Target load for 230 lead HP in .45 ACP?

[Buck13]

Suggestions for load for Bullseye (the sport, not the powder) target load for this bullet?
http://westernbullet.com/noe4gr.html

Powder, COAL and crimp ideas all of interest. Shooting them from a new SA RO, factory springs. I'll be switching to a lighter recoil spring and lighter SWC bullet ASAP, but this is what I have ready to go.

Powders I have that would make sense are HP38, Titegroup, and Trail Boss. Prefer HP38 since I have the most of it and it's in my powder measure now, but any would be OK.

May not get as far as shooting these at 50 yards, but 25 and 50 yard loads would be interesting.

 

[armenjs]

I would start.
Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
Hodgdon HP-38 0.452" 1.200" 4.2 751 13,800 CUP max 5.3 832 16,800 CUP OAL 1.178-1.230

 

[Walkalong]

5.0 Grs W-231

 

[kidneyboy]

5gr of HP38, OAL at the cannelure and a light crimp.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

5.0 Grs W-231

Yup.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

5.0 gr of Unique

 

[dannyd]

5gr of HP38, OAL at the cannelure and a light crimp.

What he said ^^^^^^ works every time

 

[N555]

About 4.5gr of WST.
It was spitting out 230gr fmjs at about 700fps. It's the most accurate 45acp round I have ever come up with.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

5.0 Grs W-231

5gr of HP38, OAL at the cannelure and a light crimp.

Yup.

What he said ^^^^^^ works every time.

I will add my voice to the rest, 5.0gr W-231… That is a classic 45 ACP load which has been very accurate in any gun I shoot it. Since you have that powder already (HP-38) and would prefer to use it, give it a try and see if it's good for you too.

 

[N555]

For accuracy regardless of velocity WST.
If you want good accuracy and velocity greater than 800fps then you want w231.

 

[irishlad]

I will add my voice to the rest, 5.0gr W-231… That is a classic 45 ACP load which has been very accurate in any gun I shoot it. Since you have that powder already (HP-38) and would prefer to use it, give it a try and see if it's good for you too.

I would start.
Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
Hodgdon HP-38 0.452" 1.200" 4.2 751 13,800 CUP max 5.3 832 16,800 CUP OAL 1.178-1.230

5.0 Grs W-231

5gr of HP38, OAL at the cannelure and a light crimp.

W231 reminds of the Franks hot sauce commercials, " I use that stuff on everything". I use it on all of my pistol loads. Works well.

 

[Buck13]

5gr of HP38, OAL at the cannelure and a light crimp.

Made up a dummy round last night. Bit of a snag loading to the groove: that gave me a rather long OAL (1.237" IIRC) which, when dropped into the barrel, leaves the cartridge base quite a bit proud of the barrel hood (about 0.03" by eye; didn't measure). That doesn't look right! When chambered from the mag, it won't cycle out through the ejection port, and the base of the ogive above the case mouth is marked all the way around, which what I think are some hints of the rifling, too.

Gonna pull that bullet, reflare and reseat at least a couple hundredths deeper and see how that goes.

I should also check that these bullets are sized uniformly along their length. I had a problem with some 325 grain FN LBT .430 bullets from that same guy what wouldn't chamber in my Redhawk because the base of the ogive wasn't sized. (I bought a Lee sizing die to fix them.) I'd assumed that was due to the greater length of that bullet being incompatible with his sizing method, since I never had a problem with any of his other bullets, so I didn't expect it with these, but I need to verify...

 

[Buck13]

What he said ^^^^^^ works every time

OAL too long.

 

[dannyd]

Are you using the bullet on the right?

 

[kidneyboy]

Made up a dummy round last night. Bit of a snag loading to the groove: that gave me a rather long OAL (1.237" IIRC) which, when dropped into the barrel, leaves the cartridge base quite a bit proud of the barrel hood (about 0.03" by eye; didn't measure). That doesn't look right! When chambered from the mag, it won't cycle out through the ejection port, and the base of the ogive above the case mouth is marked all the way around, which what I think are some hints of the rifling, too.

