New to 45ACP reloading and bullet casting

[Huskerguy]

I have been reloading 38/357, 9mm, 40 S & W, 223, and 30-06 for sometime now. First time for getting into the 45 ACP as I just picked up my first 45 in an ATI. I would like to shoot lead in this as well and everything I read tells me that lead was meant for the 45. I have Lee TL molds for all of my handgun calibers and I know they not the best for the 9 and I need to know how it works for the 45. I see the Lee model TL 452 listed and wondered what everyone's experiences are. I also have a Lyman 450 sizer that I am rebuilding so I can go that was as well. Just looking for the best combination of economics and function. I am not particular in bullet weight - anything from 200 to 230. I will be using HP-38/231 powder although I also have HS-6 (not planning on using this), Red Dot, and Titegroup. Your opinions and and experiences please - thank you

[sparky45]

My favorite is the Lee TC 230gr. Shoots and loads without any problems. I like Trailboss and/or Green Dot.

[40Super]

Get a 200gr swc mold and load it over 4.6 to 5.2gr HP38 and never look back. :wink:

[Echo]

3.6 grs BE under a 452460 does it for me, for Bullseye shooting.

[williamwaco]

3.6 grs BE under a 452460 does it for me, for Bullseye shooting.


I like this load too.


.

[41 mag fan]

4.7gr BE behind a 230gr RN

[DrCaveman]

The lee TL 230 RN has worked pretty well for me, but I can't compare it to any other moulds of that weight and profile. While I have had to tinker pretty heavily with OAL for two 45s in order to feed correctly using non-230 ball bullets/boolits, the lee 230 RN worked great from the get go.

Since then it has been a matter of dialing in a load, and I have decided I prefer ramshot competition over bullseye or unique. About the same weight of charge as BE for a given velocity, but less blast/push, and seems to leave my gun cleaner than unique or BE. In fact I have been getting 840 fps from a charge slightly over ramshot's max load and the report is substantially less than factory ammo or BE loads of same velocity.

I think it is pretty similar to VV n320, but I may be misled.

I'm not an expert by any stretch, just my 2 cents.

[David2011]

The Lyman 452374 (225 grains or so, hardball profile) and the Saeco #069 (200 gr SWC) are my favorites for the 1911 in .45 ACP. Both feed reliably in just about any gun and both are easy to cast. RCBS has a less expensive mold that's almost identical to the Saeco 069. I like HP38/W231 as well. It burns clean which is a plus with cast boolits.

David

[rsrocket1]

I love the TL452-230-TC. My old Thompson AO 1911 likes RN and chokes on many SWC's. This truncated cone boolit feeds beautifully in the old picky gun.
TL in 45/45/10, no resizing needed, I seat to 1.19" and use the crimp to close the flare and then shoot 'em.
55626

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

3.6 grs BE under a 452460 does it for me, for Bullseye shooting.

Agreed on this load.

I shoot a few boolits through my 1911, I really like the Lee 200 gr SWC over 4.0 gr of Bullseye, It seems to me that a few people are loading quite a bit hotter than this, but I have had very good results and very consistent groups with some light(ish) loads in 45 ACP.

[wv109323]

The most reliable to least reliable bullet configurations in the 1911 platform are:
230 gn Round Nose
200 gn. Trun. Cone
200 gn. SWC
185 gn. SWC
The most widely used boolit in Bullseye pistol is the 200 gn. SWC. It will take about 4.4 gn. of WW231 to function the slide reliably with the factory recoil spring.. The max. of WW231 with this bullet is around 5.6 gn. The round nose will require around 4.2 gn of WW231.
The TL Lee mold would not be my first choice but it will work. You will probably have to stay on the lower end of the loading to keep the bullet from leading. If you go with the 450 the boolit needs to be sized .452 in 90% of .45 ACP's.
Titegroup is also a popular powder with the .45 ACP but I do not have any experience with it.

[MtGun44]

I will have to disagree with the previous poster. IME the H&G 68, (200 SWC) if loaded
properly and TCed properly will approach 100% feeding reliability in any modern 1911.
The days when a 230 RN was required for reliable feeding in the 1911 platform are 30
years past, at least.

+1 on 3.6 BE (or TG, actually) under a 452460, although the 452460 is ever so slightly
less reliable feeder in a FEW guns than the H&G 68, it feeds perfectly in all my 1911s.

IMO, get a H&G 68 REAL CLONE, size to .452 and never look back. 4.7-4.8 of BE or
TG or 5.6-5.7 of W231 and you have a major power factor round. Drop back to 3.5-3.6
of either BE or TG and you have a target load that will feed in almost any 1911, although
a few may need a lighter recoil spring for the target load - none of mine do.

Bill

[RobS]

I love the TL452-230-TC. My old Thompson AO 1911 likes RN and chokes on many SWC's. This truncated cone boolit feeds beautifully in the old picky gun.
TL in 45/45/10, no resizing needed, I seat to 1.19" and use the crimp to close the flare and then shoot 'em.
55626
I went this route for quite a while with great success too. I believe I seated at 1.20 and pushed the 236 grainer with either 231 or Herco. Red Dot will work well also and burns pretty clean. I liked WSF with the 230 grain class for the 45 auto.

