45 Auto Boolit ?

[pt4u2nv]

Been casting for awhile now and getting ready to attempt loading for my Springfield 45 Auto. What would be your suggestions as to a good plinking boolit and possible load info to start with. It has a custom barrel but I am not sure what it is . I also have the stock barrel that I could put back on . The fellow I bought it off of shot competitvely at bowling pins with J bullets.

[wantoutofca]

I use a Lyman 225gr rn boolit. Not great for pins but a good hit still motivates them off the table. 5.6gr of unique gives 875fps out of my 1911.

Happy shooting!

[Cherokee]

Cast 230 gr TC boolit & 5.3 gr 231 works for me for general use and is reliable. I cast my own from Lee 6 Cv or NEI 4 Cv molds but similar boolits can be bought from many sources. Probably the most commonly used boolit is 200 gr SWC and I use 231 or WST. Again, I cast my own from Lee 6 Cv or NEI 4 Cv molds, etc. Lots of variations available for 45 ACP. The custom barrel will probably be just fine, maybe a true 451 so that you can use 452 CB's - but who knows until you try. Your load manual is your friend. BTW, clean that custom barrel real well to get rid of that jacket residue. Have fun......

[prs]

I have four I have used recently. Lee 452-230-TC has been excellent overall. Tumble lubed or traditional lubed are accurate and feed well. The trick with 45ACP seems to be getting OAL and seating perfect.

prs

[williamwaco]

I really like the 200 gr SWCs - any of them. The Lee is excellent and inexpensive.

[jburris2001]

will most of these work in a compact 45 also?

[rexherring]

will most of these work in a compact 45 also?
My Taurus Millenium Pro shoots the 230 TC and 200 RNFP from Lee just fine.

[geargnasher]

I really like the 200 gr SWCs - any of them. The Lee is excellent and inexpensive.

THIS. Haven't found a "bad" version of that basic weight and configuration yet, although a few of the GI Springfield 1911s can be fussy with feeding them. It's what I'd try first for plinking and target work.

Gear

[wantoutofca]

will most of these work in a compact 45 also?

The Lyman boolit has functioned in a buddy's gun. But considering it's a LRN it's not surprising.

[fcvan]

My SA is a plain Jane parkerized 1911 purchased new it 1987. Best $269 I ever spent. Within two months they started going for the same as Colt 1911 pistols. I bought the Lee 452-228 1R and shot the heck out of it. Then I bought the Lee 452-200 SWC which it also cycled very well. I have two 200 RN molds that cycle very well. Heck, I have even shot round balls through the SA which cycled and fired much to my surprise. I never polished anything, never tweaked anything, just assembled, lubed, and shot it a lot. Ya, the gun came as parts in a box I had to assemble. At $269 I didn't complain. Blued versions were $279 but I wanted parkerized and was willing to pay extra. That .45 was my primary off duty weapon for 20 years. Dependable, accurate, fun to shoot, and the thumb sized brass is easier to find than .380 for sure! Frank

[runfiverun]

i mainly use the lyman 200 swc in both of my 1911's.
i will use a 225 rnfp as my second [heck my first if they are lubed and ready to go]
the guns don't care which one i use.
5.8 grs of unique cycles the action 100% with either, without too much drama in the recoil dept.

[45fan]

I wanted a plinking load to shoot steel with and I come up with a 200 gr RFN loaded with 4.4 grs of HP-38. Nice light load, fun to shoot steel plates with.

[HighHook]

The 200 rfn has served me well for general target and plinking. 4-5 gr bullseye...

[pt4u2nv]

Thanks everyone for your help. Prob go with the Lee rn for starters and see how it functions

[trixter]

Thanks everyone for your help. Prob go with the Lee rn for starters and see how it functions

The Lee RN will feed well in almost any 45ACP if you seat it in a little farther than you think is enough. The 200gr LSWC feeds well in almost any gun also. I have a XDM, and it gobbles anything I feed it, but I had to adjust seating to it's liking. I really liked the Lee TL-452-200-2R because of the (2R) you can seat the boolit to the recommended COAL. I have a bunch that I tumble lubed as per the instructions, and I also ran some of them through the Star lubesizer and they turned out very nice. All that to say that .45ACP boolits of just about shape seem to work, which is very nice, So it looks like it comes down to personal choice. My choice right now is, Lee 452-200-SWC, (90310) because of the really nice holes it puts in the targets, and they go through my mold like goose pooo. Funny what and why we choose stuff huh?

[DRNurse1]

+1 Gear is right about the feeding issues with Mil-Spec barrels. The throat on a mil-spec bbl is usually designed for the round nose loads but can be opened ("throated") to accommodate the SWC loads. The lighter boolit will save a bit of lead, too: and extra boolit for every 7 you cast.

Have lots of fun with this great gun.


THIS. Haven't found a "bad" version of that basic weight and configuration yet, although a few of the GI Springfield 1911s can be fussy with feeding them. It's what I'd try first for plinking and target work.

Gear

[Reloader06]

For me it's an H&G 68 with 4.0 of Titegroup and a Federal primer. The best load in 4 different 45's. What ever you choose there will be a sweet spot waiting to be found. Enjoy the journey.

Matt

[edler7]

I got a 200grn Cramer hollow point mold from Miha on the group buy. My Mil-spec eats them like candy.

+1 on the 4 grns. Titegroup- but I use a Winchester primer.

[casterofboolits]

200 grain H&G #68. Have two eight cavity and one four cavity mould for this boolit.

[runfiverun]

generally feeding issues are linked to the magazine.
especially the swc's,the newer magazines allow the nose of the boolit to be presented to the chamber on/at a higher angle.
the feed lips have been modified for this in the last 30 years.

[geargnasher]

generally feeding issues are linked to the magazine.
especially the swc's,the newer magazines allow the nose of the boolit to be presented to the chamber on/at a higher angle.
the feed lips have been modified for this in the last 30 years.

+1 on that. Plus, the lips tend to spread on many of the cheapo tin magazines after a while, and that makes the problem far worse.

Gear

[LabGuy]

Well my favorite this week is Miha’s H&G 68, with 5.3 grains of 231.

[MtGun44]

200 SWC is THE boolit for 1911s in .45 ACP. H&G 68 is the reference standard for feeding and all
around shooting. Lyman 452460 is a hair more accurate in my guns, but trades a touch of unreliable
feeding in some guns (none of mine have problems with it, but the nose is a touch short for a
few guns). Get a real clone of the H&G 68 as first choice with the semi-clones like Lee as a
reasonably prices approximation, second or third choice, IMO. 452460 is a great design.

Set LOA and you need to taper crimp in a separate die. Lack of or inadequate TC has been by
far the most common problem with newbies loading for 1911s in this cartridge. Use the dismounted
bbl as the gage.

Bill

[Jon]

I have the LEE LRN 230gr 6 cavity mold. It works fine for my 1911. I used to run them through the sizer, but it didn't seem to make any difference, and most just slipped on through.
I run them through the Factory Crimp Die since it helps them feed better once they are loaded up.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thanks everyone for your help. Prob go with the Lee rn for starters and see how it functions

If you go with the Lee 452-228 1R (which is my favorite), they need to be seated shorter then recommended OAL for most 1911s. I seat them at 1.210" and they feed in all my 45 acp guns, I've read others seat them as short as 1.190 or 1.195 to get them to feed reliably.

You shouldn't have the same problem with the -2R but I've never played with it myself.
Jon