1911 bullet recommendation

[bigboredad]

I'm looking for a good bullet style that feeds well in a 1911 .45. I would prefer a hardball style with the traditional lube grooves I've had it with the tumble lube design. I know lyman makes a pretty good copy but with the the problems of been hearing about lyman throwing small bullets I hesitate to get lyman

[docone31]

Lee 200gn flat nose. My ACPs love it.

[bigboredad]

I've looked at that and wondered how well it would feed. it looks like the meplat is very wide and flat or is that just the way the picture came out

[HeavyMetal]

I've read several posts that say the Lee RF 200 works real well.

Enough that I may consider adding one to my mold collection as money permits. Have also heard good things on the 125 RF in 9mm so that my come first.

About a year and a half ago a group buy was run on a RNL that was a copy of the GI Ball round, ordered 2 and am real happy with it!

Maybe you can do a search and get a re run going.

The Lyman is a touch off GI as is the stock Lee but both work. AS does Lee's stock copy of the H&G 68.

All of these are standard lube groove designs.

[MtGun44]

If feeding and accuracy is your requirement, 452374 is the answer, absolutely without any
doubt.

However, if you want gilt edge accy and a clean hole in the target, try the 452460. The
H&G 68 is the feeding champ of all the SWC, accept no substitutes. Seating depth is to be
set using the dismounted barrel as the gage. Light taper crimp is mandatory for proper
seating of the cartridge in the chamber - altho a roll crimp can work if all your brass is
the same length - something that almost never happens to me with .45 ACP - most of the
time I am shooting wildly mixed brass.

It is an absolute fact that a properly set up 1911 will absolutely reliably feed the H&G 68
if it is seated to around 1.25 and has a light taper crimp, as long as it is verfieded by hand
checking a test round into the dismounted barrel. Some guns will take 1.260 or 1.270
or even more no problem, but 1.250 usually works in even the tightest throats. This is
just maybe .010-.020 of shoulder out of the case.

There are lots of 'kinda H&G 68' designs out there, so watch out. Your feeding results will vary
unless the nose is almost exactly the same as the H&G 68. In my guns the 452460 will
outshoot it SLIGHTLY. Only REAL military barrels need to be throated for SWCs, but the
military barrels will NOT feed SWCs, almost 100% jams until throated. Any commercial bbl
that I have seen in the last 30+ yrs is throated for SWCs - doesn't mean that ANY SWC or
any length or any crimp will be sure to work, tho.

Bill

[462]

Lyman 452374.

[bigboredad]

I guess I should also say that reliable feeding is number one and accuracy a close number 2 but at this point i just want it to feed reliable

[Glen]

+1 for everything Mtgun44 said.

[OBXPilgrim]

Not sure what you think about some of the group buy molds, or how much you are interested in spending, but you could look a long time & not find a mold with the quality, options, & usability of this mold:


http://mp-molds.com/shopping/pgm-mor....php?id=2&=SID

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76032
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=81547

After the 2nd run or it (or is it 3rd?), it's going to be ran again. Great boolit.

[fredj338]

I've looked at that and wondered how well it would feed. it looks like the meplat is very wide and flat or is that just the way the picture came out

IT will be hit or miss depending on the gun. Mine all feed it but OAL has to be watched as some chambers have shorter throats than others. For a all purpose 1911, hard to beat 230grRN. The Lee 6cav 228gr shoots great, obviously feeds well. The Lyman 225gr is another good choice. Nothing wrong w/ the various 230grTC either. If you want a slick 200gr that will feed in anything, Magma makes a 200grTC that casts a great bullet for target or SD.
http://www.pennbullets.com/45/45-caliber.html
http://www.magmaengineering.com/

[MGySgt]

Lee makes a 230 Truncated nose that shoots real good and feeds real weill. I have not had any problems in 3 autos with it.

Plus it is a 6 cavity.

They make it in 2 flavors - tumble lube and standard lube groove. I have the standard lube grove.

Drew

[geargnasher]

I agree with Glen, go back and read MtGun's post carefully and let in sink in.

