Reloading .45 - Hornady vs. Lee

[fillup]

Hey guys. I've been reloading .40s&w for a while now, and plan to start reloading .45 acp soon. I've already bought some 200gr. Hornady HP-XTP and FMJ-c/t enc bullets. I'm going to use Power Pistal powder since that is what I use now to reload my .40.

Anyhow, does anyone know the max load for 200gr bullets using Power Pistol?

Lee Modern Reloading 2nd lists 7.4gr. as Never Exceed, while Hornady 7th lists 8.5gr. as the maximum. The bullets I'm using are Hornady, so you'd think they'd know. But I'm a little concerned with the large disparity with Lee.

Who should I trust....Hornady or Lee??

[D. Manley]

Hey guys. I've been reloading .40s&w for a while now, and plan to start reloading .45 acp soon. I've already bought some 200gr. Hornady HP-XTP and FMJ-c/t enc bullets. I'm going to use Power Pistal powder since that is what I use now to reload my .40.

Anyhow, does anyone know the max load for 200gr bullets using Power Pistol?

Lee Modern Reloading 2nd lists 7.4gr. as Never Exceed, while Hornady 7th lists 8.5gr. as the maximum. The bullets I'm using are Hornady, so you'd think they'd know. But I'm a little concerned with the large disparity with Lee.

Who should I trust....Hornady or Lee??

Lee likely uses Alliant's published data for a generic 200 grain JPH bullet which is 7.4. Hornady will use data worked up specific to their bullet designs. All that said, its never a good idea to "start at the top"...if you want to push them hard, start well below and come up incrementally watching for pressure signs as you go. You are working with a pretty linear powder in Power Pistol so you shouldn't have to worry too much about things going badly awry all of a sudden. I would imagine that 8.5 grains of PP under a 200 XTP will at the very least, light up the night for you.