Freedom Arms 97 - 45 Colt loading?

[Naphtali]

For personal use I have been loading my FA Model 97s with Saeco 300-grain bullets. Someone will be moving in with me who finds my heavy AND moderate 300-grain loads a little much.

I seek a 250-grain ± 5 grains bullet to load in a 97. Those of you with experience loading a plain base OR gas check bullet in the 97's shorter cylinder, please identify bullet [molds] that shoot reasonably accurately in your 97 while not requiring "special" loading procedure to load to correct length.

Correct length is very important. The first 97 bullet I loaded was RCBS' 270-grain SAA. Its length required me to crimp over the front band. Accuracy was poor. Saeco's bullet, on the other hand, loads blandly and uneventfully - but it's 300 grains.

[44man]

If you have something that shoots right, teach the other person to shoot it.
I pulled a trick on my girlfriend before we got married long ago by sticking full house loads in the .44 BH, between light loads. She shot them all and I asked if there was a difference. She said a few were LOUDER!
Please, just how bad are they?

[ktw]

Lyman 454190/9.2 gr Unique

The H&G68, the Mihec 200gr HP 45ACP bullet, or almost any 45 acp bullet for that matter, also work well in lighter loads.

-ktw

[bobke]

11.5 hs6 and 250 gr swc, sized properly to bore/throats. 1000fps, mas or menos. accurate in three 45 colts.

[Naphtali]

11.5 hs6 and 250 gr swc, sized properly to bore/throats. 1000fps, mas or menos. accurate in three 45 colts.

What specific 250-grain mold do you recommend?
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Lyman 454190/9.2 gr Unique . . . -ktw

This bullet's nose does not force crimping over front band to meet length requirements in FA 97?

[ktw]

This bullet's [454190] nose does not force crimping over front band to meet length requirements in FA 97?

It's a round flat with no front band or crimp groove. The nose is short enough. You crimp to the nose at a point of your choice below the ogive, or in the top lube groove if that suits you.




Other designs that are short enough in the nose and do have a crimp groove are the Lyman 452423 (a short nosed Keith @ ~240gr) and Lyman's Silver Star (452664, large meplat roundflat @ ~250gr). BABore offers a modified version of 454190 with a crimp groove.

I prefer a regular 454190 as that has flown true for me at much longer distances when pushed at moderate velocities than any other bullet I have tried.

-ktw

[bhn22]

If you're interested in going the custom route, Veral at LBT can cut you a mould for a 250 gr 45 Colt (or any other weight for that matter) that will fit your cylinder perfectly. It's just a matter of crimp groove placement. Lyman Keith moulds could be an issue since they never seemed to make any 2 moulds alike. I personally favor the most effective bullet designs I can find. My thinking is that spending a little more on a custom mould now will most certainly prevent my having to buy a slightly different mould later. You can use a high performance design where you might get away with a round nose, but going the other direction never seems to work out well for me.