Nosler 185gr 45 ACP

[MARKAVELI]

Back in "THE LAB" whipping up a few batches of 45ACP, I made five sets of ten different types of Loads. The 1st set of three are Hornady 230gr xtp/hp,LPP,mix brass with Alliants Power Pistol. I made 10 loads with 3 different charges at 6.0,6.3,and 6.6 I got lotta faith in those but... I also made two, ten sets of Nosler 185gr jhp,same components except the powder charge weight is 7.4gr of Power pistol! My question is is this not a HOT load? Talked to another loader and he said that I can go lower in my charge to 6.7 is that safe? I looked through my loading manuals but I'm not seeing much data using Power pistol for the 185gr bullet can someone lead me in the right direction and ill take it from there? I got a lot of power pistol powder so that is what I want to use, + I like how it works!!!! Thanks in advance!

[GrumpyOne]

Marki, typically with a heavier bullet (in the same caliber) the powder charge will be lower, while with a lighter bullet, the charge will be higher. It all has to do with pressure...Gman-Bart knows more about it than I do (and there are plenty of threads about it here on the forum, but I ain't up for any leg work today, I've been up 36 hours...), but the essence is that the heavier bullet will generate more pressure when fired (with the same weight charge using a lighter bullet) because it is harder to move down the barrel than the lighter bullet.

By the way, Alliants website is showing a charge weight of 9.5 grains of power pistol for a 185 grain Speer GDHP. (And 7.4 for a 230 GDHP). If they say it's good for a 230 grain bullet, it's probably on the low side (for charge weight) in a 185 grain bullet....

Now, go read your load manuals.....

[TonyT]

As an aside - the 185 gr. Nosler JHP is a favorite for bulleseye pistol shooters at 50 yards. I believe their favorite load is 4.2 gr. VV N-310 and WLP behind the 185 gr. Nosler JHP.

[MARKAVELI]

Marki, typically with a heavier bullet (in the same caliber) the powder charge will be lower, while with a lighter bullet, the charge will be higher. It all has to do with pressure...Gman-Bart knows more about it than I do (and there are plenty of threads about it here on the forum, but I ain't up for any leg work today, I've been up 36 hours...), but the essence is that the heavier bullet will generate more pressure when fired (with the same weight charge using a lighter bullet) because it is harder to move down the barrel than the lighter bullet.

By the way, Alliants website is showing a charge weight of 9.5 grains of power pistol for a 185 grain Speer GDHP. (And 7.4 for a 230 GDHP). If they say it's good for a 230 grain bullet, it's probably on the low side (for charge weight) in a 185 grain bullet....

Now, go read your load manuals.....

"Pressure" okay reading up on this some more to get a better understanding between the heavier the bullet the lighter the charge and the lighter the bullet the heavier the charge! I knew yo was gonna mention my manuals! 36hrs and no sleep? Sheeesh, you party animal!! I hope you got your sleep, if not we are going to change your name to Sleepyone! :-p

[MARKAVELI]

As an aside - the 185 gr. Nosler JHP is a favorite for bulleseye pistol shooters at 50 yards. I believe their favorite load is 4.2 gr. VV N-310 and WLP behind the 185 gr. Nosler JHP.

Thanks Tony, - wanted to use power for a few reasons; I like how it burns clean in a medium burn rate, I like how how It doesn't fluctuate's if not very little on the scale and stays on point some, I got a few Lbs of it too and most importantly I was trying to be a tight wad and save money buy using the same powders for most of my weapons!

[GrumpyOne]

Marki, typically with a heavier bullet (in the same caliber) the powder charge will be lower, while with a lighter bullet, the charge will be higher. It all has to do with pressure...Gman-Bart knows more about it than I do (and there are plenty of threads about it here on the forum, but I ain't up for any leg work today, I've been up 36 hours...), but the essence is that the heavier bullet will generate more pressure when fired (with the same weight charge using a lighter bullet) because it is harder to move down the barrel than the lighter bullet.

By the way, Alliants website is showing a charge weight of 9.5 grains of power pistol for a 185 grain Speer GDHP. (And 7.4 for a 230 GDHP). If they say it's good for a 230 grain bullet, it's probably on the low side (for charge weight) in a 185 grain bullet....

Now, go read your load manuals.....

"Pressure" okay reading up on this some more to get a better understanding between the heavier the bullet the lighter the charge and the lighter the bullet the heavier the charge! I knew yo was gonna mention my manuals! 36hrs and no sleep? Sheeesh, you party animal!! I hope you got your sleep, if not we are going to change your name to Sleepyone! :-p

No party...work. It's why I'm mostly grumpy...

[MARKAVELI]

Well look at it like this Grump, when you retire you don't have far to go! He he... Picked up another manual Speers #14. Has more data on Alliant's Powders. And the background is well knowledgeable! You ever tried Blue Dot on any of your cal loads?

[GrumpyOne]

Nope, not tried Blue Dot. Blue Dot is pretty slow powder, way down on the scale, just above my 38 super load in burn rate. Honestly, there are so many powders out there, you'd have to be a millionaire to try them all. I'm not one to screw up a good thing..I'll experiment some, but unless the experiment is gonna be worthwhile, I ususally don't even do that. When I started loading for my 38 super, I tried a bunch of different things, Pwr Pistol, Longshot, VV N350, and all types of different bullet weights and styles, but once I settled on a load, it usually doesn't get changed. I do all my research before buying any powder, not buying the powder and then do the research. It's cheaper that way. That's how I came across Power Pistol. It's not the perfect powder, but it is very good at many things. You can load almost any caliber with it.

If I remember correctly, there were several threads about Blue Dot on here recently....

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110128&st=0&p=1250595&hl=+blue%20+dot&fromsearch=1entry1250595

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111402&view=findpost&p=1264674

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=109267&view=findpost&p=1241651

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=105917&st=0&p=1204752&hl=+blue%20+dot&fromsearch=1entry1204752

[noylj]

Here is all the data I have on 185gn jacketed bullet and Power Pistol:

Bullet Weight Powder Weight Velocity Start/Max

JHP 185 Power Pistol 8.6 1025

JHP 185 Power Pistol 9.1 1075 Max +P

Speer Gold Dot 185 Power Pistol 9.5 1047 Max

Speer Gold Dot 185 Power Pistol 10.0 1180 Max +P

Nos JHP 185 Power Pistol 10.1 1170 Max +P

Hornady HP-XTP 185 Power Pistol 10.3 1080 Max +P

Note that all the loads I have for .45ACP and Power Pistol are aimed at people going for +P

Based on this, 7.4 sounds like a good starting load, but what do I know...

[MARKAVELI]

@ Grump I feel the same way! What's that saying? "If it ain't broken don't fix it!"

@ Noy I went to the range early this morning, I tried a 5 different loads and I kinda like the powder charge of 9.5 I'm going to lower it a few 10ths to lower some of the recoil, as for the Xtp's I had started at a low powder charge at 6.6 and I didn't get much recoil so imma up it by a few 10ths just to see what I get! Thanks for your Data what a pal!!

[MARKAVELI]

Oops I forgot to mention the xtp's are 230gr!