BHN Just wondering

[Hooker53]

Just wondering what most are setting their hardness at for .45 ACP shot under 900 FPS? I have a bunch that came out at 10.4. I thought my mix would have gave me around 14 but think these COWW were a little softer then the last batch I did. I think they will be alright but also thought I would put it out and see what they norm is. I know it depends some on the barrel and what it likes but ya gotta start somewhere. Thanks.

Roy.

[gtgeorge]

Good batch for 45 acp and can be even softer. Mine are always under 11 and run between 8.5 and 10.5 with great accuracy and absolutely no leading.

[Hooker53]

Hey thanks gt. do you tumble lube yours? I have Bullseye and Titegroup but do t know which I will use yet. I like for my cast to sit arou d for a week or two before even sizing, so these might go out a little higher. Me and my oldest girl shot some of my first .357 Mag cast last weekend end and was very pleased. They were Lee 158 SWC with a GC and the hardness was around 14.

[gtgeorge]

I make a beeswax based lube through a star sizer and shoot 100's a week like it. As long as they fit the barrel they should do well for you too. I am not a fan of titegroup and use more WST than anything. The Bullseye is supposed to be a great choice for it but wasn't my favorite. I also am a fan of Red Dot and even Trail Boss.

[Hooker53]

GT. I do like all the DOT powders myself but right now, I'm just glad to have what I have in the way of powders. Lol.

[Down South]

I mix my 45 acp alloy to around 10 BHN. You could go softer if you wanted to.
My powder of choice for the 45 acp is Bullseye, but I have a lot of Bullseye. You could use a number of other powders depending on availability.

I mix 50/50 COWW/Pure to get approximately 10 BHN.

[RobS]

The 45 ACP boolit can be a wide variety of BHN as the caliber is a lower pressure round that makes it quite easy to work softer alloy and can even shoot "harder" alloyed boolits equally well. If you are not getting leading and accuracy is good then the alloy is working for you. Try and see.

[DrCaveman]

I started off using coww + a little tin a few years ago, and it has been working so well, i dont dare mix it up.

However, im having a lot of success cutting my wheel weights with pure lead, about 50/50, and that seems to be a very popular alloy for 45 acp and also 38. Might try it in my acp soon.

The answer youre looking for seems to be: it's a very flexible cartridge. Use what you have available, and tweak it to make it work. You'll get good results

[C. Latch]

The other day I shot some .45 ACPs into water. The first was a Noe 452-230-hp cast from SOWW, at ~900'. The next was the same bullet, but from 50/50+~2% pewter, at 800'.

Put them side by side and I can't tell which one was which. Both expanded fully but stopped when peeled back to the bottom of the cavity. Both retained more-or-less all of their weight.

The problem I'm finding with the softer bullets, though, is that they deform on the feed ramp, and accuracy goes south.

[bangerjim]

I use 9-10 for all pistols that are sub-sonic. And powder coat them, so hardness is not such a big deal anymore.

No leading!

bangerjim

[243winxb]

Chamber a round, eject, check for damage to the bullets from the feed ram. If damage, you alloy is to soft.

[Hooker53]

Thanks 243. That's a good simple one. I will check that one tomorrow. All the answers I got were good info and thanks to all of ya for stopping in. I think I'm gonna like the. 45 ACP end of this venture. Wink. After I tangle around with this for awhile, it's on to 9mm.


Chamber a round, eject, check for damage to the bullets from the feed ram. If damage, you alloy is to soft.