aandabooks Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Has anyone loaded a .45 230gr down this low and had it be reliable? My math say that I would only have to get to 544fps. I searched through my reloading books and can't find numbers that low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 If I were looking for a very light .45 ACP load, I'd go with the lightest bullet I could find and shoot for a PF of 145 or so. That's a 185 gr bullet at 785 FPS. That would be a good starting point, and then try to drop that slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anbrumm Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 12 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said: If I were looking for a very light .45 ACP load, I'd go with the lightest bullet I could find and shoot for a PF of 145 or so. That's a 185 gr bullet at 785 FPS. That would be a good starting point, and then try to drop that slowly. Might also want to consider changing recoil springs to still cycle with the lack of power. I know this is not reloading specific, but something to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open17 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Loaded some Bear Creek 230's WAY down many years ago. IIRC I was down to a bit under 3 gr of Titegroup. Went down to a 7 or maybe 6 lb recoil spring in an old 1911. Functioned fine, and watching the bullet fly to the target is a hoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galt11 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I never tried it with 230gr. but whenI first started competitive shooting I had a lad with 185 gr SWC that was WAY below 125. At my first indoor USPSA match, I shot a stage with a plate rack, had 6 nice centered hits and all the plates were still standing and the flattened heads were right in front of the rack. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perttime Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Vihtavuori data has a minimum load for Hornady 185gr XTP, with 4.4gr of N310 at 820fps out of a 5" barrel, for 151 PF. Not sure how fast powders in big cases behave when you reduce the load. Proceed with caution.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 10 hours ago, anbrumm said: Might also want to consider changing recoil springs to still cycle with the lack of power. I know this is not reloading specific, but something to remember. I have some 6lb and 8lb springs on hand. This is for a CZ 97b that I just acquired. I'm actually considering playing with this in production occasionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 hour ago, aandabooks said: I'm considering playing with this in production, occasionally. Any more than "occasionally" could get expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anbrumm Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 hour ago, aandabooks said: I have some 6lb and 8lb springs on hand. This is for a CZ 97b that I just acquired. I'm actually considering playing with this in production occasionally. Awesome! Just wanted to make sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Clays and Clay dot are popular for 45 powder puff loads. I'm not sure how far down you can go before you need to think about a bullet not clearing the barrel intermittently. 12 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: a 185 gr bullet at 785 FPS. Seems reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: Any more than "occasionally" could get expensive. I'm swimming in .45 brass and have thousands of .45 bullets. I lost interest in SS a couple years ago but never sold off the supplies for the .45. I'm shooting an accu-shadow in production when I pull myself away from open. I figure it might be fun to occasionally shoot this new 97b and put great big holes in the target in production. I don't want to eat a ton of recoil to shoot minor though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 I did something pretty similar. Used a SAR k2 with a 6lb spring. 230 grain with N310 I'd have to find the exact amount but it wasn't much. At 125pf the SD and accuracy were all over the place. Brought it up to 140 or so and they performed much better while still feeling very soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mont1120 Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Try some Titewad with 2.8 and 230 rounds. The 200 grain at 3.4 was super fun to shoot also. I had a 12 lb spring, so you could reduce it further if you desired. I think too much lower with any powder you will find the brass does not seal well, which can lead to some strange readings like Garmil ran into. The only other thing that would concern me is getting the bullet stuck, but not knowing it is a squib.ts. Not a fun result........but it sure sounds like fun shooting production with a .45. Will certainly get you some commen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 The problem will be you cannot generate enough pressure at 125 to seal the case against the chamber. So some of the gasses will not be propelling the bullet forward. You will also notice that on side of the case is blackened. That was the top as it sat in the chamber. Your SDs will be huge. I don't use 230gr heads. I prefer 200 and 185. The best low PF load I've come up with so far is my bullseye load. It is RP case, WLP or CCI 300, 3.4ge e3, 200gr Dardas LSWC for 731fps, SD 5.35 with WLP, and 726fps, SD 4.97 with CCI 300. Dropping to 3.2gr with the WLP drops velocity to 699fps, but opens up SDs to 10.21. I'd sell the 230s and buy 185s. If you have to use 230s, use fast powders and load as short as will feed reliably. That will help keep the pressure up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I have settled on Bullseye for .45 Minor. No point in providing recipes, at that low level the bullet choice makes a lot of difference. I have gone as light as 3.1 gr with a 230 BBI and as heavy as 4.2 gr with a 185 JHP. Clays is pretty good, Titegroup isn't. Neither is W231 or WST. 700X works if you can get it to measure well in such small doses. Solo 1000 is good if you have any left. I bet you can get on with N310 or some of the other fast flake powders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I would definitely not try N310. It is hugely inconsistent at anything other than max loads, plus it is extremely temp sensitive. Solo 1000 and WST are superb 45 powders, but again only at mid to upper velocities. Clays and Clay Dot are essentially the same. They will not work as well as some others at low PF. e3 will, as will American Select (surprisingly). I have loaded that down to 136PF with a reasonable SD 10.99. I have never tried it in 45, but Alliant ExtraLite is a super fast, bulky shotgun powder. I would definitely give that a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 I'm thinking about trying this is Ramshot Competition or Bullseye. I have a few pounds of e3 on hand as well. I've never bought Vitavouri for anything else so unlikely I would start now. Got to move the press over to large pistol primers and then get some test loads done. Shooting for 135-140pf might be a little more reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExStreetWalker Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 Look at .45 Auto Rim data. You'll find lots of lighter loads there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwhpfan Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 I shot ".45 minor" for a couple years. 180/5 with 4.2 of BE. About 130 PF. Very accurate and soft shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Has anyone tried these loads in a revolver? The reason I’m asking is I just bought a Smith 625JM and I’m wanting some light loads for my son so he can run it and not get beaten up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJH Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 In a revolver, since you don't have to worry about function, you can go real light. there are some sub minor trailboss loads on hodgdons website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Interesting I will have to look into that thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 I SO'd long ago a revolver shooter,, I could see his bullets going down range. Claimed they were 230's at about 550. Got a head scratcher when one of the bullets stuck in the cardboard and target backer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 That’s crazy! I don’t wanna go quite that slow. I still want to be able to shoot the plate rack and Texas star. I figure if my son can learn to ahoot those two target arrangements clean, and under 10 seconds. He will be able to out shoot me any day of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VSchneider Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 I would try a 155 gr SWC at a little over 800 fps. This would be in the 125 of range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now