Hypothetical loads- .25 ACP?

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

Hello,

Although I don't plan on attempting this until I'm a bit more experienced (currently loading my first rounds of cast boolits), I was just curious if there was a creative way to load .25 ACP with cast boolits?

With such minuscule powder charges and low bullet weights, they wouldn't cost much more to load beyond the cost of the primer (and a significant amount of time and hassle).

For example, could I size cast #2 shot (30 grains and .270" diameter) to .250 [or whatever the bore slugs at] and use that as a bullet?

Thanks!

[nhrifle]

Anything is possible, just depends upon how much effort you are willing to put in to get the results you want. Never give up and always try something new, and be sure to post results of your experimentation so we can all learn.

[jeffchance]

Why not use #4 buckshot. Already sized to .250?
JEFF

[220swiftfn]

Just keep in mind that reloading for the .25 ACP DEMANDS complete attention to detail and you should be fine. RCBS does make a round nose mold for the .25 ACP, and most of the load data is in the 1.3 (ish) grains of powder for full power loads....

With that in mind, I think the idea of a swaged ball (gallery load) would be VERY hard to not get into trouble with, between the very low powder capacity, and the possibility of setback, the chances of destructive pressures would be high....

As it sits though, with the RCBS mold (50 grains), a small pistol primer, and a grain of powder, you're right, I can't think of a round that would be cheaper to make......(except for the ability to find range brass, that is.....)


Dan

[220swiftfn]

Why not use #4 buckshot. Already sized to .250?
JEFF

As I posted above, I don't think a ball load is a great idea, but.....

When you make a round ball load, you go over the diameter and swage it down so you get a small "driving band" that is the diameter of a normal round.... As an example, for a .45 Colt round ball load, you'd use a .457 round ball mold.



Dan

[AlaskanGuy]

I have this mold for the 25 acp, thanks to a member here.... I have cast with it, and the boolits are easier then casting with the 22 cal stuff...92811

It is the lee 25-650 and does a real nice job... Boolits are tumble lube with alox... And you really need to be spot on with powder measure.... I use a technique that i use... I measure each piece of brass as i load it, then drop the powder, then re-weigh the brass again.... It gives me exact amount of powder in each and every case.... Sounds anal i know, but the little 25 acp belongs to the wife, and she loves it, and shoots the heck outta it... So the extra anal factor is worth the safety of my purty wife...

AG

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

AlaskanGuy- Wow, I had no idea Lee ever made a 25 caliber mould. A mould like that would be great- it would eliminate the experimentation. And I disagree that weighing each is anal- I would definitely consider it a necessity with .25 ACP. Very little room for error with those tiny charges.

All the moulds I can find online are gas checked. I suppose I could try one of them without a gas check.

Also, the reason I would use #2 buck vs #3 or #4 is because of weight and size- #2 is about 30 grains, and there is some published load data for bullets at 30 grains. #3 and #4 are simply too light and might not be seated securely into the case due to limited contact area. Not to mention their small size and light weight might defeat any chance of reliable cycling.

[MtGun44]

I have loaded Jbullets in .25 ACP, and 1.5 gr BE is a HOT load.

Bill

[Rustyleee]

My dad always wished for a pistol with more size to it than the normal .25 cal autos. He had an old Browning that turned in some pretty good groups. He figured with bigger grips, a longer barrel and decent sights it would make a heck of a gun.

[texassako]

You really have to hunt for .25 ACP molds. You have to provide enough weight in the projectile to get the blowback action to operate, and probably need the weight of the #2 buckshot for that reason. I use a LBT 30gr boolit with 1.5gr of Clays that just gets it to cycle properly. 1.3 wasn't enough to cycle the action, 1.7 was to much(inaccurate), and the pistol measure I use is consistent with this powder and charge.

[reloader28]

Alaskanguy, that must be the Ranch Dog mold.
I sure thought about finding one of them, then decided maybe I didnt have the time for .25acp.

[AlaskanGuy]

It is the lee made ranch dog... I wish i could tell you where to get one... I looked for quite a while... Then a member took pity on me.... I looked all over yesterday to try to find ya one, but no joy.... Sorry... Would be happy to cast ya up some ..... But Alaskangurl wont hardly let that mold out of her sight...