The only thing I can add is the Lee 230TC with traditional groove works well in some, but is finicky in both Kimbers I've had due to the slide lock nib sticking out too far, and you couldn't give me a new Lyman mould unless it was first sent to Erik Ohlen for driving band enlargement. I have two 452374s, one factory hp and one regular, they would both be more accurately called "450-1 elliptical 374 ***".

Gear

[Char-Gar]

A well set up 1911 will feed a wide variety of bullet shapes, even some with a mega-meplat. The qualification is "well set up". It takes good magazines and proper throating of the barrel. Here is a pic of my brush pistol with a magazine of cartridge. The load is 452423/4.7/Bullseye. This load is 100 percent in this pistol as well as my other two 1911s. I am not recommending this as a bullet for you, but just as an example of the range of stuff that will feed in a 1911. It would not feed in the stock barrel of this pistol (Norinco 1911A1) but does after throating. It doesn't just feed sometimes, but all the time.

Good old H&G 68 and Lyman 452460 are tried and proven bullet designs in the 1911 pistol. I guess what I am saying is pick the bullet you like and then conform the pistol to your wants. It can be done. Sometimes it is a war, between the hunk of steel and the human, but the human will win if he persists and does not surrender. All within reason of course, always within reason.

[bigboredad]

thanks for all the help guys. All the post have got me wondering if overall length is one of the most important parts of feeding reliably and it seems I may be wrong that most of the lee designs you have to load yo a very short oal and that would seem to hamper the feeding reliability. I'm not against lee at all just want o make sure I learn as much as I can I have been reading all I can find doing a search and after about 4 hours I'm more confused than ever.
I know it really comes to trial and error for each individual gun as they are all as different as people. my biggest concern is I have some pretty bad problems with my hands and racking the slide on my 1911 has become so painful I'm not sure how much longer I'll have the gun or be able to work it so I'm not crazy about waiting a long time for a group buy and or spending that much. I have no doubt the custom molds are worth it and if I can get my hand issue worked out I'll jump on the group buy

[johnlaw484]

I shoot the Lee RN Lee 6-Cavity Bullet Mold 452-228-1R in my Kimber, Taurus, Remington Rand, and a parts gun I built. I have had no problems at all in an of my 45's. I have an old Lachmiller lubsizer with a .452 sizer.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=313971

[gray wolf]

You shouldn't have to rack that slide to much. Insert the clip rack the slide and shoot to slide stop. Load another mag and release the slide with the slide stop, no racking.
Shoot all day that way, when your done take out the mag and ease the slide to the front and go home.
The Lyman ball round copy should feed in your pistol and any other 1911, or the other
RN bullets that were recommended.
Don't get all worked up about seating depth--it is a simple trial and error thing.
If you were considering the Lyman mold then go an extra buck or two and get the round nose RCBS, I think it has a little shoulder on it but it should be fine and the mold should be OK from RCBS.

Sam

[NHlever]

I've gotten a few good boolits out of my Lee 45-200 RF mold, but the mold has problems. It is bowed so you can see daylight between the cavities when you look towards a light, and I have a really hard time getting that boolit to fill out right. I have cast a few thousand boolits from other molds this past winter so I'm familiar with at least some of the things to try. The boolit does seem to shoot, feed, and function well when I get good ones. I've tried it in both my Blackhawk ACP cylinder, and my High Standard Crusader...... The latter is no top of the line gun so if it feeds in that it probably should work in most others.

[Wayne Smith]

Dad,

Take a look at BRP's website. Bruce has a copy of the H&G 68 available to buy, no waiting for a group buy. I believe that boolit has gotten some good reviews here, too.

[DLCTEX]

I cast the Lee 228 1r for our 1911s and have no problems with feed in any of several brands of guns. I also cast the Lee 200 SWC and it feeds well in 4 guns, but not a fifth. I suspect the mags with that problem. My Auto Ord. shoots even the 255 gr. boolits ok, haven't tried them in others.

[dudel]

Lee 200gn flat nose. My ACPs love it.

+1 I tried then with a 2 banger; now need to get it as a 6er for more production.