aside from that, some guns have feeding problems with soft-nosed bullets, but that can be cured by polishing the feed ramp or making the length of the rounds optimal. Experiment.

3. Tonight..I loaded up 400 rounds of 230g LRN, 5.2 g Bullseye at 1.245 OCL. Will I be OK at that combo as to prevent leading?

Try it and see. One of my books says that is an over-max load, another says it is mid-range. It looks good to me and I would have no qualms about shooting them. After the first round, examine the ejected case for signs of pressure (flattened primer, cracks in the case, especially around the mouth, etc) and several rounds thereafter until you are sure. Too much pressure can do more than just damage your barrel or brass. Battering the slide stop takes place over a long period of time. An optimal-weight recoil spring and a slide stop cushion can mitigate that.

4. Is a 230g LRN more reliable out of a 1911 than a 185 or 200g lead SWC?

No. (same answer as #2). You have to try and see. If a bullet hasn't the momentum to cycle your actions, make sure your are not "limp wristing" it. Firing my light target loads, by holding my Gold Cup loosely, I can cause stovepipe jams almost every round, where holding it firmly, it cycles very reliably.

5. I bought 500 rounds of VANCE LRN projectiles from a dealer at the gun show in Tampa and was wondering how good that brand was? OR...what is your experienced feeback?

I have no experience with them.

6. What IS the best lead bullet out there these days?

One made of lead allow hard enough to go up your feed ramp and soft enough to perform with good terminal ballistics. Sorry for the non-answer, but the only thing is"it depends".

7. @ 825-895 FPS, will my barrel load up with lead??
Try it and see. Best answer. Leading can be caused by hot gasses blow-by, by too-high velocity, by too-soft lead (low melting temperature) or by rough barrel. Cures are just as variable. Use gas checks, harder lead, lap (polish) your barrel.
8. Is cast the same as a lead bullet? Dumb question I know..be gentle..I'm fairly new at this whole shooting and re-loading hobby.

Technically, you could cast any material that can melt or harden from a liquid to a solid (cast hot glue bullets make dandy practice rouds and are re-usable, but power them only with primers in specially prepared cases -enlarged primer holes).

Lost Sheep

 

[cfullgraf]

Lost Sheep pretty much answered your questions.

I will add that some M1911s have problems feeding 200 or 185 grain SWCs without some tuning. But, I will add that it has been 20-25 years since I tried any in my M1911s. Maybe current manufacture M1911s have feed ramps that are SWC friendly.

Just a word of caution to not get to heavily invested in SWCs until you know they will work.

 

[chrt396]

Thanks for the great replies!! I went to a show this past weekend and I bought quite a bit of powder, gun scrubber and bullets. Part of that purchase was 500 rds of Vance lead bullets. I do know this...$40 for 500 rds is cheap. I loaded up 50 on saturday...shot them sunday.. and they seemed to cycle well and with surprising accuracy.

One concern that I have is the blue grease that seems to smear all over the bullet when loading. Am I to wipe that stuff off..or will it burn off in the gun?

The load that I used was listed in Hornady's 5th edition manual. It gives 4.5g @ 750, 4.9 @800, 5.3 @ 850 and 5.7 @ 900. I figured that I'd be safe at 5.2g.

 

[cfullgraf]

Wipe the exposed grease off the bullets and cases and things will be fine. The grease is extruded out when seating the bullets.

As you reload, grease will build up i your seating die and seating plug causing the seating depth to change. Check this and clean it out when needed.

 

[chrt396]

I kind of thought that a build-up of goo and grease would be an issue in my dies. I think I experienced just that while I was loading, it felt as if there was some resistance on the downward stroke of the press. I'll betchas that there is some goo clogged up in the dies. I can wipe off the exposed grease off the case and bullet?

 

[noylj]

From the questions, you should really get Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook (either #3 or #4).
Lead bullets generally must be at least 0.001" over barrel groove diameter. You need to slug your barrel and determine the barrel's groove diameter. You can, generally, order cast bullets to the OD you need for your barrel.
Also, one ALWAYS starts with the starting load and works up.
One never makes more than about 20 rounds without testing at the range to ensure they feed and chamber.
One establishes the COL that is best for their gun.
I have never had a 1911 that would not feed a 200gn L-SWC of the basic H&G 68 type (i.e., long nose, not a "button-nose" SWC). Only feeding problem was using old milsurp magazine.
I find that JHP are generally the most accurate, followed by a lead SWC. FMJ-RN are generally not as accurate as JHP, but the difference isn't that great unless you are specifically competing in Bullseye competition.

 

[colt1911fan]

"you need to slug your barrel and determine the barrel's groove diameter"

How exactly is this accomplished? What is the purpose of doing this? I'm new to this as well.

 

[dmazur]

Slugging a barrel is just forcing (carefully) a soft lead slug through in order to determine its diameter. Then, armed with this information, you can order bullets or a mold of the proper diameter.

Slugging barrels

With military surplus and wide manufacturing variation, this can be important if you are trying to shoot lead bullets (or select a jacketed bullet which is close to the correct diameter.) With modern production tolerances, it may not be as necessary.

At any rate, cast bullets have some factors which control how fast they can be driven. Lubrication, hardness of the alloy, and whether a gas check is used are all important.

 

[Jim Watson]

Slugging your barrel is kind of an article of faith and will be a big help if you are casting your own. But if you are buying bullets there is not enough choice to make it worth the effort. Most cast .45 ACPs are .452", most jacketed are .451". I had some moly coated cast .450s that were a disaster but no problems otherwise. I bought some .452" jacketed on sale and they shot fine.

If you have a freak barrel, it might pay you to track down somebody who would size to order, but otherwise, just take the stock stuff and go.

5.2 grains of Bullseye and a 230 grain bullet is a lot. You will be happier at 4.5-4.7.

 

[Vartarg]

+10

+10 on the recommendation to buy the Lyman Cast Bullet book....terrific amount of info on cast/lead plus load data. Well worth the $$.

 

[chrt396]

Slugging your barrel is kind of an article of faith and will be a big help if you are casting your own. But if you are buying bullets there is not enough choice to make it worth the effort. Most cast .45 ACPs are .452", most jacketed are .451". I had some moly coated cast .450s that were a disaster but no problems otherwise. I bought some .452" jacketed on sale and they shot fine.

If you have a freak barrel, it might pay you to track down somebody who would size to order, but otherwise, just take the stock stuff and go.

5.2 grains of Bullseye and a 230 grain bullet is a lot. You will be happier at 4.5-4.7.

What should I expect at a lesser charge? Better accuracy? Less wear and tear on the gun? I always go by the reloading book..and kind of pick a middle ground plus a little. I have heard where many lead shooters use Bullseye in the 4.5ish range, but really don't understand why they pick that lower charge.

 

[Jim Watson]

I do not have data showing 5.2 grains of Bullseye to be "middle ground plus a little."
It is right near the top in my Speer and Lyman manuals.

A bit lighter load will give less recoil, possibly better accuracy, less chance of leading the bore.

 

[gamestalker]

It's all a matter of choice and cost. I like jacketed and pay through the nose for it too.
If you load with lead you will have more work up necessary, and fewer deffinitive data sources to refer to.
On the other hand, loading with jacketed is expensive but the data is very diffinitive and sources are easy to locate.
I would imagine that most reloader's, especially for handgun, load with lead for every day shooting, it's not an inferior product by any standard.

 

[chrt396]

Put together some loads with a few of your reccomendations. 200 LSWC with 4.6g Bullseye...great accuracy! LRN with 4.7g of Bullseye...good accuracy. I then loaded up some WSF in the 200 and 230 grain lead and got a very similiar feedback. I put in 5.9g of WSF..which does make it a tad snappier..but accurate! Just went to a local...HORRIBLE gun show..uh..garage sale this weekend, to primarily get some reloading supplies. Picked up 500 rounds of 200g LSWC for $35 and 500 rounds of 230g LRN for $40. Lead is the best thing that I've explored. Now I can honestly tell my wife that I'm busy saving money!

 

[Hondo 60]

About noylj's suggestion is post #7.

I very much dislike the layout of #3.
The 4th Edition is MUCH better.

But be aware almost the entire book (#4) is written by Mike "Duke" Venturino.
Some enjoy reading his stuff, some.. well .. not so much