Thoughts on my first .45 load - and a question

[Gadgetech]

I have loaded all of 11 rounds of .45 cal Hornady XTP 200gr JHP. I my information from the latest Lyman manual. According to the manual the OAL was to be 1.178 and 3.9 gr of clays powder. I loaded only one round at 1.178 which seemed to be a little short so after doing some looking on this forum I decided to adjust the OAL to ~1.2 which looked better. When I went to the range today I shot about 50 rounds of factory loaded 230gr remington before firing my own loads. All went well but my question is around the felt recoil from my own loads. I gather that 3.9gr of powder is kinda light. I do like to have a little more snap when shooting so what would my next step be? Move up to 4.x grains?

[Punkin Chunker]

I have loaded all of 11 rounds of .45 cal Hornady XTP 200gr JHP. I my information from the latest Lyman manual. According to the manual the OAL was to be 1.178 and 3.9 gr of clays powder. I loaded only one round at 1.178 which seemed to be a little short so after doing some looking on this forum I decided to adjust the OAL to ~1.2 which looked better. When I went to the range today I shot about 50 rounds of factory loaded 230gr remington before firing my own loads. All went well but my question is around the felt recoil from my own loads. I gather that 3.9gr of powder is kinda light. I do like to have a little more snap when shooting so what would my next step be? Move up to 4.x grains?

Next step would be to get a chrono and find out what your loads are doing power wise. Adjusting the charge without knowing your velocity in an effort to achieve 'snap' sounds like a step-by-step approach to overcharge.

If you're making power, but want more snap you might need to consider different powder or different bullets.

I've found clays and 230 RN in .45 to be a fairly soft-shooting load while still making PF. It's already pushing the limit for charge weight, so trying to make it snappier with more powder would be a bad idea.

[Gadgetech]

Thanks for the reminder PC. I need to find somewhere to shoot that I can put up a chrono. I have done some reading on them and it seems they work better outside than in. Looks like a trip to to the state range.

Sent from my WP7 using Board Express

[RH45]

If you're just shooting for fun, and not worried about making power factor, run with 3.9. If you are trying to make "major", you really need to chrono the load through your gun.