AG

[texassako]

It is the lee made ranch dog... I wish i could tell you where to get one... I looked for quite a while... Then a member took pity on me.... I looked all over yesterday to try to find ya one, but no joy.... Sorry... Would be happy to cast ya up some ..... But Alaskangurl wont hardly let that mold out of her sight...

AG

Pitty? No, just had to make room for the new Ranchdog design that hopefully will fit my Llama better. There is a Group Buy for a good looking design if you are willing to wait: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?192567-MiHec-25-ACP-Three-Cavity-HP-or-Four-Cavity-Solid-mold The HP's 44gr falls close to the 40gr I think would be the sweet spot for the .25 ACP. I like casting, loading, and shooting the tiny things for some reason. The LBT design:

92914

[AlaskanGuy]

Lol.... You traded the mold in for those tiny things sako???? I think i got the better end of the deal...lol... I do appreciate it though... The wife loves the boolits...

AG

[DRNurse1]

Interesting thread. It makes me consider the .25 as a replacement for the 22LR in competition. If the stocks of 22LR do not shortly rebound, I am going to be out of the 2700 business and have to shoot only 1800's!

[AlaskanGuy]

Dont be too hasty there nurse.... Unless you have a mold already, your gunna have some trouble finding 25 acp loaded already....

AG

[Bigslug]

Interesting thread. It makes me consider the .25 as a replacement for the 22LR in competition.

This IS an interesting concept to think about.

When you consider the negative attributes of the .22LR - heeled bullets, drawn cases, the case being crushed on one side to ignite it - it's rather mind-boggling what Eley, Lapua, SK Jagd/Wolf, and Federal are accomplishing. The un-recyclable nature of the case also seems to be turning into a detriment of late.

The .25ACP eliminates a lot of the potential variability, and, being rimless, it would stack a lot better in magazines. To my knowledge, nobody's ever made .25 brass with the attention to internal volume consistency that would be desirable for the game. Also, I think a less-hot primer designed specifically for little rounds (.380 and smaller) might be beneficial. Then of course we need guns that are designed for it - kinda hard to competitively shoot Bullseye matches with a Beretta 950.

My hat is off and I make a low, sweeping bow to you guys who ARE loading this midget. One of the things that I am coming to like about big, low-pressure rounds like the .45-70 is how they can still be amazing tack-drivers even fairly sizable variations in cases, charge, and boolit weight. I expect that few shooters of the .25 worry about such accuracy, but again, if we had a proper, match-grade launch platform, I'd be tempted to try.

As long as we're pondering such a thing, would we possibly want a slightly longer .25 "magnum" - something that can possibly run a 60-80 grain round, flat, or even SWC-nosed pill up to the slightly subsonic speeds of standard/match .22LR's? ****! I want this thing in a RIFLE!

[rintinglen]

Oh, man. I gave the 25 a try back in the late 80's--what a PITA! Those cases are TIINEE. And my fingers aren't all that big. You guys reloading them have my respect and admiration. But I'll stick with the 32 ACP as my bottom end on the reloading scale.

[BNE]

I've loaded jacketed for the 25 ACP. I did for my Dad and My uncle. I can't reccomend it. I had to take the smallest pistol powder die for the RCBS Little Dandy loader and added some epoxy to the cavity to get it to drop the 1.4 grains required. The brass is so little, they were not fun to load. They shot just fine, but it was a work out....

[Njal Thorgeirsson]

Half of the reason I wanted to ask about the .25 is simply because it would basically be a cast-able and reload-able equivalent to .22lr as a plinking round (albeit somewhat cheaper). I think my questions have certainly been answered- my best bet would be to come up with a real mould for it, as opposed to makeshift shot-based projectiles. At this point I should humbly admit that my skills and experience aren't quite where they should be to embark on such a finnicky project, but perhaps sometime in my future they will be :wink:

[evan price]

I picked up the Ranch Dog TL 6-cav Lee mold for the 25 acp. It makes nice boolits. I use 800-x powder for the 25. It meters badly but you have to take care to get it right so it's no big deal. I don't load a lot of em just a few for my Berettas.