Round ball in 45acp?

[Texxut]

I load cast 230 grn (Wheel weight) bullets in 45 acp and I cast round ball 451" 140grn (pure lead) for my 44 caliber black powder revolver. Has anyone ever loaded cast round ball in 45 acp ? I can't find any loads for round ball in any of my loading books. I was thinking of a very light load for my 1911. I'd probably need a reduced power main spring.

[Wolfer]

I loaded some 454 ball for my Ballaster Molina. I'm sure I used clays but I dont remember how much. Cycled the action just fine but wasn't quite as accurate as my 228 round nose boolits. For me small game loads must be accurate above all else

[rockrat]

Loaded some back in the 70's. shot very well. IIRC, I got the info from a Handloader magazine. Would have been late '73 or '74 I think. IIRC, I did have to use a slightly shortened spring

[jimwill48]

Yup, do it all the time for my Marlin Camp Carbine...found a light charge of Bullseye with a RB is very accurate out to 25 yards plus will cycle the action with the factory spring.

[Texxut]

Thanks for the input guys.
Did you guys use RB cast of pure lead or of wheel weights /Lyman #2 ?

[rhbrink]

If you go over to castpics. in the article or loading section there is a article for shooting round ball loads and I believe that there is some 45 ACP loads listed. I can't tell just exactly where they are I looked them up a couple of months ago you might have search around a bit.

RB

[Texxut]

Thanks RB, I'll go check it out.

[PS Paul]

I looked over the whole Castpics site and could not find the article on round ball loads? Probably just missing something,but if one of you fellas has better success than me, please post the link?
Thanks!
Paul

[Artful]

http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Rou...ll%20Loads.pdf

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...cast-roundball

from AKABEAGLE

two ball loads are possible in the .45 ACP case. They don't do well past 25 yards as the weight is light.

To make them, take some .451" round balls and "bump" them in a .452" sizing die. This gives you a "wafer" that's .452" in diameter and flat on both sides.

Then take another batch of .451" RBs and install a #374 top punch in your sizer. Again, bump them to the point where the top assumes a round profile and the bottom is flat.

Dip in Lee's liquid alox cut with lighter fluid or alcahol and let dry.

Load the flat ball using the expander stem of the M die as a seater. Then seat the second ball on top using the regular seater and apply a light taper crimp.

I use a flat top punch for a lot of bullet moulds. A Lyman #348 for the 429348 works well on .45 bullets for flattening both sides. On the sizer die, remove the center punch and place the flat side up. Normally the concave side is up. This insures two more or less flat sides.

Normally, I'll turn my own top punches on a drill press with a file as I don't own a lathe.

Adjust the bottom stop until the ram is about 1/16" from the die with the bullet in the sizing die. This will give you about 1/16" of bump. Obviously, soft lead is best for this. I use WW alloy cut with a bar of pure lead. If both sides flatten, you're in luck. If not, you may have to adjust the bottom stop screw up a bit. You'll end up with a disk that's flat on both sides, has a bore diameter surface about 3/16" thick and rounded corners in between.

The second ball is formed in the same manner except that you use a RN TP to form a conical ball instead of a wafer.

The second (or conical ball) is seated just deeply enough into the case so that it will stay in place with a light taper crimp.

When you seat the first ball, seat it about 1/8" below the case mouth. Then, the top ball will seat it farther down and they'll still be in contact. You have to remember that the .45 ACP is a small capacity case and you don't want to take up more space than you have to on account of pressure due to the short seating depth. The finished cartridge will have the appearance of a .45 ACP cartridge loaded with about a 185 grain cast bullet such as a Lyman 452389.

Bumping round balls to full diameter is the key to accuracy in single round ball loads. All of this is work intensive but kind of fun on the range.

These rounds should feed and chamber in a M1911A1. You'll have to play around with the powder to find a load that will function as I was shooting mine through a Blackhawk convertible. keep us posted on the results./beagle

I have only used two round balls in 45 Colt - made myself a 12 shooter for balloon shoot at the rod & gun club - and NO it wasn't cheating - just thinking outside the box.

[PS Paul]

Thanks, Artful. Gonna take a look cuz I ahve been considering loading up a few boxes of round balls I've "accumulated" in my .45 Colt....