Your favorite .45 ACP load

[New loader]

Just interested in what people like to load up as a solid .45 practice load. Looking for something in the 900 fps range. I'm thinking xtreme plated bullet, 230 grn. What powder charge do you like for something such as this? I'm looking to run it through my new sig 1911.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

I like using mid-weight published charges of either W231 or Unique. Neither is easy to find for most people right now and neither will produce 900fps with a 230gr bullet at mid-range loads, probably won't do it without going OVER published MAX loads. For that kind of speed something slower burning in the True Blue to Longshot burn rate might work better.

 

[Mad Chemist]

I think you mean 800fps range if you are going with a 230gr plated bullet.

Lots of combos will get you there. I've used Unique and Bullseye, but many powders will get you there.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I load any 230gr bullet over a charge of 5.5gr W231/HP-38 and have done so forever. That is a classic load and it's extremely accurate in my handguns.

(any 230gr FMJ, JHP, plated or lead bullets)

 

[LiveLife]

Hodgdon is showing 2 loads for 900+ fps with 230 gr bullets from 5" barrel - http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/pistol

230 gr Lead RN CFE Pistol .452" OAL 1.200" Start 5.4 gr (816 fps) 14,600 PSI - Max 6.2 gr (942 fps) 20,100 PSI

230 gr HDY FMJ FP CFE Pistol .451" OAL 1.200" Start 6.0 gr (815 fps) 16,000 PSI - Max 6.8 gr (934 fps) 19,800 PSI

 

[ljnowell]

I load 230gr lead over 5.3gr of AA#2. You could also use that data for plated, I have in the past.

 

[LiveLife]

Your favorite .45 ACP load ... interested in what people like to load up as a solid .45 practice load.

As others posted, many reloaders use mid-to-high range load data for lighter recoil range practice load. Personally, my favored 45 practice loads are 200 gr lead SWC with 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 or 4.0 gr of Red Dot/Promo for lower recoil yet accurate loads.

I'm thinking xtreme plated bullet, 230 grn. What powder charge do you like for something such as this? I'm looking to run it through my new sig 1911

Amount of powder charge you use will depend on the OAL/COL you use with your 230 gr bullet. Depending on the barrel, working OAL could range from 1.250" to 1.265"+. My railed Sig 1911 XO has very quick start of rifling with almost no leade and I need to use shorter 1.250"-1.255" OAL to pass the barrel drop test with X-Treme 230 gr plated RN bullet.

Walkalong has an excellent thread on using the barrel to determine the max OAL - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

When I did my work up for 230 gr X-Treme plated RN with W231/HP-38, I tested 1.255" - 1.265" OAL/COL using RIA/Springfield Armory/Sig 1911 and used 4.6 gr as my start charge. If you are using longer than 1.250", I would suggest 5.0 gr to start and see how 5.2 gr compares. If you are using longer 1.265" you may need to test 5.3-5.5 gr.

With X-Treme 230 gr RN plated bullet at 1.255" OAL and Sig 1911, 4.8 gr cycled the slides but blew back some unburnt powder. 5.0 gr was better and I settled at 5.2 gr.

 

[oldreloader]

5.0 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 200 gr RNFP or SWC lead
4.8 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 225 TC lead

 

[zerobarrier]

I use Hornady HAP 230gr or RMR plated 230gr with 4.6gr titegroup. Works good out of my 1911 and revolver

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Never mind, I read something wrong!

 

[Steve C]

A load of 6.2 gr of Unique will push a 230 gr fmj out the muzzle of my .45's at 856 fps. In some of the older data I've seen loads using up to 7.5grs of Unique with the 230gr FMJ but more current data is usually a bit lighter. Before chrono's became available to the proletariat, I had loaded up some 230gr Remington FMJ's on top of 7.2grs of Unique. That load had heavy recoil to the point I backed off my loading to the 6.2gr.

The Sierra data below is from my "One Book" and shows several 900 fps 230gr loads as top end .45 acp with Unique and other powders.

