Alloy for 45 ACP

[medic44]

I recently ran into a guy with a lot more casting time than me. He told me I need to cast 45 ACP w/ WW and 5% linotpye. I was told here in the past to use WW 50/50 with lead. I need more expert advise.:-? :-?

[R.M.]

I suppose it depends on what you're using those .45's for, but bullseye shooters use a lot ot soft swaged bullets that are probably pretty close to pure lead.
I cast mine from range scrap with a BHN of about 8. I would say that 50/50 WW and pure would be about the same.

Hope this helps
R.M.

[klausg]

medic44-
I guess it depends on what you have most of; WW are relatively easy for me to come by, other stuff isn't too simple. I shoot straight WW for just about everything, I do add a little solder to bump up my tin content when I feel rich or am having problems w/fillout that I can't solve through other means. For the .45 I definitely think adding any lino is not the way to go. If you've got a lot of lead I'd go that route; but straight WW's will work fine. I'm still a bit of a neophyte to this game myself, but I personally think that most of the leading/accuracy issues are caused by sizing problems, (and possibly lube issues), especially in a low pressure cartridge like the .45 Auto. Hope this helps

-Klaus

[9.3X62AL]

45 ACP is a pretty low-pressure caliber, under 17K PSI in most loadings. I don't think +P goes much past 20K PSI. I've done good work with straight air-cooled wheelweight metal for years, sized @ .452".

The only exception to that practice involves the new-to-me Glock 21, where I used .454" boolits of Taracorp (92-6-2) and got zero leading after 450 rounds. I'll give .452" boolits a try in that weird bore form next, and report back my results. Life would be grand if I could load one boolit diameter for all of my 45's. This might just prompt the purchase of an aftermarket barrel to avoid PITA, rather than to avoid leading (which is another PITA).

45 ACP is a VERY lead-friendly caliber, a thing that can't be said for other bottom-feeder chamberings.

[454PB]

I've fiddled around with adding lino to .45 boolits in varying amounts and found no difference in the ammo I load. I suppose very shallow rifling or a mismatch in boolit diameter to bore diameter might be improved by increasing hardness, but I've not seen the need in the multiple .45 ACP's I've owned.

My Ruger P-90 has a habit of smacking the edge of the boolit against the feed ramp with certain boolit designs, and a slightly harder alloy minimizes the damage to the boolit nose. However, I've never seen any accuracy differences even when there is a mark from feeding.

[cbrick]

I use straight WW with a little tin added for all of my 45 ACP loads from really wimpy to full throttle. The only exception is the Lyman devastaor where I use the much softer stick-on wheel weights with a bit of tin.

I don't see any advatage to using up your lino and if it were me I'd save it for something the antimony is needed in.

Rick

[JeffinNZ]

A friend of mine uses straight lino in his .45ACP..........for some absurd reason.

You should see the leading.

[dubber123]

I have shot about 15,000 45's in the last couple years, all air cooled ww's. Never a problem with leading or accuracy. I think proper fit and good lube matters more than a harder alloy.

[cohutt]

50/50 ww/pure works very well for me, general target plinking ammo. 200 swc sized to 451, no leading, most accurate bullets i have ever fired out of my kimber.

[DLCTEX]

My 45 auto has had thousands of cast boolits cast from ww with zero leading, this with 6 different weight and configurations. Lubes were LLA, 50/50, and various homemades. Save the lino or swap it for twice its weight in ww.
DALE

[versifier]

Some semi-auto pistols like lino in the mix, but they all work at much higher pressures than the .45ACP. I'm getting decent accuracy in my G21 with ACWW @ .452, but I have several more boolits to test in it. I have met a couple of 9mm's that like the harder alloys (one works best with pure lino, one is happy with 1/2 & 1/2), and a 10mm, too. .40 S&W seems to work OK on ACWW, but it wasn't mine and I just loaded a box for it, no leading and good accuracy. .380ACP needs no lino. I've never had a .45winmag to play with, but I suspect some of them might like harder boolits, too. I don't load for any of the "mouse gun" autos, so I have no idea what any of them prefer.

