.45 ACP Bullseye shooting powders

[wv109323]

As stated there are several powders that work fine in .45 acp. Powder is not the most important aspect of accurate .45 acp loads. Make sure your cast boolits are well filled out at the base with a sharp corner after sixing. Also make sure the base is flat with no voids. Next is a TAPER crimp of .469- .470 for the 200 g. Boolit. Lighter boolits of 185 and 160 g. require a taper crimp of .465-.466".
WST should work though I have never tried it. Powders I have proven are Bullseye, WW 231, Solo 1000, WW452 and VV310. All these are capable of less than 2" at 50 yards out of a Ransom rest.
I use Bullseye because it meters well in a progressive press and the last I bought was a special deal at Camp Perry. I bought 8# for $120.
I load 4.2 g of Bullseye with my cast 68 H&G with a taper crimp of .469. I have a slide mounted Ultradot with a 10# recoil spring. The old standard load was 3.5 g of Bullseye with iron sights.
You will not be able to tell a difference in loads shooting offhand because the error of the shooter far exceeds the actual difference in loads.

[Mr Peabody]

I've been using Winchester 244 with very good results and it's very available around here

[Walks]

I started My reloading on My own with Bullseye in .38Spl. For an old Victory M&P. I picked up an older 1911 as My next handgun. I used Bullseye in it too.
When I got home from overseas I bought a New Series 70 Colt. I knuckled down for some serious shooting.
Dad ramped and throated the Colt and gave Me a #452488 1cav.
Many, many thousands of that bullet cast from a 4cav and and old Saeco pot were propelled by BULLSEYE shot into one hole groups.
I've used many other powders over the years, but always come back to BULLSEYE.

[oldhenry]

If you ever stumble onto an estate sale, watch for DuPont 5066. It was the real deal in the 1950's. Bullseye was #2 by comparison.
A friend who has shot bullseye since the 1970's seems to look for easy metering, and low cost. If you're going to get serious, you will need a lot of practice. WST, is a shotgun powder, and is available in 8# jugs.

I remember it as P5066 & I also morn it's passing along with PB.
You must be as old as I am.

[Rapier]

Close but no cigar. 452AA was used by the AMU to win 2400 match after match for a dozen years. Then Win decided it was temp sensitive and replaced it with an equivalent powder WST. It has a slow impulse push type recoil and burns very clean. You can shoot a day and the gun looks like it was never shot. I shot 452 for many decades in pins, plates and IPSC competition, 1911, Revolver and in a 9mm Major comp gun when they were legal by regulation. You could buy 452 in 10# kegs. 4 to 5.2 grains was standard clover leaf for a 200 H&G in a 45 1911 or a 25-2 so, it goes a long ways. Probably old guys showing new guys what wins and they just keep on going. Oh, I shoot several different powders, but an all day practice is easier with a softer recoil.
I stopped shooting 2400 when I left the 101st Abn Div team, started shooting reactive targets and IPSC, but helped run the FOP 2400 matches for about 20 years in NW FL at the Ft Walton Beach FOP range, until that range was closed.
Try the pencil practice, with a new square eraser pencil, sharpened, dropped dow the barrel, bullseye target printed to match size at 25, thumb tacked to a flat board at eye level. Stand so the pencil point is 2" from the paper and shoot groups using the firing pin to launch the pencil. The pencil point will strike about 2" low but will make a group. An old AMU practice.

[Doughty]

Rapier, the match I plan on shooting is a 2700 match. I haven't heard of a 2400 match. Is this a typo or a different match?

[veeman]

Every 1911 in 45ACP I have or had has preferred WST, regardless of bullet weight, cast or jacketed. They just love the stuff. Testing for 45ACP is done!

[Bmi48219]

More than happy with the results I get using TiteGroup. Burns clean, meters very well, and the price is reasonable. I use 8 to 12 lbs a year for 38, 380, 9, 10 and 45. Hope they never discontinue it.

[softpoint]

I have used 231 with the Lyman 452460 bullet for years

[saleen322]

I used to have a perfect setup with our own range and a mechanical rest we used for 50 yard testing. Bullseye shot good in everything but not the best in anything. WST with cast SWCs was consistently the best in two 45s. For hardball matches, Clays would do the best. With 185 HPs, it was AA5. As was mentioned, you need to experiment some because it is like finding the best 22 ammo, each gun has its own favorites.