Cast in 45ACP

[dale2242]

What is your favorite powder for cast bullets in the 45ACP and why? I have been shooting lyman 452460 with Bullseye and WAP.---dale

[krag35]

Unique, because I have lots of it

[MGD]

Bullseye and the H&g #68, Have also been playing with a NEI 230 Truncated Cone and Longshot. Because I have lots of Longshot.

[wiljen]

5gr of bullseye behind the 452374 - accurate in all my 45s
or 4.8gr of Titegroup behind a Rcbs 200 SWC - very mild very accuarate load (and clean)

[dubber123]

Bullseye and the Lee 228 1R round nose from a 6 cavity. 4.5 grs. equals factory 230 gr. ballistics in my gun. 15,000 rounds so far, very dependable.

[Ricochet]

AA/Scot Nitro 100, because I have a bottle of it I'm using up. (It's a lot like Red Dot.) When that runs out, surplus #102 (see AA #2) will become my new favorite, because I have a good supply of it. Got some AA #5 that'll likely find its way in there, too. I've used lots of Unique and Blue Dot in .45 Auto. This cartridge will work well with a wide variety of powders. If you can't make any shotgun powder or any fast to medium burning pistol powder shoot well in it, there's something wrong besides the powder. Originally it was loaded with Bullseye, that was the standard for most US factory loads for many decades (and probably still is), and it would be impossible to go wrong with that. If I were going out to buy new powder for it, I'd pick up a jug or two of Alliant Promo, because it's cost effective. (Basically cheap Red Dot.)

[kycrawler]

i use bullseye or promo behind a lee 230 tumble lube bullet getting ready to buy a 6 cav tc mould next

[MtGun44]

I used to use 4.7 Bullseye under a 200 H&G 68 clone, or 5.8 W231 under
same bullet for IPSC, about 300-400K of those downrange. Good loads
decently accurate, 100% reliability and easily make 'major'.

More recently I have been using 4.8 Titegroup with same bullet, LOA of
1.250" and taper crimp to push half of the brass thickness into the front
driving band. All my 1911s used to use 1.260 LOA, until the Dan Wesson
came along and has too short/tight a throat so I had to shorten the
LOA 0.010".

The most accurate load ever used has been 452460 under 3.5 of Bullseye,
which shoots about 1" or a hair over at 25 yds in CZ Dan Wesson Pointman
7. This load surprised me by feeding fine (short nose SWC) and cycling
the action with normal springs. Doesn't eject very far at all, but works.

[jrfixer]

I have been using 4.9Gr of Unique with a ~230Gr bullet and OAL of ~1.210 for punching paper with my P220R3-EQ.

Here are a few pictures of my latest batch





JR

[Ricochet]

We use the same main .45 mould and lead pot, JR.

[jrfixer]

We use the same main .45 mould and lead pot, JR.

Great minds think alike

JR

[monadnock#5]

Unique, because I have lots of it

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[fecmech]

452460 and practically any safe amount of Bullseye under it gives excellent accuracy.

[Navahojoe]

Bullseye, Unique and titegroup, because I like them, all are reliable for me, and I have a good supply of those powders.
regards,
NavahoJoe

[22cf45]

Dale
After shooting competitive bullseye pistol for 30 years, I have come to conclusion that it generally it gets no better than Bullseye for the powder of choice. In fact, I have shot the load you use for many years, however, in the last few years I've switched to a 185 gr bullet.

Through a Ransom Rest, my bullseye loads consistently shoot 10 rounds in groups less than 2" with most around 1.5" at 50 yards. When I am ready to choose a powder, I make uploads with different powders and charge weights and shoot them in a Ransom Rest. I let that tell me which powder to use. If they ceased making bullseye, I would look to either WST or maybe Clays. I know Bulleye is somewhat dirtier that some other powders, it doesn't have a column for that on the scorecard.
Phil

[Mk42gunner]

I have always liked 231 because it meters so well.


Robert

[dale2242]

A friend gave me can of WAP. Have been shooting 7gr.of WAP. 4.5 gr Bullseye was the load of choice before I put in an 18.5# spring and buffer. I started at 3.5 gr Bullseye and worked up until the cases would eject far enough not to hit me. 4.5 gr was enough until the new spring. Guess when I shoot up the WAP, I will have bump the load up a little to meet my ejection criteria. I have a couple of lbs each of Bullseye, Unique and Blue Dot. BTW I really like Blue Dot for medium to heavy loads in the 357 Mag and 44 Mag. Thanks for the input guys.---dale

[Ricochet]

I started using Blue Dot in the mid-70s because Speer listed it with the highest muzzle velocity with the old 200 gr. "Flying Ashtray" hollowpoints. I think about half of it doesn't burn, but it mostly blows clear of the muzzle. It's inefficient, but if you're using it in other calibers, reducing the number of powders you keep in stock may be a worthy goal. Myself, I'm now gravitating to the very fast burning powders for my non-Magnum (or below-max Magnum) loads.

[MSgtUSMC]

Make mine RCBS 225 LRN & 5.5 W231.

[35remington]

Red Dot.

High bulk avoids double charges. Fills case well, so less position sensitive. Gets more velocity with less charge weight than the vast majority of powders used for the .45 ACP, including both the popular and unpopular ones, so it's economical to shoot. More consistent velocities than most powders, even those that supposedly "meter better."

Available everywhere. Pretty clean burning too.