.45 ACP Loads

[Jan R.]

Hi All,

What bullet weight should I use for genral target shooting? I was thinking about 185gr. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jan

[twodownzero]

230. I've tried others and always come back to the 230.

[BMartens]

A good .45 ACP pistol really will handle 185-200-230 with few problems.

My all around favorite is a 200 gr LSWC. Accurate, reliable, inexpensive and easy to see and score on the target.

If your reloads are set up with the right OAL and sufficient crimp, just about all will run reliably.

Some 185 gr bullet profiles can cause feed issues because they are pretty short but, I have found not enough crimp causes most of these problems.

[Jan R.]

Thanks!

Went with the 230gr JHP from Montana Gold.

Jan

[Bwana Six-Gun]

For a 1911 platform fo with the 200 SWC, it is hard to beat. For a revolver ( the gun real men shoot) go with the 230 RN. My .02 fwiw.

[triplesinglestack]

I vote 230 gn, have tried several lighter ones and really enjoy the 230 gnbullets loaded to "minor"......

[38supPat]

The 200gr SWC is the old standby, but I like loading 230 gr FMJ. If you haven't done much loading start with the FMJ, it should easier to get to run reliably. Then experiment as you get rolling with the process.

[Corey]

im using 200gr moly SWC and plated 200 gr RN for plinking/indoor usage (if they dont allow lead)

[WoodyTX]

I used to load 200 gr truncated cone (flat top), but I went back to 230 gr round nose. They feed more consistently, are less sensitive to OAL, and (I can't quantify this) "feel better" when shooting. The recoil seems less sharp, if that makes sense.

[earlbob]

I like the 200 grain TC lead ones myself although I did use 185's for a spell. We used to run 255 grainers for bowling pins and I think there was some even heavier ones I still got laying around. Never shot the 230 weight much. It seems that getting one of them big chunks of 230 grain lead sleds to run less then minor would take some doing! Well 718 FPS is the number I just come up with to make major and 544 for minor. 544 fps is that subsonic? Oops thinking of MPH, Mach numbers and Chuck Yeager. My dain got brammaged somewhere in a long neck long ago and connects the dots in random patterns at times, what we need are feet per second and that would be 1128.17 fps at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (the metric folks can figure their own numbers out it is way to late in the evening for me to think that hard)

earl

[TheDarkOne]

I am starting to reload now, so this is something that is on my mind as well. I would love to hear a more in depth analysis of the different bullet option and what they bring to the table; accuracy, velocity, recoil, energy on target, etc.

rounds I am aware of:

185 LHP

200 LSWC

230 LRN

230 FMJ

Anyone?

[tkill12]

I load and shoot almost exclusively 200 grain LSWC from different sources. I don't see any difference in accuracy as long as its made well between anything but something like a Hornady XTP HP. And I can't afford to shoot those very often. I mostly like the nice clean crisp holes and black grease rings the LSWC's make on the cardboard.

[chirpy]

A lot of Bullseye shooters in NE Ohio have been using a 152 gr. lead bullet with a similar configuration to the 200 gr. H&G 68 swc. Light loads show excellent accuracy. As good or better than the 185 gr. bullet a lot of BE shooters use. I used them a lot for major .45 loads thru a comp. gun way back when. Very light shooting despite being loded to MPF.

FWIW

Richard

[earlbob]

Never seen a 152 45 bullet. I think if I ever run into some I will try them out. Thanks for the tip. What powder and charge did you use?

earl

[chirpy]

Penn Bullets had them or something close. I was using WST to make major power factor. 4 gr. might be too much for a light load. You might need to experiment. BE shooters are probably using Bullseye powder pun not intended.

FWIW

Richard

[jdewberr]

Hi Jan,

I'm a brand new reloaded, I set up some 185 FMJ using VV320 powder.

I set the charge at 5.8 grains and had a really nice

plinker.

--

Joe

[DennyM]

Hi All,

What bullet weight should I use for genral target shooting? I was thinking about 185gr. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jan

I have been using 230 RNL for many years with Good old Red Dot, 4.5 grains powder and CCI primers, soft enought to help with recoil but meets major factor, old tried & true recipe.

[Frankmako]

i been using 230gr rn. pickup some 200gr tc last week. only time will tell for me which one i like the best.

[TheDarkOne]

Hi Jan,

I'm a brand new reloaded, I set up some 185 FMJ using VV320 powder.

I set the charge at 5.8 grains and had a really nice

plinker.

--

Joe

185 FMJ? Do tell...

[TonyT]

Jan R.,

I use the old Star 85 gr. LSWCHP which has the same rofile as the 200gr LSWC. Previously I used the Speer 200 gr. LSWC which was an excellent performer in bullseye pistol matches. Once I use up my supply of the Star 185 gr. LSWCHP I will have to rvert back to the Speer 200 gr. LSWC.

[TheDarkOne]

I have been using 230 RNL for many years with Good old Red Dot, 4.5 grains powder and CCI primers, soft enought to help with recoil but meets major factor, old tried & true recipe.

4.5 eh? I am new to reloading, so I have been putting in the minimum recommended 5.6 grain. I was curious if you could go lower, and how that would affect accuracy, and reliability. Any problems with 4.5 so far? Is that the lowest you can go, or lower. I would like to experiment with some lower charges but don't want to screw anything up.

[walsh]

I have been using 230 RNL for many years with Good old Red Dot, 4.5 grains powder and CCI primers, soft enought to help with recoil but meets major factor, old tried & true recipe.

4.5 eh? I am new to reloading, so I have been putting in the minimum recommended 5.6 grain. I was curious if you could go lower, and how that would affect accuracy, and reliability. Any problems with 4.5 so far? Is that the lowest you can go, or lower. I would like to experiment with some lower charges but don't want to screw anything up.

I wanted to see the effect of going below minimum loads so I loaded 50 rds of 115gr FMJ with HP-38 at 3.7.-3.8 and not the minimum Hodgdon recommends of 4.1 to get 1000 fps. Around 40 did not cycle and eject the brass. I would think a weaker spring would have allowed for it, but using a HK P2000 does not allow for a different spring that I know of due to their setup.

If you drop down, but you'd probably need to lighten up the recoil spring weight at some point or run into the isssue that I had.

I'm pretty new at this, so I leave it to the more experienced to answer more fully.

Walsh

[DCS44256]

Majority of my general use shooting is with 230 gr TC cast bullet and 231 powder. I do also shoot 200 gr SWC some time. I tried some 185's years ago but liked 200 SWC better. Even tried the 152 gr SWC from Penn but they did not feed well in my 1911's.

[Phil G]

I like the 200 LSWC best. For target shooting it cuts a much cleaner hole than the 230 RN and is easier to score accurately.

Phil G

[GOSOMO]

I currently use and reload 200gr moly. They are cheap to reload and make a nice hole with a black ring in the paper ( easy to score ).