Cast boolits and the M1911 .45ACP

[LarryM]

I'm an experienced handloader and boolit caster but I've never loaded for an autoloader pistol. Getting up the stuff to start loading and casting for a m1911 .45acp Looking for recommendations on how hard an alloy do I need. I want to put together a target/practice load with a 230gr-ish boolit at 850-ish FPS.

[TedH]

I use plain old air cooled wheelweights with good results in my 45 acp.

[BruceB]

You're basically intending to shoot a factory-duplication load, with that 230 RN running at 850.

This is precisely the load I use for about 98% of my .45 ACP shooting. The other 2% would be the firing of my carry loads every once in while (Federal Hydra-Shok 230 HP).

Some time back, I decided that I was through messing with SWCs and other such things in .45 ACP, in favor of just loading the good ol' 230 RN. MY preferred design is the Lyman 452374, which duplicates the shape of the military 230 RN. I used the Lee 230 RN for a short time, but found I liked the Lyman's profile better.

Many powders will work for this load, but I use 231 for the job. It's reliable and economical with the small charges needed.

I usually water-drop my wheelweight 374s, just because it's simple that way. Aircooled WW alloy works fine, too, just as TedH reports.

[truckjohn]

Hardness really isn't an issue with boolits going 850 FPS.
Leading problems in a 5" barrel in a low velocity
cartridge like our 45 ACP could probably be traced to:

1. Copper jacket fouling in the barrel (Did you scrub it
out really good with JB, then dishsoap and hot water?)

2. Rough bore

3. Constriction in the bore

4. Undersized bullets

5. Wrong or not enough lube

Have a good one

John

[DLCTEX]

+1 on the wheel weights, mostly air cooled. I prefer SWC design, 200gr. to 255gr. Dale:Fire:

[Lloyd Smale]

about any alloy will work for practice. Leading isnt much of an issue in the 1911s. I have found though that when looking for alitimate accuracy for competition. Harder bullets will usually out shoot soft ones. I would guess its the combination of rather shallow rifleing in a 1911 and the fact that harder bullet resist getting dammaged while feeding. Im not much on water dropped ww but it might be just the ticket in a 1911. Youd get the hard bullets with cheap alloy

[Winger Ed.]

All I ever shoot with my 1911 is those little black dots that like to hang out on target boards. I'm sure you've seen them. They wait till you're about 25 yards away, and then mock you. I hate it when they do that.

I use a Lee 6 cavity mold to make up those 200gr trunuciated cone wadcutters, made with 1/2 wheelweights and half pure Lead..... Lots & lots of them. Or a RCBS 190 grain wadcutter mold. Both are good. I drop them in a 5gal. bucket of ice water as they drop out of the mold.

I did have to change out and put in a 11 pound spring, or the 5-6 gr. of Unique won't cycle the pistol very well.

The wadcutters insure a quick, clean kill that's easy to confirm without a spotting scope.... and the (very few) mortally wounded dots are almost never able to crawl off very far.

.

[truckjohn]

Harder bullets will usually out shoot soft ones. I would guess its the combination of rather shallow rifleing in a 1911 and the fact that harder bullet resist getting dammaged while feeding.

No doubt there is something to the extra hardness
helping reduce damage feeding. Shooting
a couple hundred swaged lead bullets left
a nice cake of alox-y lead mess on the feed ramp.

Thanks

John

[LarryM]

Thanks for th input fellows, I'll let you know what I come up with in a week or so when I get up and running

[dubber123]

4.5 grains of Bullseye and the Lee 230 RN runs right at 845 fps. average in my 5". Thats pretty close to your 850. I have shot about 15-17,000 through this particular gun, and it's a very reliable load.

[LarryM]

Dubber -
Thats pretty close to what I have in mind for a starting load.Which Lee bullet are you using? I picked up the 452-228-1R but haven't had a chance to fool with it much yet.

