Just got a RCBS 45 201 SWC Mold--any tips?

[Crash_Corrigan]

I went and threw my hat over the fence and finally got an iron mold. All my previous molding has been with Lee Aluminum molds. I know that there must be many different procedures for an iron mold vs a lighter alum one. I need a SWC bullet to punch holes in paper and the ones that I had been buying (yes I admit to buying some lead boolits in the past) always seemed to have feeding problems etc so I figured that maybe I could either seat them differently or something. Any body want to help me out here?

I will be reading :coffee: and hopefully casting some good boolits soon. Thanks,
Dan Corrigan

[David R]

You are gonna like that mold, just keep pourin em.

Seat the boolit so it headspaces on the front driving band and it ought to shoot best. Take the barrel out of the gun and make the rear of the case flush with the hood. Should shoot best.

David

[Dale53]

Classic target load is 3.5-4.0 grs of Bullseye. Full house load is 7.5 grs of Unique.

David gave you good advice on seating depth of bullet. It's pretty much a copy of the H&G #68. Good bullet.

Dale53

[eka]

That was the first mould I ever bought and used. It is a pleasure to own and produces good bullets easily.

[carpetman]

eka--You just got an RCBS mold and it's a pleasure to use and you are looking for tips? Throw the thing on the floor a few times,beat the sprue plate with a big hammmer,let it rust up and then you'll have something to gripe about and need to be asking questions. My real tip would be remember how well it works when you are buying your next mold.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Crash, David R has the right idea, headspacing .45 ACP SWC target loads on the front driving band. I size .452" and load 4.2 gr. WW 231. It seems to burn a little cleaner in my gold Cup, and accuracy is equal to 3.5 Bullseye. My mould is an H&G 68, but it's the same design as your RCBS. You will love casting with an RCBS mould, and you will probably be able to turn the heat down a little going from an aluminum mould to an iron one.

[Crash_Corrigan]

David R: I have a midway case gauge for this .45 acp however I also will try your suggestion and use the barrel as a case gauge. If I keep the OAL at 1.265 how do I know that I am headspacing on the front driving band? Should I smoke the chamber/throat of the barrel and look to see where the line is or? This not something I am familiar with. I am used to looking up a boolit in a loading chart and using the correct amount of powder (from the chart) seat the boolit to the specified OAL. I have a chrono and I use to compare what they say the test boolit did against what mine does. The Lee mold (a 6 banger) makes a RN boolit which when cast with straight ww and about 5 % 60/40 solder mixed in of about 208 GR. I have had success loading this one over 4.3 Gr. of Clays. I produces 840 FPS and is accurate. Assuming that this new mold makes a boolit of the same weight I plan to load it the same. I do have a fresh bottle/can/package of Accurate # 2 does anyone have a decent load for this combo?

[David R]

Crash,

I have never seen an over length 45 auto case. They are all too short and are supposed to headspace on the case mouth. If you headspace on the boolit driving band you should get better accuracy and better ignition which leads (leeds?) to better accuracy.

Basicly you will be setting the OAL like a rifle. Ignore what the book says and set it so the case is flush with the hood. When your gun locks up, the boolit will be in the "throat" and the primer will be against the breech face.

If you follow book OAL, It might not be the same and the loaded cartridge will be able to move in the chamber. This is not good for accuracy.

Have fun and good luck.
Let us know how it works out.
David

[Dale53]

Just a comment on the above excellent advice (headspacing on the front band). I have seen one or two .45 ACP's that had deep chambers. You cannot exceed magazine length. Like I said, over the years and hundreds of .45's, I have seen one or two that would not allow you to headspace on the front band. It does bear comment, however.

Dale53

[StarMetal]

We're like the guns rags, seems like we go over and over stuff. We just did this 45acp headspacing thingy back in 8-02-2005. Here's the thread:

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=1520&highlight=acp+headspacing

Joe

[mooman76]

You can't dip the mould in the lead to preheat like aluminum. I usually just set the mould close to the heat source to heat it up some or set it on the edge of the pot. Takes a little longer get your good bullets going but I think they usually come out a little nicer and drop out of the mould easier too!

[35remington]

I find that with this RCBS bullet I need a minimum of 4 grains Bullseye to function the action with 16 lb-18.5 lb. springs. 3.5 grains Bullseye is a good, mild load but I need a lighter spring to function the gun. Since I don't care to swap springs I go 4.0 Bullseye or more. These days I just load to standard velocity and shoot the ACP that way. My usual load is 5.0-5.2 grains Red Dot as it's economical, gives good velocities for the powder weight and is suitable for all bullets up to 230 grains. It's a bulky powder, taking up most of the room in the ACP case. If an accidental double charge would somehow occur it will get noticed, even when loading on my progressive.

As I recall, max OAL for the .45 ACP is 1.275." I seat mine to 1.255" and they feed and function very reliably-as reliable as ball in any of my .45 ACP automatics.

The Ruger P97 I own has rifling that starts right at the end of the chamber and cannot tolerate much protrusion of the bullet shoulder beyond the case mouth, but that's the only exception I've got. On that gun, the rifling grabs the bullet so hard (when some bullets are seated to a length that works in the 1911's) that it will pull the bullet from the case if you attempt to jack a loaded round out of the chamber.

[Blackwater]

My first iron mould was a Saeco Keith 2-cav. for my .44, and it was a revellation. As Mooman said, it took longer to heat up, but once up to temp, it was, and is, a castin' fool. It was more forgiving if I had to pause a few minutes for something. When I'd get back to the pot, a couple of pours and it was back to casting as good as when I got my rhythm going.

I have about 15 iron moulds, now, and love them. Love aluminum moulds, too, even most of the Lees I have.

Your next step is a 6-cavity Lee, if you don't already have one. That was a revellation as well. This group will corrupt ya', but don't worry. It's FUN being corrupted this way! :drinks: