Which 45 ACP bullet and load for USPSA

[1SOW]

My son and I have been shooting 9mm production USPSA and my son is changing to limited 45. What is the most popular 45 bullet weight and speed or load for USPSA? He's using a 4" XD.

 

[Joe D]

I like the 200 gr SWC, others like the 230 gr RN. Clays is the most popular powder.
3.8 gr with the 200 gr bullet makes Major in my Kimber and G21SF.

 

[Hoser]

230s and Clays or N310. Easy.

 

[lmccrock]

I suppose it depends on what you like, but....what Hoser said. Big bullet with just enough fast powder to make major power factor. Gives a soft push, and the muzzle does not snap up as much as with smaller bullets.

Not sure about a 4" barrel. My loads have been with 5".

Lee

 

[Zak Smith]

I use a 200gr PRN and about 5gr of Titegroup.

 

[bofe954]

I was shooting 230gr plated round nose and switched to 200gr polymer round nose. The 200gr are a little cheaper and I am hoping will shoot a little flatter.

 

[1SOW]

Thanks for the info.
bofe954 --

and I am hoping will shoot a little flatter.

Was yours dropping at longer distances? What kind of load/speed did you use?

I know there's no magic bullet, but trying to get in the ballpark to get started.

Any more suggestions on bullet and load?

 

[eflatminor]

I'd stay in Production Class

I know it sounds weird to compete against guys with minor 9mm loads, but I'd much rather use an XD .45 in production than Limited. You're son is going to face some very tricked out guns in Limited that are a LOT flatter shooting and have a much higher round count (most being .40 cal). He'd have a much better chance matching his 'big holes' to other Production guns, IMO.

I shoot Single Stack .45 and like a Bear Creek 200g SWC over 5.0 grains of WST. The Bear Creeks are moly coated and require a bit more powder to safely make major than other 200g SWCs. For instance, if I use Oregon Trail Laser Cast 200g SWCs, I only need about 4.7g to make major. Either way, I'm a big fan of SWCs and WST. The WST burns clean and measures beautifully and consistently through my Dillion 650.

 

[Zak Smith]

Flatter shooting is a red herring for USPSA. Comparing a 230gr @ 750 to a 124gr @ 1200, the difference in drop at 40 yards is less than two inches.

The XD45 would fit better in Limited-10 than Limited or Production.

 

[eflatminor]

Zak, I may have used the wrong term

When I said "flatter shooting", I'm not talking about the bullet drop but the amount of muzzle flip. Of course, a pistol with minimal muzzel flip and a really fast slide is able to be shot faster than a slower recoiling gun with lots of flip. A XD .45 is going to be slower and flip a lot more than a properly tuned .40, which is what we mostly see in Limited. However, I do agree with you that Limited 10 might be a better choice for the .45 XD than production. There you'll find a combination of single stack guns with long 10 round magazines, Limited guns with only ten rounds, and stock guns like the XD.

 

[Zak Smith]

You're right-- I misinterpreted what you said. I agree about flatter recoiling guns.

Anyway, around here, most people in L10 shooting single stack .45's.

 

[1SOW]

Limited 10

Thanks guys.
I'll pass this on to him. We shoot tomorrow.

 

[71Commander]

230 gr. Precision W/ 3.9 gr of Clays. 1.260 OAL. 172 PF.

 

[M40A1]

I use 230 grain FMJ with 4.0 grains of Clays. I also like 5.0 grains of Bullseye.

 

[motorep]

I use 200 gr SWC, WW231. Lots of data for this combo out there.

 

[bp78]

Although I shoot single stack, my reliability troubles with lead 200gr SWC's feeding poorly will probably be solved with a quick move to a LRN 230gr bullet.

Limited 10 or a minor load in production is probably where you'll want to be with that 4" Xd. Competing against full capacity limited guns would be discouraging quickly.

 

[1SOW]

Limited 10 Sounds Best

My son's been shooting production well with a (MY!) 9mm CZ75B that's had trigger work and spring improvements. His scores are in the upper 15% of the local shooters, and his times are getting better fast.
When he gets the money, I'm sure he'll get a better gun for limited. Until then limited 10 sounds like the way to go.
I'm going to load my 9mm using either tite group or W 231 and 124 plated or fmj - whichever I can get cheaper. We'll try to use the same powder to keep it simple. I think he wants to shoot plated or FMJ too.
Thank you all for the info and advice.

 

[frankd4]

230

230 GR. fmj and tightgroup very fast powder and goes along way it will save you money in the long run. I have been using the last three years in 9mmand 45acp.

 

[Series '70]

4.2grs. Bullseye and a 230gr. Precision RNF or Bulletworks LRN bullet for a 5" 1911.

4.8 grs. Bullseye and a 200gr. LSWC.

 

[Ankeny]

I shot 200 SWC over WST for years. I kind of liked the snap and recoil impulse. Then I tried 230 RN over Clays. Made the switch and never looked back.

 

[ForneyRider]

I have an XD 45 and heard of feeding issues with SWC, so I stuck with FMJ, JHP and RN.

 

[FM12]

I like 200 cast SWC, ~4.4 Bullseye.

 

[Riss]

IIRC my S&W 25-2 and 1911 both make major with a 185 gr lead over 5 gr of Red Dot. Makes it a little more than 940 fps in the 1911 Commander length.