[trickyasafox]

i've used the 1 o give radius 228gr lee jobbers and in my very limited experience (i think i shot 75 or so) they worked very well as cast in my springfield armory 1911 milspec.

i cast another 150 today and will lube them tomorrow. if i get a chance to shoot a box i'll post back again. the first ones i shot were lubed with LLA and shot as cast. these will be shot as cast too, but pan lubed.

[stanley2]

Hello, what do you think of the lee TL452-230-2R mold

[Crash_Corrigan]

Ecellent results with LLA lube and clays 4.0 gr from my Taurus 1911. I have run hundreds and hundreds of these thru my 1911 will good to excellent accuracy and no failures of any kind. Fast to make and cheap. My cost for 50 rounds is less than $2.00. The only reason I use 200 SWC is that they make neater and bigger holes in the paper. However when I am shooting reactive targets (bowling pins. ballons, milk containers full of red water, stell plates, golf balls etc) I use the LRn as I can make them faster than the SWC's. There is no difference in accuracy no reliability as the Taurus eats everything without a hiccup. I use Bullseye or Clays mostly. Accurate 2 also works well. I usually go for the starting load from an established source or two and see what works for me. I am not interested in RAMBO recoil or noise. I just want to get the best accuracy and reiliablilty at the lowest cost per shot and I want to have fun shooting with my friends or by myself. I love saving bucks and making boolits from waste lead. I would rather cast and reload than watch TV any day of the week.

[DLCTEX]

I love saving bucks and making boolits from waste lead. I would rather cast and reload than watch TV any day of the week.
__________________

Amen brother! I hear you! DALE

[35remington]

stanley2, of the two .45 caliber roundnose bullets offered by Lee, the 230 TL 2R is the one that most faithfully duplicates FMJ or ball ammunition, and tends to be the best feeder of all, even in unaltered guns. You can duplicate the 1.260-1.270" overall length of factory FMJ ammunition when using it. If you don't mind tumble lube bullets and Lee liquid alox, it's a very good choice. Getting it in a six cavity is the only way to go. Shoots about like ball, too.

The 228-1R has a shorter nose length that makes the cartridge overall length in the 1.200-1.220" range when properly seated. Your finicky guns or magazines may have more trouble with it.

Their long nose 200 grain H&G pattern SWC with single lube groove loaded to around 1.245-1.250" is also a very good choice in a six cavity for a lot of shooting. In my guns, the most accurate of the three mentioned here. Feeds well.

[LarryM]

The 228-1R has a shorter nose length that makes the cartridge overall length in the 1.200-1.220" range when properly seated. Your finicky guns or magazines may have more trouble with it.....


That answered some questions!:mrgreen:

[Sundogg1911]

you cant beat a 230 gr. RN in a 1911. They feed well in every 1911 i've ever had (I'm guessin' that to be around a dozen) I shoot that over 4 gr. of WST. one of my favorite loads. Straight wheel weights or WW's with a little tin are fine for standard loads (up to about 900 FPS) I have about a dozen different 45 ACP moulds. [smilie=1: lately i've been using an H&G 200 gr. SWC inmy Master Caster for my Dbl. stacks. it seems to be a nice IPSC boolit. It feeds great in both double stack 1911's I have (A Para and an Enterprise Arms) but they both have ramped barrels and would feed gravel if you could load in in the mags. and its easy to make major power and keep recoil to a minimum. I havn't found the perfect load for that one yet, but i'm gonna be working one up using WST as well. I really like it for the 45's
You really don't have to do anything special casting for a 1911. It seems to me to be the perfect round for casting. I've run into some issues casting for my 9mms, and magnum revolvers, they seem to be less forgiving, but the 45 is the perfect boolit to start autoloader casting with. If you want to experiment with some different style boolits before buying a mold, send me a PM with your address and i'll send you a handfull of some different styles and weights to try. I have a 1911 addiction and somehow have aquired a small pile of moulds to keep them fed and try new loads, :-D