Gonna pull that bullet, reflare and reseat at least a couple hundredths deeper and see how that goes.

I should also check that these bullets are sized uniformly along their length. I had a problem with some 325 grain FN LBT .430 bullets from that same guy what wouldn't chamber in my Redhawk because the base of the ogive wasn't sized. (I bought a Lee sizing die to fix them.) I'd assumed that was due to the greater length of that bullet being incompatible with his sizing method, since I never had a problem with any of his other bullets, so I didn't expect it with these, but I need to verify...

A plunk test is always a good thing. I didn't suggest an OAL as the bullet has a cannelure. I load 230gr RNFP at 1.220. You may want to try that and ignore the cannelure.

 

[gwpercle]

For "Target" loads a 200 grain cast bullet will serve you better .

Here are my favorite "Pet" loads for the 230 gr. bullet / 45 acp .
Seat bullet to just below crimp groove and taper crimp on top edge of top driving band ...lightly . Case headspaces on case mouth edge so don't roll crimp into bullet's crimp groove . Do the "Plunk Test" ... then Test for feeding, chambering and ejection before loading a bunch ! I like to make a few dummy rounds (no primer - no powder) to get bullet seating depth worked out . Keep them for setting up dies next time ,

4.3 grs 700X @ 735 fps
4.5 grs, Bullseye @ 749 fps
4.6 grs, Red Dot @ 751 fps
5.0 grs. W231 / HP38 @ 770 fps
5.1 grs. Unique @ 735 fps - I won a First Place Trophy with this load in a 1911 Bullseye Match !

These are accurate and cycle a stock AMT Hardballer , Colt Commander , Star model PD and Star model PS all with factory recoil springs .

Good Luck ,
Gary

 

[Buck13]

Are you using the bullet on the right?

View attachment 1132326

No, it's not a SWC. Your bullet looks like one for .45 Colt.

The drawing in my OP link makes it look like there's a shoulder, but there isn't. Just a continuous ogive to 0.453, by my measurement. Maybe I'll post pictures later.

 

[Buck13]

For "Target" loads a 200 grain cast bullet will serve you better .

Yes, those SWCs are on order but no one who makes them (or at least no one who's also recommended on Bullseye-L) is shipping quickly right now.

 

[Charlie98]

For accuracy regardless of velocity WST.
If you want good accuracy and velocity greater than 800fps then you want w231.

I would tend to agree with that statement, although I know WST wasn't on the OP's powder list. W231 works well enough, but the absolute most accurate loads in my .45ACP's... were with WST.

 

[N555]

If you want the most accurate might be time to try a pound of WST.
That's like 1,500 shots per pound and it's not a powderpuff.

5.1gr of unique sounds like it would burn dirty. I load unique near the top to get a clean burn.

 

[Charlie98]

5.1gr of unique sounds like it would burn dirty. I load unique near the top to get a clean burn.

True. If you want a midrange load... W231 is the better powder there... or WST

 

[Rule3]

Yup.

Double "yup"

 

[reddog81]

OAL too long.

Your OAL will depend on the specific bullet you are using and and to some extent the magazine and guns you will be using them in.

When using 45 Colt bullets in 45 ACP or .357 bullets in 9mm the crimp groove isn’t generally used as a guide for determining OAL.

 

[kerreckt]

I load 5.0gr. Bullseye with a 230gr.RN bullet. 820fps+/- .This is the classic original 1911 government load.

 

[Buck13]

Jeez, I made up a couple more dummies with this bullet for plunk testing, and I realized that neck tension is so poor that I can seat them with my fingers! Yesterday my Bayou Bullets order arrived with 185 grain coated SWCs and they do NOT have that problem, so I think I will set these lead bullets aside for now and load up some 185s.

They are labeled 0.452", which I didn't take very seriously, but maybe he did use that sizer die, which seems small for lead in a 45. In retrospect, I've had leading with some of his .429 lead bullets, so this may be a pattern (although his 300 grain SWC-GCs have shot very nicely in my .43 Magnum).