Loading for 1911 45

[Char-Gar]

A word about crimping; Take a fresh factory load and a micrometer and measure the case mouth and just behind it. You will fine the case is not straight, but have a crimp on the mouth. It has been done this way for the entire production life of the round which is over a century and billions and billions of rounds.

There is a reason for this. To ignore this is to ask for a bullet to be shoved down in the case creating an over pressure situation. Feeding is also enhanced. You will also note that on many factory loads there is a crimp below the bullet to help keep it from being shoved down in the case. Take the issue of keeping the bullet where it belongs, as it strikes the feed ramp, with the seriousness it deserves.

Here is how you adjust a taper crimp die for the proper taper crimp on a loaded 45 ACP round.

1. Take a factory loaded round and with it in the shell holder run the press ram up to it's highest point.

2. Take a taper crimp die and run it down on the factory round as hard as you can using hand pressure only.

3. Set the die crimp ring and you are done. Your rounds will now have the correct taper crimp to match factory ammo. You are good to go.

Now about cast trimming. For most uses trimming 45 ACP cases is not necessary. However if you are loading for ultimate accuracy, then trimming the cases to a uniform length will help you achieve your goal. Uniform case length, means uniform crimp, which means uniform bullet tension and release, which means better accuracy.

Loading the 45 ACP round for the 1911 pistol is very straightforward and problem free. However, when folks try and get creative in their loading, all kinds of issues may be introduced.

I have several sets of 45 ACP dies which I use for 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim and 45 Cowboy Special. They are all RCBS dies.

[halvey]

I loaded lots and lots of .45 on my Dillon. Used 3.5 Bullseye with either a 185 or 200 SWC. OAL was right at the top of the wax line.

Just retired this week and my kids surprised me with a Sig Sauer 1911 Target. I've been long guns only for the last 30 years and never did have a semi-auto. The plan is to run cast only. I've got healthy supplies of Solo1000,International Clays, Universal 800x, and long shot. Partial bottles of Green Dot and Unique. Going to order Lee mold for for 200 gr RF or TC bullet to get started. Any brand of load dies to avoid? Since I've never loaded for an auto round are there any traps I should be aware of?

[Texas by God]

I'm with CharGar & DustyBannister on this one. I spent a month in 1979 learning what NOT to do loading the .45 ACP. Since then it's been a breeze. 5grs Bullseye/no trimming/200-230gr boolit.
Best, Thomas.

[Engineer1911]

I bought this pistol, used, at Gander Mountain store closing sale a week ago. I'm a happy shooter.

Buy McCormick 'Shooting Star' mags, included directions say: "OAL = 1.250" with 200 gr SWC" and "Crimp diameter (at case mouth) = 0.469" +0.001"

You will not have a feeding problem.

Bullet mold: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/336035/lee-6-cavity-bullet-mold-452-200-swc-45-acp-45-auto-rim-45-colt-long-colt-452-diameter-200-grain-semi-wadcutter

Carefully remove the "bevel base" from the mold with a new blade in a utility knife. You will have a flat base bullet that weighs 217 grains. Works great in a Lyman sizer @ 0.452" diameter sizer, loads very easily, and is accurate. It took me about 10 minutes to remove the bevel base feature and cast approximately a 1,000 bullets per hour. My Lyman 45 acp molds were carefully cleaned, oiled, and retired.

[fredj338]

Thanks for the information guys. Question, how often do you trim 45 acp cases? I've ordered load dies, NOE size bushing and expander, a couple Lee Molds to try out, but forgot the case trimmer pilot. Don't really want to pay shipping for just the pilot, so will probably wait till I order something else or find one in a store

I have probably loaded & shot 100k rds of 45acp in 4-5 diff 1911s. You NEVER need to trim a service pistol case, they just don't grow. OAL will ALWAYS be bullet & barrel specific, always, regardless of data.

[edadmartin]

Great tip on how to get a factory like taper crimp!
I started reloading in 2010. So far ive only loaded 45acp, i like the MBC 200 gr lswc .ive always loaded with AA-2 i started out at 4.4 and laddered up to 5.2 the rabbit fart load was to smoky for the in door range i belong to ive never cronoed the 5.2 id guess 850 ish. At 5.2 it still a mediun recoil and less smoky and my practice distance is 10-14 yards and accuracy is very ��.Im almost out of AA-2 and will try red dot next ,probably start at 4.0 with that powder . I shoot once a week and have met many greater shooters than myself, and all of them are great people.

[S.B.]

I've shot some of my .45 ACP cases I suppose 20 times and have never trimmed them?
Steve

[David2011]

Try for an OAL of around1.2- 1.250 give or take.

I've had good results with a SWC and that OAL as well. (The max OAL of 1.275 for .45 ACP only applies with John Browning's original bullet profile. The inside of the magazine is contoured to match the original bullet. A TC or SWC seated to the max OAL won't even fit in the magazine.)

I've not had success with the Lee 200 RF feeding reliably in my 45. The 230 TC however feeds like a house afire. The only time it has not fed was when the gun failed to extract and jammed the gun up. I use 3.3 grains of Tite Wad makes about 750 fps, a good target load. 4.5 grains of Tite Groups is a good target load too. 4.5-5 grains of Green Dot ain't shabby either

The truncated cone makes contact with the feed ramp and chamber at pretty much the same points as the original bullet does. It was designed to feed the same as the original ball ammo.

