Rather-B-Huntin Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Looking for recommendations for a good soft shooting load that still makes major (I know, I know!! Kind of an oxymoron, but thought I'd check and see what works for others). I intend to concentrate on SS division next year, and am still torn between shooting a .45 or .40. Was initially leaning towards .40, but the more I think about it, the more I'm going back to .45. All I've ever loaded in .45 has been 230's. Anybody recommend 200's or 180's to take a bit of the oomph out of .45? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Meek Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 230gr FMJ ~4.0gr Clays ( you would swear you were cheating with this load) Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Try HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Yes, don't forget Z's 3.7g of Clays pushing a 230g bullet!! Actually, close to 4g is probably the way to go in retrospect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 4.5ish Clays with a 200 puts a little snap in the gun if you like that feeling. 4.0ish with a 230 is kind of the standard by which every other load will be judged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 (edited) 230 grain FMJ over 4.5 grains of Tite-Group. 15# variable power recoil spring. 18# mainspring. Flawless in my Baer. Soft, but snappy. Front sight settles great. edited to add: Oh, one other important detail. OAL 1.25. Chrono results were about 739 fps / 170 pf in my gun. Edited December 2, 2007 by Steve J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 230 grain FMJ over 4.5 grains of Tite-Group. 15# variable power recoil spring. 18# mainspring. Flawless in my Baer. Soft, but snappy. Front sight settles great. It took me 4.7 - 4.8 of TG to make 170 PF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 230 grain FMJ over 4.5 grains of Tite-Group. 15# variable power recoil spring. 18# mainspring. Flawless in my Baer. Soft, but snappy. Front sight settles great. It took me 4.7 - 4.8 of TG to make 170 PF Interesting. I was making major in warm weather with 4.4 gr, but once it turned cold the velocity went way down. I bumped it up to 4.5 and that got it above the threshold in cold weather. Had a couple of major match chronos confirm my own. 738 fps for 169.7 pf up to about 750 fps. Sierra lists 750 fps for 4.5 grains and unlike others, they use a Colt Gold Cup for their data instead of a laboratory tube which doesn't tell you anything you can use. I'll chrono again of course before the next major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek45 Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 3.8gr. CLAYS 230gr. makes major in my 5" KART barrel 1911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 I must have a SLOW barrel or a crappy balance beam scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 230 Zero.. 4.7gr TG gave me a 170PF too, with a SD of 10.8 I didn't note the date or cool/hot day Another time I tested the same load.. PF178 with SD 21 4.7 is what I'm shooting.. I'l have to re-chrono again, see which time was off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawulf Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 I use a 200gr. LSWC with 4.2gr of clays. Big difference over 230gr. factory hardball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 (edited) I must have a SLOW barrel or a crappy balance beam scale My balance beam scale is ancient. RCBS vintage 1975. 230 Zero.. 4.7gr TG gave me a 170PF too, with a SD of 10.8I didn't note the date or cool/hot day Another time I tested the same load.. PF178 with SD 21 4.7 is what I'm shooting.. I'l have to re-chrono again, see which time was off. It's very temperature sensitive. Chrono on a cold day for sure. It also has a wide spread. At 73 degrees I got 730-789 fps with 4.5 gr, but it's still a very accurate load. I can get a 3 inch group off hand at 25 yards. Works for me. Edited December 2, 2007 by Steve J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 (edited) I shoot Lead in the .45 so 3.8 with a 230 LRN or 4.1 with a 200 LSWC around 1.255ish out of stock springfield. Edited to add...umm thats with Clays powder...is there anything else for .45? :-) Edited December 2, 2007 by steel1212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rather-B-Huntin Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 I guess I can't improve on what I'm already shooting then! I've been shooting 4.4 gr. of Titegroup under a 230 Black Gold for an average of 758 fps. outta my 5" S&W. Same load still makes major outta my Kimber Ultra Carry II w/ 3" barrel (well most of the time it will). I was just wondering if I could get a little less muzzle flip by going down in bullet weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 (edited) I guess I can't improve on what I'm already shooting then! I've been shooting 4.4 gr. of Titegroup under a 230 Black Gold for an average of 758 fps. outta my 5" S&W. Same load still makes major outta my Kimber Ultra Carry II w/ 3" barrel (well most of the time it will). I was just wondering if I could get a little less muzzle flip by going down in bullet weight? Edited because I misread your post. Try reducing your recoil spring weight one pound at a time. If you're using conventional, try a variable power spring. Edited December 3, 2007 by Steve J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 R-B-H & others, Titegroup goes in the toilet in cold weather, like crono at 70 & have it drop to 30. 2003 Bend Area 1 I went from 175 to 162 when it decided to snow. But then I live in an area where it can drop 20 degrees in an hour. Sure makes the WST load a handful as it can go up 20 PF. Other than VV is there any temperature stable powder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1911onr Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 3.8gr. CLAYS 230gr. makes major in my 5" KART barrel 1911 I must have a slow barrel too. I need 4.05gn Clays to make major with zero margin. Other relevant data: STI Eagle 5" stock barrel 230 grain Zero FMJ exposed base CCI large pistol primers Mixed brass 1.25" OAL 40-45 degree outside temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bp78 Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 (edited) 200gr RNSP Moly bullet, 4.1grs Clays Avg 830.9 fps Avg PF 166.2 PF SD 11.78 MEDIAN 833 fps Out of a 5" 1911. I probably need to bump up the charge so that I'm not so close to PF. Edited December 4, 2007 by bp78 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 LP, Clays is much more stable with temp. It still moves, but only a couple PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I hate to admit this, but the folks touting Clays are right, at least for .45 ACP. 3.9 grains under a 230 grain RNL went 747 fps from the 4.5" barrel of my S&W M&P. I need to chrono it from my 4" M22-4 to make sure it makes at least a 165 PF from it before I settle on that load, but it looks pretty good. It gave a round 2" group at 50 feet from an unsteady rest, so the accuracy seems to be there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I keep hoping that someone is going to list the magic load with something other than Clays but it doesn't seem to be happening. I need a non-temperature sensitive load becuse it went from zero last week to 50 this week headed south again next week and WST is killing me with the recoil changes. I guess it is time to bite the bullet (230gr Zero HP) and load some Clays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ap38 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 4.7 N-320. 230 Ranier plated round nose. N-320 is more expensive, but I haven't seen much fluctuation due to temp change. I live 5-7 miles south of Canada, so I see some cold weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 WST is pretty soft in my gun. So is clays but it smokes more with cast bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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