Duane Thomas Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Anyone have any experience loading a 255-gr. LSWC to 1.205" OAL with VV N310? Suggested powder charge for a 170 pf load? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Caliber/Cartridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I did it 20 years ago, for pins and IPSC. I used WW-231, and I'll have to dig out those log books. One sticky point: minor variations in nose shape can have a large effect on feeding in various guns. And the oal changes have a large effect on useable case capacity. If you try one, you can't just substitute another of the same weight and use the same charge. But a 265 gr swc cast from wheelweights, punched out at 750 fps, is death on pins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBF Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Duane, If you have not already stocked up on bullets, look at the Raineer 250 gr. flatpoint. Has the same basic profile as their 200 gr. flatpoint. I have had good luck with them. No data for 310. Travis F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 Caliber/Cartridge? You're kidding, right? .45 ACP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 One sticky point: minor variations in nose shape can have a large effect on feeding in various guns. I've put about 500 rounds through my Wilson .45, and shot three matches with the Laser-Cast 255-gr. LSWC (intended for the .45 Colt, natch) loaded to 1.205". No feed problems so far. The only glitch was one failure of the slide to go forward when dropping it from slidelock on a 10-round magazine. That may be a combination of my 10-pound recoil spring with the 10-round magazine. No problems at all with 8-rounders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Watne Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Is this combo better than the 200 or 230? What is your load? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 3, 2004 Author Share Posted April 3, 2004 Is this combo better than the 200 or 230? In my experience, I would have to say the answer is yes. With a 255-gr. bullet I only have to drive it to 667 fps to make a 170 pf. Compared to the 200 and 230-gr. which I have to drive much faster to make pf, this results in a much softer load. What is your load? 3.2-gr. Clays, average for three consecutive 20-shot strings, gave me 680 fps with an SD of 9. That's a 173.4 pf. Actually, I could probably drop it down to 3.1-gr. and still be safe. YMMV so chrono yourself before using this load in a match. I want to try N310 because, per Rob Leatham and others, a faster burning powder (and N310 is considerably faster than Clays) should be even softer at the same pf. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Watne Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 Thanks for the information. I have heard that the reason so many people use 200 grain bullets in the 45 ACP is because when we were using 45 open guns we needed the extra gas to run the comps and the habit stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NPSA 86-259 Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I'd rather use N320 than the N310 powder. N310: Very fast burning and competive with Bullseye and Accurate No.2. It has applications in a very wide range from .25 ACP to the 9mm Luger. N320: is a handgun powder of comparatively fast burning rate. Useful in many popular cartridges. Currenty available data includes 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP and .45 (Long) Colt. Burning rate generally is perhaps a tad faster than 231 or generally about like Red Dot. Look at http://www.lapua.com/Metric.pdf If I would use a 255 grain bullet I think I would compare the loads of the .45 Colt with the same bullets used in .45 ACP. This is NOT a reliable method and any load you make is at your own risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 In my experience, N320 is not a good cast bullet powder in the low pressure .45 ACP. Very dirty with a sloppy SD. Thanks, no. Also, I'm looking for a powder faster than Clays. N320 is slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 If I would use a 255 grain bullet I think I would compare the loads of the .45 Colt with the same bullets used in .45 ACP. This is NOT a reliable method To say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NPSA 86-259 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 If you look at the burn rate chart of Hodgdon you see: From Fastest To Slowest 1. NORMA R1 2. Vihtavuori N310 3. Hodgdon TITEWAD 4. Alliant Red Dot 5. Hodgdon Clays 6. IMR, Co "HI-Skor" 700-X 7. Alliant Bullseye Above Clays you only have four other powder types left. Don't look for a faster burning powder reloading .45 ACP with a 255 bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 Why not? And can you back that up with knowledge and pressure testing data instead of just opinion? BTW, I was already familiar with the Hodgdon burn rate chart. AAMOF I have the entire Hodgdon reloading manual, with pressure data, at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 The reason we all shot 200's back in "the day" was not to feed a comp. It was because our chocies were few: a 230 lrn, or a 200 H&G 68 or clone. Of the two, the 200 shot a lot more accurately. (A host of reasons) So we shot 200's. And those who were looking to feed comps loaded 185's, or experimented even lower. For about five minutes, the 152-155 gr l-swc bullet was the choice in .45. At least for those who weren't building/buying/getting a .38 Super to keep up with "those kids from Arizona." Considering the pressures (minimal) a 255 load would be running, I'd have no problem experimenting with any powder on the shelf. As I recall, mine were with WW-231 and AA-452, but that was more a matter of having them than choosing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Duane - why not simply, and privately, ask Rob what he would suggest as a starting load? And, if you're worried about pressure, for about $70, Western Powders (aka Ramshot) will pressure test the load (15 rounds) for you. I've considered this with other bullet/powder combo's, although not in 45 ACP. The thing I might be concerned with is if you're making major with Clays at 3.2, you'll likely be under 3.0 with N310. How accurate/consistent are Dillon presses at droping charges that small? If not, I might apt for 230's with N310 instead. Just my $0.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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