.45 ACP 1911 & 250 gr. boolits

[NoAngel]

The RCBS 250 is the ONLY cast bullet I've ever tried that cycles reliably in my little PT145.

AA Nitro 100 NF works very well for me. Quite accurate and cycles 99.5%, which, for a Taurus is dang good.

[454PB]

I just reviewed my chronograph notes.... Lyman 454190 sized .452", cast in ACWW alloy 265 grains, 6.0 grs. Hercules Unique, CCI 300 primers, fired in my Llama .45 ACP, 865 fps. avg. velocity. Also in my notes was the fact that it hit 3" lower than my normal sight settings. These are pretty stout loads, and I don't shoot a lot of them.

[kawasakifreak77]

Awesome. I have some 255 flat nose store bought bullets leftover from a friend's 45 colt stash & was curious about loading them.

IMR 7625 is between Unique & Herco I see so I'm hoping to build up a load using that, as it meters so well.

& what in the world is .45-08? A .308 shortened & shoehorned into some form of a .45?

[curator]

Lee .452-255FP cast from ACWW and sized .453 over 6.5 grains of Unique gives 880 fps from my Springfield Mil-spec 1911. Getting the right seating depth is a bit tricky with that large meplat so that rounds fit the magazine and feed/chamber reliably. I have replaced the standard 16 pound recoil spring with a 20 pound one so I don't beat the frame and slide with the extra recoil. Accuracy is outstanding--better in fact than any other cast boolit or factory "hardball."

[C. Latch]

I have replaced the standard 16 pound recoil spring with a 20 pound one so I don't beat the frame and slide with the extra recoil.

It doesn't work that way. A 20# spring may well make the slide's trip rearward much gentler, but the return forward is going to be downright violent. You're killing your gun.

Have you considered using the stock spring rate with the addition of an oversized, small-radius firing pin stop? That's what I have done with my 1911s and they run well with light target loads and with loads hotter than your 255s, and everything in between.

[StrawHat]

...Have you considered using the stock spring rate with the addition of an oversized, small-radius firing pin stop? ...

Being new to 1911s, I have heard this before (also a flat bottomed something or other). How does this improve the pistol?

I have a Series 80 and so far resisted making alterations until I fire it a lot more and see what it does or doesn't like. But I am considering what could/should be done to make it reliable.

[C. Latch]

If you look at a side view of the interface between the FPS and the hammer, you'll see that it's the FPS that pushes the hammer to the cocked position as the action cycles during recoil. With a deep radius, the FPS pushes from a higher spot on the hammer, giving it a greater mechanical advantage, making it easier to cock the hammer, meaning that the pistol expends less recoil energy cocking the hammer, leaving more energy to operate the slide.

Change to a FPS with a lower-sitting radius, and the mechanical leverage over the hammer is reduced (as the pressure point sits closer to the axis around which the hammer rotates) and more recoil energy is used up in cocking the hammer, leaving less to operate the slide, meaning less leftover energy to batter the frame at the end of the slide's rearward travel.

[littlejack]

Latch:
Very well explained.
Jack

[StrawHat]

If you look at a side view of the interface between the FPS and the hammer, you'll see that it's the FPS that pushes the hammer to the cocked position as the action cycles during recoil. With a deep radius, the FPS pushes from a higher spot on the hammer, giving it a greater mechanical advantage, making it easier to cock the hammer, meaning that the pistol expends less recoil energy cocking the hammer, leaving more energy to operate the slide.

Change to a FPS with a lower-sitting radius, and the mechanical leverage over the hammer is reduced (as the pressure point sits closer to the axis around which the hammer rotates) and more recoil energy is used up in cocking the hammer, leaving less to operate the slide, meaning less leftover energy to batter the frame at the end of the slide's rearward travel.

Thank you, a little beyond my ken, but I will study it and understand.

[Good Cheer]

Isn't the best way to have a bullet of approximately 230 grains that is designed to feed reliably as well as mushroom without applying excessive force to the firearm?

[Good Cheer]

That's some really weirdo chemical plant piping recovered alloy. Check out this broken ingot.