Shooting soft lead in 45acp

[mjwcaster]

Over the years I have read about people successfully shooting soft lead in 45acp.

My issue is bullets sizing down in the case.

My latest batch of range scrap is softer than usual, giving me some issues. I finally broke down and picked up a set of staedler art pencils.
This lead tests at 4B, not sure what other batches were.
It is definitely softer as I use a lead ingot to pound my kinetic bullet pulled on and an ingot from this new batch is getting dented up fast, unlike other batches.

So how have people had success with very soft lead in 45acp?

If it is soft enough does it just obturate to seal the bore?

I do not really crimp my rounds, just enough to remove the taper plus a thousand or two for good measure.

And am using the standard Dillon expander (powder through die)

I size to .452.
A batch that I heat treated and water dropped hardened up enough in a week or two to not get sized down in the case.

The air cooled batches are still sizing down, unevenly, with one portion still going under .450 often enough to concern me.

I think the sizing down is now in the crimp stage, earlier in aging they were sizing down more and in the seating stage also.

I would just mix up harder lead or heat treat this batch but I am trying to understand how others can shoot soft lead successfully.
I have read repeatedly if people claiming the can run anything harder than pure in the 45.


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[mjwcaster]

My current plan is to get my 45 spotless, there is still a little lead fouling from earlier.

Then load up test batches from these soft boolits and see if they lead.
I have 2 batches, one tumbled with recluse and another with hitek.

I have had a confusing year casting with issues of contaminated lead, bad hitek and now this soft batch.
So I am just experimenting trying to learn more.

Just like my old unlubed boolits test came in as handy knowledge this year.
I realized that I had an issue with my hitek coating after loading almost 1k of 380.
They lead badly.
No problem, I knew from previous testing that if I alternate between recluse lubed and unlubed (or badly lubed) boolits I could keep leading to a minimum, if not eliminate it.

And some people were critical of my unintentional unlubed experiments, but it gave me knowledge that allows me to safely use this batch up.


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[Dusty Bannister]

If the case is being sized down too much, and the expander is not opening up the case enough, it will size the bullet. So it would seem you might want to use a slightly larger/longer expander. I am not familiar with Dillon so do not know if you can adjust the depth that the expander enters the case or not. Might be time to find a source for that particular part to fill your need. As you are probably aware, opening up the case too deeply might allow the bullet to set back when cycling and that would not be desirable.

[OS OK]

Experimenting with 9 BHN HP's I put a .454" .45 Colt Cowboy expanding mandrel in front of the powder measure. The cases don't stay that size and shrink back a tad depending on mfgr. & how work hardened the cases are from multiple loadings. I taper crimp as you do by adding a thousandth or two, just enough so that the case ID bites into the PC coating & that's all. You see a standard taper crimp as the last station...no carbide whatchamacallit sizing gizmo.



I use PC not hiTec so no help there. My casts stay @ .4523" as sized after using the inertia puller to pull them and re-measure.
9 BHN works fine for the HP's @ 915 FPS av. and they expand pretty well too...they don't shed their weight.





Stopping barrel leading is mostly about fit to the barrel, assuming the barrel has no problems. I think these low pressure platforms work very well with soft lead.

[Dan Cash]

I cast at 20:1 more or less for all my pistol and revolver loads. .45 ACP bullets drop at .454 and are fired as cast. Ammo is loaded on Dillon 550 with Dillon dies and bullets pulled after loading measure .4535 +/-. The shoot well through several 1911s including Kimber and Colts.