 

[TfflHndn]

900 fps in a 230 is pretty strong. Not what I would call a practice load, unless you are practicing for full power shooting. For a manageable and softer shooting practice load, consider going to the 200 or 185 grain bullets. More options with load range and bullets, and a few more options in powder too. I like Red Dot and WST for practice loads, with Clays and Bullseye right up there too.

 

[rg1]

I wouldn't try for 900 fps with 230 grain plated or jacketed bullets and would limit loads to 800 to 850 max. A lot easier on your pistol and brass. At 900 fps you're at or into +P territory. If I was loading in that range I would only use new brass and not multi-fired. Using Unique powder and 230 gr. bullets I'd load from 5.9 start to 6.1 grains and max out at 6.5 grains for the highest charge. Using AA#5 starting at 7.9 and stopping at 8.3 grains. Whatever data you use double and triple check published data if you want to try for 900 fps and use their overall length as tested and only with the exact components they tested with. That's just me but I'm not interested in pushing limits with 45 ACP.

 

[Steve2md]

I use a load of accurate#7 with plated 230 gn for my Glock 30 and my 1911, both fire well with this load. Why accurate#7? I was given 8# of it a few years ago. Almost out now and can't find any, so I suppose it's time to find a new pet load

 

[area51]

5.0 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 200 gr RNFP or SWC lead
4.8 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 225 TC lead

Same here

 

[cfullgraf]

My favorite 45 ACP load is a 230 gr RN over 700-X.

My back up powders are AA #5 and Unique.

 

[Walkalong]

Load that bullet at 1.260 to 1.265 OAL and push it to around 800 to 850 for practice. Lighter works as well. 900 FPS is going to be hard on the gun and maybe even hard on you after awhile.

 

[Blue68f100]

For general practice I do not load that heavy. I've been setting up for BE shooting so I have gone to slower 700-750fps with 185 and 200 gr LSWC. Just enough velocity to stabilize the bullet. When I do shoot the 230gr it's over 4.2gr of WST which is in the lower 800 range. I use WST mainly but have loads developed for WSF and 231 as fall back.

 

[New loader]

Cool, thanks for all the info here! Looks like I hit 9 instead of 8 when I was typing in the feet per second. Now to find a powder thats available!

 

[rockhopper46038]

My general practice round is a 200gr LSWC over 4.0 grains of Clays. I load a bit long, at 1.255".

 

[kcofohio]

185 gr. Berry's HBRN with WST @ 5.1 gr., 1.250" COAL. Make a nice light accurate round.

 

[Tony k]

5 grains 700X. 230 grain xtreme RN. OAL 1.26. Chrono'd at 800-840 out of my taurus 1911 iirc. Accurate enough for my weekly range sessions. Burns pretty clean.

This has been my go-to load for the past year or so mainly because of powder availability.

Of course, I've had good results with bullseye and unique, but I'm holding out on using those too much.

I've tried a couple slower powders (longshot and powerpistol). Near max loads probably push 900 fps with a 230 grain bullet, and 1000fps with a 200grain bullet. The amount of recoil, muzzle blast, and noise with longshot is ridiculous, and loads at the lower end were so filthy that my gun started to malfunction after about 50 rounds. Powerpistol is also pretty stout at the high end, but it burned cleaner at the lower end for me. Both seem a little hard on the gun.

 

[RealGun]

5.0 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 200 gr RNFP or SWC lead
4.8 gr Bullseye or HP 38 with a 225 TC lead

I don't believe that should mean to imply that Bullseye and HP38 (or W231) perform exactly the same.

 

[The Bushmaster]

7.7 grains of WSF under a 185 grain Hornady HP/XTP.

 

[horseman1]

You have a lot of good information here already. For your 230 gr bullet I have worked up loads with WST, HP38, W231 and Bullseye all with great results with data right out of the manuals. My 1911 likes the 230 gr rn bullets I have loaded at a length of 1.265. Do the plunk test to determine the length for your barrel.