[medic44]

I should have mentioned I'm using 230 gr 452 TL from LEE

[Joel Chavez]

I've been using straight WW with no problems to speak of. I size to .452" and lube with Lars45 red lube and go. I'm shooting the 230gr RN from Lee with awesome accuracy out of Para P12. Later:castmine:

[Char-Gar]

I have loaded and fired probably 100K 45 ACP rounds and myexperience mirrors that of the above posts.

Many years ago, it was standard wisdom that the Colt autopistol required hard alloys due to shallow rifling and the glancing impact of the bullet nose on the barrel feed ramp. Gurus including Elmer Keith expoused this dictum.

The standard wisdom of the Days or Yore is not true. the 45 autopistol is very alloy friendly and do quite well with some rather soft alloys. It doesn't hurt to use linotype of other hard alloys, but they are not necessary and won't result in better accuracy or less leading. I use standard acww with just a little tin to improve casting qualities. I have always sized my bullets .452 and see no reason to change.

I much prefer a plain base bullet to a bevel base and a good lube as always helps allot.

Be very, very careful as the 45 autopistol can become a life long addiction. I have never been able to break the habit. Good shooting and good luck in life.

[pdawg_shooter]

I have used 100% W.W. for years. works for me !

[Larry Gibson]

I have used 100% W.W. for years. works for me !

Same with me and the others who've mentioned it.

Larry Gibson

[Lloyd Smale]

I tend to see a slight increase in accuracy with harder bullets in the 45acp right up to straight linotype. Now before you get all excited. Im talking a small gain and at the most it means maybe a 1/4 differnce in group sizes at 25 yards. Ive shot softer alloys up through straight ww and 5050 ww/lyno and straight lyno and would have to say i get better accuracy the harder the bullet. If i was to shoot a bullseye match it may matter but thats about the only case. Now the 625 smiths are another matter. Ive owned 3 of them and have developed loads for a couple more and they hands down shoot better with harder alloys. I can about cut the group size in half with any bullet in my 625 mountain gun just by running 5050 or straight lineotype compared to a ww bullet. Now before this starts another big arugment on here. Those statements were based on actually shooting groups (many many of the) at 25 yards off a bench with more then one gun. I truely do beleive that the 625 likes them hard because of shallow rifling. There pretty much a finiky gun for accuracy anyway but i know that harder alloys helps in them. Ive never tried it but id about bet youd get the same results with water dropped bullets over air cooled ones too. As to leading Ive shot pure in 1911s without leading using a good lube so the hardness isnt nessisary for that. Another advantage to a hard bullet in an auto loader is in minimizes feed ramp damage to the bullet which will play havok with accuracy and reliability.

[GSM]

Tailor the bullet and alloy to your use. For Bullseye (50 yard line) I've used Zero swaged (easily scratched with a fingernail) SWC's all the way to 80/20 (WW/lino) and a couple of steps in between.

[Blackwater]

There are so darn many folks making .45 ACP barrels now that I believe it probably depends a lot on exactly which barrel you're using. I did most of my early shooting of the .45 with an old Colt which had very shallow rifling. CAst all my bullets from ACWW's, and never had a problem or complaint. I shot a LOT back then, too.

Recently, a friend got a Springfield Armory .45 and I gave him some 230 gr. Lee FNTC's, and they shot near or under 1" at 25 yds.

If you're looking for the absolute best accuracy possible in the gun, the only way to really know is to try various alloys and let the target tell you what the gun likes. Still, I don't think there'd be any huge differences in alloys, and if I weren't shooting in registered matches where every little bit helps, I'd just use ACWW's unless something made me want to try some other stuff. Seems a "practical" way to approach the gun, at least?