Lee 255 RNFP in a 45 ACP

[saz]

I know this has probably been discussed a few times already, but I am gonna try this Lee 255 RNFP in my 1911. I found the midway load data and I have a few loaded up with unique, and gonna try some red dot loads as well. Anyone had any issues with this boolit? I made up a bunch of dummies and with the OAL and proper headspace they seem to cycle through the gun very well. I cant feel it trying to hang up anywhere, but there is a drag mark on the top edge of the meplat when they are ejected. I suspect it is from the top side of the chaimber when it feeds a new round from the magazine. I have a giant pile of these around here, as I shoot a lot of them through my 454 puma so I figured I would give it a shot. Besides my new mold is not here yet and I really want to keep shooting my new 1911. Thanks in advance!

[tek4260]

From what I have read about heavy boolits in a 1911, you will need a heavier mainspring and a flat bottom firing pin stop. I want to try that boolit in my Series 70 as well. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. I may buy a RIA and test it. If there are no signs of battering I can sell the RIA and use the load in my Colt.

http://singleactions.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=other&action=print&thread=1932

[35remington]

Yep, I've tried it. It's probably not as bad a choice in the 45 ACP pistol as some of the commercial and and the similar weight Lee semiwadcutters, as it doesn't seat quite as deeply, but that depends upon just what your OAL is.

Five to five and a half of Unique is a good working load.

I have said this before, and I'll repeat it; fully load the magazine and top off the chamber, seven plus one. Fire the round in the chamber.

Then withdraw the first round fed into the chamber from the magazine. Check for any OAL shortening in feeding, as usually the first round fed from the magazine is prone to the most nosediving, and potentially the most length shortening as it goes through the feeding cycle. Check subsequent rounds fed from the magazine with live fire as well.

The really big meplat is not terribly automatic friendly, and I would never rely on such an ill shaped bullet for self defense in a 1911, but as long as your intentions are not serious or life threatening in any way it should be fine to play around with.

There is a tendency to over spring a 1911 because the bullet is a few grains heavier. As long as bullet speed is reasonable you may avoid a heavier spring. Keep in mind heavier spring weights increase the battering of the gun (yes, not a misstatement), and little is gained by so doing. Heavy recoil springs may also cause issues with feed reliability.

It's best to stick with the spring weight that reasonably approximates what JMB intended. Springs of 20 pounds or more are ridiculously inappropriate.

[saz]

Well, it just so happens that I am shooting a RIA. Good pistol- HIGHLY under rated IMHO. I do not plan on hot rodding the ACP trying to get rowland performance out of it. If I can push in the neighborhood of 650-700fps I would consider it a sucess.

[35remington]

That velocity you contemplate is easy to obtain and prudent considering the weight of the bullet and the flattish, nonstandard profile.

Standard weight recoil spring is fine.

Any change from the standard configuration of the pistol in terms of springs should be looked upon unfavorably. Since no change is needed, this is the best possible situation.

[saz]

I made a trip to the range this morning with some good results. Accuracy at combat range (10 yards) was very good, holding 3-4" offhand. I was dying to get some chrono readings but my dumb@$$ left the batteries at the house. Oops..... I had 2 failures to return completely into battery which I think were related to different brass. I was sure I had all WW brass, but there were a couple of speer and CCI pieces mixed in. They were the headstamps that were jamming. I thought I read somewhere that they has thicker case walls down by the case head and the bullet was expanding it a little too much. The boolits were Lee 255 RNPF's cast from acww, lubed with reclox and sized to .4525. I had no leading and the unique burned unusually clean.

My question is what to look for in the pistol as signs of too much or too harsh recoil and beating on the gun. The recoil today felt good, a little more snappy but nothing felt out of line. Bottom line is they felt good all around with no signs of pressure, I just need a little help with recognizing the limits of the pistol.

[Frank V]

I have shot a lot of these bullets in a .45 Colt & they are a real hammer. The metplate is almost large enough to dance on & it's an accurate bullet too. The only thing I'd really like to see are wider & deeper lube grooves, but they seem to carry enough lube for standard .45 Colt loads. I think it's a great bullet & if your gun will feed them should work well for you. I think you'll like it. :wink:
Frank

[35remington]

Pay attention to ejection distance, first and foremost.

Failure to fully chamber is not good. Another reason to never rely on bullets like this for anything but fun shooting. That is, assuming you didn't load them too long. Or too short.

The 1911 platform doesn't like OAL's much shorter than 1.20"

What is your OAL?

Check each and every reloaded case for free and easy chambering before you load them in the gun at the range. You'll be better informed. Gauging or chambering each load in the barrel taken from the gun is Reloading 101 for semiautomatic pistols. If you had done this first you might not be guessing at the cause of the failure to return to battery.

[smokey496]

That bullet is all I have shot out of my Ria tactical for 3 years. Very accurate no feeding issues, stock springs. Tight group powder. No problems for me. Works well I'm 45 colt also.

