A tale of 3 H&G 45 boolits

[crabo]

Here is a picture of my 3 H&G 45 bullets.

1. S68 is a 185 swc
2. 68 is a 200 swc
3. 34 is a 230 GI Ball

Every 45 I have and the ones my friends shoot with me, all feed the 68 200swc without a problem. My question is why would I want the 230 GI ball bullet? Is the answer a, b, or c

a. Just in case I find a strange 45 that won't feed the 200 swc
b. For full moon clips for a 45 acp revolver or
c. something I haven't thought of

Of course I am thinking b because I don't have a 45acp revolver. (at the moment) What do you think?

Crabo

[JCherry]

The answer is you don't need it.

PM my for my address and mail it to me for proper disposal.

Have Fun,

JCherry

[ANeat]

Sometimes you just have to shoot some 230's (at least I do) At those times you could do a lot worse than the H&G.

Before you send it to JC I could use it for a few days to stock up ;)

[BruceB]

My first baby steps in hand-loading, forty years ago, also involved casting bullets from a frying pan on the kitchen stove.

These were 452374s, the Lyman 230 round-nose. The cartridge was (of course) the .45 ACP.

Having loaded and cast for the .45 ACP continuously since then, I worked through quite a few bullet designs until I "finally finalized" my cast-bullet choice as the same 452374 that I started with. This was just a couple of years ago, and I have a 4-cavity Lyman which cranks out bullets by the thousand.

Why the 374?

-it works in ANY .45 ACP firearm that I've ever fired.

-it shoots to the sights of virtually anything I've used, fixed sights or not.

-it duplicates the velocity and energy of the 230-grain factory hollowpoints I carry for defensive use, as well as having the same nominal point of impact.

-it also "looks" right, the way the grand old round was originally designed and used over the 100+ years since its introduction(this is a weak excuse, I'll admit).

-it's ACCURATE.

I just like it.

[NVcurmudgeon]

+1 to what BruceB said. Also, 452374 may be more accurate than my beloved H&G 68 at long rock plinking range. Even though my late fifties vintage 452374 is a mere single cavity, it partly compensates for lack of capacity by being one of my easiest dropping moulds.

I wonder why you aren't asking, "Who needs the S68?" I have loaded .45ACP in revolvers and autos since 1959 or 1960 and NEVER got a 185SWC to shoot as accurately as a 200, especially at 50 yd. (Just donned the asbestos coveralls, flame if you must.)

[Jack Stanley]

I have a couple of H&G molds that make a stubby semi wadcutter , not the 68 and can,t remember the number . The other H&G that makes nearly all of my forty-five bullets is the 292 (I think) . It's very accurate and ........... well , what Bruce said :Fire:
I think the stubby bullets would be nice if you wanted light recoil or was short on lead .

Jack

[38 Super Auto]

My question is why would I want the 230 GI ball bullet?


c. something I haven't thought of

Crabo

Crabo, good looking boolits. I think it's c. It depends what you like to shoot. If you have ever shot bowling pin matches, a heavy .45 bullet is ideal to clear pins off the table. A 12 guage slug works well also. :-D

[dubber123]

I shoot twice a month in a falling plates match, which includes 5 heavy poppers. Sometimes they get set a little hard, I shoot the Lee 2281R and like the extra boolit weight. Sometimes a 9mm or 40 will just clang them, and stand them upright, and the .45 with 230's will knock them over. The short nosed Lee feeds great in my Springfield, about 17,000 rounds thus far. About 4,500 with nothing more than a chamber brushing, and squirting it full of oil. My filthy gun is 100% reliable as long as you get the lead out of the chamber every couple thousand rounds.

[hammerhead357]

I donno about a,b or c but I wish I still had my 8 cavity #34 just because ya can't get them anymore except used. Mine was very well used but in excellent shape but my ex got the darned thing in the divorce. Oh well such as it goes......Wes

[MakeMineA10mm]

Hi Crabo. Nice moulds!

How did you get a H&G 68 without the bevel base? (Mine have the BB on them...)

If all you're guns shoot the 68 fine, then you don't need the other two moulds. I've found the 68 to be a very forgiving bullet when it comes to feeding; however, one must remember it was built for the 1911. It also feeds well in my Glock 21, but then, it feeds empty cases, so ANY bullet should feed well in that thing!

The 34 is not exactly like the govt. profile hardball bullet. I think it is more of a 1R bullet, though it does appear to have a little taper-out towards the shoulder. Also, the shoulder isn't really hardball-like... Still, if it works, it works...

I agree with the others here that 200grs seems to shoot best in the 45, but my shooting isn't good enough to tell that difference! (I've watched the Bullseye guys though, and they like the 200s...)


Personally, I have the Lyman 452374 (225gr Hardball duplicate nose profile) for feed reliability in everything, including a Thompson. It feeds in everything. If it doesn't, then I know there's something wrong with the gun...

I also have the H&G 68 for target, and, to be honest, I used to load them for self-defense loads. Also, they don't make bad small-game-harvesting loads either, and I've felled a few tasty rabbits to a 45 w/ 68s. When our club was running them, it was also my pin-match bullet.

[crabo]

10MM, I call the 34 a GI Ball design because that is what H&G calls it. I was real lucky to get my H&G molds. I posted an ad at the gun range and said I wanted to buy used casting equipment. About 5 months later, a guy called me and told me that he was going to get out of casting. He told me he had some H&G molds. I met him and bought the ones he had. I took all the money I could afford to spend, and it was barely enough. The 34 is a 4 cavity, and the 68s are 6 cavity. I also got a 4 cavity BB 38 wadcutter and a 6 cavity 32 wadcutter.

CRabo

[Ken O]

I shot only the 200gr swc for ISPC and IDPA competition until a couple years ago when I got a S&W 625. I learned real quick that the SWCs just don't find the cylinder holes when reloading on the run. The 452734 is what works for me in the revolver. I still like the SWCs in the 1911s