A 200gr LSWC with a thumbnail thickness of shoulder showing above the case mouth works well for me.

This is very important IMO. If the square edge of the mouth of the brass doesn't have a little boolit ahead of it then jams are far more likely. Out of curiosity I measured my thumbnail and the width of the exposed shoulder on some of my loaded rounds. Both were between .020" and .025".

One nice thing about loading for the 1911 is the ability to tune it to what you want. If you get the accuracy, feed and recoil the way you want it but ejection unreliable it's easy to swap to a lighter recoil spring. You don't have to put up with full house loads in the 1911 unless you really want to.

One other thing: I have never seen a .45 ACP case that was too long.

[lightman]

Congratulations on your retirement! It sounds like you have some great kids.

I can't think of anything that has not been covered. My load is a H&G 68 clone weighing around 200 grains and between 3.5 and 5.0 grains of 231. If you are loading on a progressive machine, beware of double charges. This is a fast burning powder and the case can hold 2 charges. There are other powders that are more bulky and will fill the case, eliminating the possibility of double charges, but I'm still using 231.

[halvey]

When I shot IDPA, I'd shoot 1000's of rounds a year. I have never trimmed.

I've shot some of my .45 ACP cases I suppose 20 times and have never trimmed them?
Steve

[S.B.]

My limiting factor for .45ACPs was I wanted to be sure and make major power factor in IPSC?
Steve

[ioon44]

I use VV N 310 with a 200 gr SWC coated with Hi-Tek to make Major PF for IDPA / IPSC , this is a really clean and accurate load.

[JimB..]

Your new 1911 has been built to tighter tolerances that those of a decade ago. Perhaps this increases accuracy and longevity, but a certain percentage of shooters find that it reduces reliability especially for the first 1,000 rounds. It is more expensive, but you may find it more enjoyable to purchase 230gr FMJ bullets to load your first rounds rather than introducing the variables associated with loading a home-cast WC. Once you know that the gun is running well with what it was designed for it'll be easier to interpret and adjust as you experiment with your cast loads.

But that's just me, other folks like to introduce all the variables at once.

good luck, and congrats on your retirement!
Jim

[tazman]

I, apparently, am in the second group. I introduced the 200 grain SWC after only 200-300 rounds of 230 grain round nose.
I guess I must have hit the jackpot with the OAL since the gun still hasn't malfunctioned. Or maybe I just got a really good pistol(Springfield Armory Mil-Spec).

[JimB..]

Having run a few hundred 230gr FMJ rounds first, and using SWC rather than WC, puts you firmly in the first group. You'll have to find another way to be a rebel.

[William Yanda]

I read on the internet that testing 45 acp cases to failure they actually grew shorter. Read it on the internet so it has to be true doesn't it? I cannot recall the explanation, but it runs counter to bottle necked, high pressure load experience.

[JimB..]

Theory is that pressure in a bottle-necked case pushes forward on the shoulder and back on the base while the straight-walled case doesn't have this. Also, rifle tends to be higher pressure so brass holds more firmly against the chamber walls so more stretching.

Not sure why it would get shorter, but above is what I've been told about why it doesn't tend to get longer.

[Whitespider]

Hmmmm.......
My recently purchased 1911 has never seen a jacketed bullet... after a simple extractor tension adjustment reliability has been 100%.
I often wonder where the theory that a few jacketed bullets run through a new gun will improve the cast boolit experience... the only experience it's ever provided me is cleaning the copper fouling from the barrel.
In all seriousness I have several guns that have never seen a jacketed bullet (mostly handguns)... my Star Firestar .40 has never seen one either, and it has fed cast SWC boolits without stoppages from day one.
*

[tazman]

Having run a few hundred 230gr FMJ rounds first, and using SWC rather than WC, puts you firmly in the first group. You'll have to find another way to be a rebel.

Actually all but 50 of the first 300 were cast 230 round nose but I suspect you are right about the last part.

[ole_270]

Made it through the one box of fmj that came with the Sig, then the brown truck showed up. New dies and a Lee 452-200 swc, H&G 68 clone, comes close to putting me in business. Took some time tuning up the mold and got started making bullets. This double cavity is pretty picky so far, need to check venting on the top side. I used a jewelers file to break the top edges between the blocks but pour speed and sprue size need to be just so to get consistent base fill out. While waiting on a pot refill to heat up, I got a couple hundred powder coated. I don't have the bullet size bushing yet and being anxious to get the lead flying, I put a couple light coats of BLL on a few as cast bullets. From the mold they mic .4535-.4545 so figured I could get away with it. Loaded two bullets with 5 grains Solo 1000 after they were mostly dry, set the seating depth to show about .02 of the shoulder above the case(1.24 oal), and the taper crimp to .470. Plunk test might even be slightly deep. Loaded both in the magazine, racked the slide and gave them a try. No troubles at all, only two rounds but it's looking good so far. Couple patches with Eds Red are all it took to clean it. Hopefully the size bushing gets here tomorrow so I can get this thing lined out. Thanks to all for the help and suggestions