Now a days I work with an old 4 cavity Lyman 452374 mold that drops nice boolits or use the 454640 HP design boolit that weighs in at 238 grains and double up the mold as a 260 grain solid which I use for my 45 Colt loads. Herco is a great powder for upper end 45 auto loads and light to mid 45 Colt loads so almost all my 45 auto rounds (230 grains) are loaded with it at around 850 fps. At these velocities the pressures are up enough to burn the powder well. If I want lighter loads for the auto then I shift to a quicker powder to clean up the burn of the powder.

[Bullwolf]

My favorite TL style 45ACP boolit is the Lee TL452-230-2R.

I load it to an OAL of 1.265 to copy military hardball, and it feeds reliably for me in my guns.

I don't hunt with this 45ACP boolit. I only shoot it at metal plates, or paper targets, so for me it's primary use is a hardball duplicating load. While the Round Nose design functions well, a Truncated Cone or Wad Cutter design makes a much cleaner hole in a paper target.

I have had moderate success using Unique, 231, Red Dot, and Bullseye in the 45acp cartridge. If it's locally available and affordable, then I really prefer to use Unique.

If I had to do it all over again, I would buy a 6 cavity mould right off the bat, for ease of production.

http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/517/517501.jpg
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=3864
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=3862
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=3863

The mold, and my alloy tends to cast on the larger side. (closer to .454 -.455) So I can not load them "as cast". Lots of my Lee molds drop a bit oversize however, and I actually prefer it that way. I size my TL452-230-2R boolits down to .452 with an inexpensive Lee push through sizer die.

I get decent accuracy with this boolit, and no leading in my guns. I used to tumble lube them in Lee liquid Alox with no performance issues.

I like Recluse's 45-45-10 formula better (Johnson's Paste Wax + Alox + mineral spirits) and I use that instead of Alox these days. If you haven't yet, be sure check out the sticky on this lube. It takes a lot of the mess and hassle out of tumble lubing.

Tumble Lubing--Made Easy & Mess-Free
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=67654

If I can successfully make 45-45-10, just about anyone should be able to.



- Bullwolf

[rsrocket1]

I would love to shoot 200g SWC's in my 1911, but I guess I prefer to spend more time shooting what works than spend a lot of time trying to fix something that doesn't, especially when there is an alternative. I went through 2 boxes of 500 SWC's going through different magazines, polishing the feed ramp and hood (the original finish looked like the surface of a vinyl record) seating at different depths and adjusting the crimp from zero to ridiculous. I originally tried to sell off the remaining 400 bullets, but found no takers so I started tewaking. I got good feeding with some settings right when I ran out of the first box so I bought another. Fooled me twice, shame on me. I thought I was relegated to round ball only, but took the risk on the TL452-230-TC and became very happy.

I would prefer a lighter boolit to save lead and would be happy to shave 30g off the base of the mould to make it a FB, but for a boolit that shoots so well as is in this gun, I am leery of changing anything.

Sort of like the old days of setting up the TV with the rabbit ear antenna and aluminum foil just in the right spot of the living room "Don't touch anything until the program is over".

[gunoil]

ditto: drcaveman! /41 mag.

[MtGun44]

It is a rare 1911 that has a feed ramp like a vinyl record, wow. As to 200 SWCs - NOT
all are created equal. Use an H&G 68 or real clone. Load to 1.250-1.260 LOA,
taper crimp to about 0.471 or so at the case mouth and it will feed in the
overwhelming majority of 1911s, probably in yours too. Are there other SWCs that
won't feed? Probably. So what? The answer isn't "200 SWCs" it is "H&G 68s",
all H&G 68s are 200 SWCs, all 200 SWCs are not H&G 68s.

The answers have been well known for decades, zero experimentation required.
Follow the recipe and they will feed, in any of the guns that I have seen offered for
sale since the 1980s. I have assisted dozens of IPSC shooters over the last 30
yrs and this works. THE most number of problems came from zero or inadequate
TC.

Bill

[David2011]

MtGun44 is dead on about the H&G 68/clones thereof including the taper crimp and LOA. They will run at those specs in just about anything. A 200 gr SWC with a smaller meplat will encounter different geometry as it's stripped from the magazine and slames into the various impact points in a 1911. There's nothing gentle about the way a 1911 reloads.

The truncated cone is a another good option. Its geometry is intended to be the same as the RN hardball as it feeds and is usually very reliable.

David

[40Super]

I'm with MTGUN44, I haven't had a gun not feed any of my 200swc's, and I've boughten several "brands" and have 2 molds, only 1 is the true H&G68. As long as the diameter is correct for the barrel ,they have chambered.The long nosed versions hit the ramp harder than the standard.I prefer the lighter slugs to not go through as much lead just shooting paper most of the time.

[Cherokee]

Lee conventional lube 6 cavity 230 gr TC mould supplies the vast majority of my 45 ACP CB's and 231 is usually used to sent them down range. Feeds well (99.99...%)in all my 45's and accurate for me. The Lee conventional lube 200 SWC does OK but its not a true H&G68 design.

[willy3]

Lee 230 gr. and Bullseye. Best all around combo...