Possibly dangerous load??? .45 ACP + Nitro 100

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Njal Thorgeirsson

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Hello,

As a novice handloader, I frequently load under the supervision of a more experienced friend of mine. I recently loaded some .45 ACP for the first time. The load he likes best is about 5.4 grains of Nitro 100 with a 230 grain (hornady jhp) bullet. According to his (old but published) load data, this should be around 850 fps. After a brief google, it seems fairly clear that this load could potentially be dangerous. :uhoh: Can anyone give me some advice?

Thanks!
 
Accurate doesn't even list that powder for 45 ACP, nor does Lee manual.
 
Should I pull the bullets and use something a little bit more conventional? According to some other threads, there is an old and new formulation of Nitro 100, and some people use both for .45 ACP. But I haven't seen any loads as hot as 5.4 grains. Most are closer to 4 grains......
 
Load Data.com has old Accurate data for Nitro 100 and 230gr bullets.
4.5gr is Max.

Code: 
 230	Sierra FMJ	Accurate	Nitro 100	[B]4.5[/B]	825
 
I've checked current and back issues of Hornady, Speer, Lee, and Lyman manuals - can't find any load data for that powder in .45 ACP with a 230gr bullet. If he's using it then its obviously doing ok *in his gun*, but that doesn't mean it'll work in yours. I personally wouldn't use this load myself. Checking the burn rate charts this is coming up consistently in the top couple fastest burning powders on the market. Your margin of error will be small when working with it.
 
Although my charges are accurately measured (no charge varied by more than .001 gram from target load), the load seems considerably hotter than I'd like- .8 grains over max is certainly not very comfortable... The charges for the new version of the powder are actually even more conservative than the old powder. I think I was using the newer version.
 
Njal Thorgeirsson,
When a powder company doesn't list a powder for a certain cartridge there's usually a very good reason. Even worse is when they used to list the powder and then they remove that powder from the load data. That is usually only done if they find a danger in the combination.

1. I would not shoot those rounds.
2. I would pull them and load with a powder there is current data for.
3. I would find a different friend to supervise your loading. I would never teach a new loader to use a powder not recommended by the powder manufacturer for that cartridge and I would especially not teach anyone to use a charge that's at least 20% over the older data that was available.

The 45 Auto can be safely loaded with A LOT of powders so there's no reason to use Nitro 100. Try W231/HP-38, Bullseye, Unique, Universal, AutoComp, AA#2, AA#5, Red Dot, Zip and probably a few more I didn't think of right now.

I like W231 best for my 45 Auto ammo. I charge 5.5gr under a 230gr JHP bullet but I would start @5.0gr and work up your load...
 
Thanks for the advice, guys. Lesson learned. I was a bit wary about using that powder. The load we did use was actually published, though, so it is a bit weird that its so far over the old published max of 4.5 grains. I'll pull the bullets and wait until I can get a more suitable powder.

Thanks again for the advice.
 
1. I would not shoot those rounds.
2. I would pull them and load with a powder there is current data for.
3. I would find a different friend to supervise your loading. I would never teach a new loader to use a powder not recommended by the powder manufacturer for that cartridge and I would especially not teach anyone to use a charge that's at least 20% over the older data that was available.
Click to expand...

+1 to that.
 
Accurate has N100 data for 45acp in the 2011 guide, see below. Bolded is the one you want. Its probably still a safe load, I have seen no mention of the powder changing, but use at your own risk.

N100 155 LC SWC(L) 5.0 956 5.5 1,087 16,000 1.240
N100 170 MCB SWCBB(L) 5.0 952 5.6 1,082 19,900 1.130
N100 200 LC SWC(L) 4.4 825 4.9 938 18,200 1.190
N100 230 LC RN(L) 4.1 733 4.5 834 18,600 1.230
N100 185 NOS JHP 4.8 842 5.3 957 16,900 1.210
N100 200 HDY XTP 4.3 768 4.8 873 16,500 1.225
N100 230 SIE FMJ 4.1 726 4.5 825 19,100 1.250
 
Nitro 100 is now defines as a shotgun powder and shotgun powders are now only used for shotgun loads--to many plwders to test all powders for all purposes.
Nitro 100 seems better behaved in my .45s than N310.
I have one source showinf 4.5gn max and another showing 5.6gn.
I always start with the lowest starting load I can find.
 
I personally would pull the loads.It is possible that since it is old data that the formula- burning rate of that particular powder has changed and as a result it is no longer recomended for your caliber.It is better to be safe than sorry.:)
 
Nitro 100 has changed. There is old data for the original stuff, and the new stuff is just recommended for shotguns right now. No handgun data for it yet. I tried some of the original stuff in .38 Spl and it is very fast stuff.

Which Nitro 100 do you have? 5.4 Grs sounds excessive.
 
Walkalong said:
Nitro 100 has changed. There is old data for the original stuff, and the new stuff is just recommended for shotguns right now. No handgun data for it yet. I tried some of the original stuff in .38 Spl and it is very fast stuff.

Which Nitro 100 do you have? 5.4 Grs sounds excessive.
Click to expand...

This (changing powder formulations) seems like a questionable practice to me - particularly in our modern legal climate. If the new powder isn't a 1 to 1 substitute then they have to know that some people with older manuals will still use the powder unaware that it's the "new" version of the powder.

If they want to do a new formulation they should at a minimum something like Nitro 100A. That name is close enough to establish a familiarity but also different enough that people could differentiate between old and new data.
 
It says new formulation on the bottle, but I agree, i would rather see it renamed.

They did a similar thing with AA #2, and called it AA # 2 improved for a few years, but now it just says AA #2.
 
Oddly enough, considering that Lee just compiles Powder

data from the manufacturers, there is Nitro 100 data for 230g both lead and jacketed in Modern Reloading....

230g lead is 5.1 to 5.3 @898 @18.8kpsi 1.230 OAL

230g Jacketed is 5.3 to 5.6 @ 885 @ 19.1kpsi 1.250 OAL

Both listed high middle of the pack which according to RL makes it a fair to middling powder for the application. For the lead load it is number 5 on his list.

Lee has Nitro 100 listings for other weights too so.....

The consensus of the accumulated wisdom seems to be pull em and I tend to agree....I would maybe first contact Accurate and ask them as it's their powder, I have found them to be very helpful in the past.......

This is from the '01 reprint of Modern Reloading so.....
 
yeah, that's why I said I'd probably pull them rather than use old data with new powder....Now if the powder is 20yo then the old data ought to be fine......
 
Yeah as a new loader of .45acp, I always start at the low end of current published load data and go up from there. Of everything I have loaded, 700x,WST,Hogdon Titegroup, I have never gotten up to the max.

I really baby my loads, 200gr bullets, just over the IDPA minimums for competition. around 200grx800fps= 160,000.

Favorite is Titegroup at 4.9gn, 1.22" Rainier copper plated flatnose 200gn.

enjoy and be safe.
 
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