[tek4260]

What kind of velocity are ya'll that shoot this boolit getting? In the article I linked, the author was getting a bit over 1000fps and that is why I mentioned the need for a bit heavier spring and a flat bottom firing pin stop.

At 1000fps, it would make a decent "do all handgun" from SD to deer hunting.

[Frank V]

That bullet is all I have shot out of my Ria tactical for 3 years. Very accurate no feeding issues, stock springs. Tight group powder. No problems for me. Works well I'm 45 colt also.



#1 on Titegroup!!!!!!;-) It's a powder I really like. Shoots accuratly & cleanly for me.
Frank

[Grapeshot]

Oops..... I had 2 failures to return completely into battery which I think were related to different brass. I was sure I had all WW brass, but there were a couple of speer and CCI pieces mixed in.

I've used this Lee Bullet in both my M1911 and S&W 625 & 1917's for years. I had a problem with failure to seat and when I examined the ammo I found that if I champher the case mouth and run the bullet thru a .452 diameter sizing die, I eliminate any problems feed wise. Check the case mouth after you seat the bullet and make sure that there is no lead ring at the juncture of case and bullet. That will be the main cause for failure to chamber.

The bullet is accurate and a real thumper when it comes to knocking down steel plates or bowling pins. Have fun with it.

[saz]

Thought it might be shaving a little lead upon seating, so I am going to load a few with the case mouths champhered with a Lyman VLD case mouth tool. Just a shallower angle and a little easier to seat a flat based boolit. I use that technique when loading BPCR for my sharps and it helps quite a bit. We will see.

BTW, I really like this boolit in my 1911. Even at 700fps I see this thing being a good little thumper.

[35remington]

I would advise that shooting this bullet at 1000 fps in a 1911 45 ACP is extremely stupid. Don't go there.

[saz]

Dont worry, I wouldnt even think of it. I have a 44 mag to do things like that.

[bigboredad]

I have played with that bullet quite a bit on my xd. The last load I used was 4.6 of red dot. It was a bit warmer than I like but way accurate. So far I have had the best luck with unique between 5 and 5.5

[txbirdman]

I shoot that bullet in my Combat Commander on occasion loaded with 6.0 gr. of Herco. It travels at 805 fps and is a real thumper.

[Abert Rim]

Old thread, but now I find myself with only one .452 mold on hand -- the Lee 255 -- no Unique, but Red Dot, and an XD on the way. With loaded ammo so tight right now, this is going to have to be my go-to for the time being. I'll start at 4 grains of Red Dot. Wish me luck, boys!

[Abert Rim]

Never mind! I thought I had Red Dot on hand. Just double-checked, and have Universal Clays, Bullseye, Blue Dot, 2400 and 296 in pistol powders, but no Red Dot -- or Unique, darn it. Now I will quietly go away. It is hell getting old ...

[downzero]

Never mind! I thought I had Red Dot on hand. Just double-checked, and have Universal Clays, Bullseye, Blue Dot, 2400 and 296 in pistol powders, but no Red Dot -- or Unique, darn it. Now I will quietly go away. It is hell getting old ...

Universal Clays and Unique are so close in burn rate you can easily extrapolate from one to the other.

I haven't loaded 255s in 45 ACP but I have loaded heavy for caliber bullets in everything else (160 grain 9mm, 200 grain in 40 S&W, etc.). My experience with both of those is that the slide cycled pretty slow for me and I didn't really find them all that useful. They did function fine. Just be very careful with COAL and you probably want to stay away from the fastest burning powders as pressures can spike quickly.

[35remington]

No reason Universal or Bullseye could not be used. The other three are less desirable or not suitable.

[kingrj]

I have shot this bullet in the .45 acp case at a little over 1000 fps in a S&W 4506-1 with NO problems at all...This was using Longshot powder and it is a .45 super loading. I have not fired this bullet or load in a Colt 1911 or clone....I feel sure this bullet will work just fine if your barrel mouth is smoothed up...

[littlejack]

The Speer #12 Reloading Manual, has load data for the Speer 260 grain jacketed rfphp. At 6.9 grains of Herco, being the top load for this bullet. In 2010 I decided to try this load, and also replace the Speer 260 grain with the Lee 255 grain rnfp, and try it. I did call Speer directly, and ask the tech if this load data was correct and reliable. The tech assured me that the data was still good. After working up to the top load for the Speer 260 grain jacketed hp with no issues in my Taurus PT 1911, I switched to the Lee 255 rnfp. Doing some measuring, I found that the Lee slug was .080 shorter than the Speer slug. So, with the Lee slug seated to the same 1.20 coal, there was an added .080 air space in the case. So, with everything being equal except swapping out the Speer 260 slug with the Lee 255 rnfp, the functioning of the Taurus was fine, and accurate. This load Chronyd at 917 fps average of 10 shots. I used the Taurus factory spring for these loads.
YMMV. I am not recommending these loads for you or your firearm. Just stating what data was listed in the Speer Manual.