Pure Lead .45

[mrblue]

I if i keep the powder low, do you fine gents thing i can get away with using a few pure lead rounds of .45 just to plink with? hate to use all my wheel wight lead for a few bangs! Thanks.

[dilly]

I would think that if any round would let you get away with it it would be 45 ACP. That's a slow, low pressure round.

[Bigslug]

I if i keep the powder low, do you fine gents thing i can get away with using a few pure lead rounds of .45 just to plink with? hate to use all my wheel wight lead for a few bangs! Thanks.

Well, I suppose, but you do realize that the only correct way to produce .45 ACP rounds is in quarter ton increments or greater?:mrgreen:

Fryxell is listing all alloys below 12BHN as appropriate to sub-800fps loads, so you should be fine as far as the bore is concerned (usual issues of correct size and lube still apply). I'd be more worried about a gun built for service ammo cycling wimpy loads. I'd also give some thought to how a boolit that soft is going to interact with your feed ramp - consider nose shape.

I'd be more inclined to mix some lead into your wheelweights to make them go farther and continue loading to standard speeds.

[runfiverun]

the 45 colt is 14-k max pressure the 45 acp is 20-k.
factory 45 colt loads used 40-1 alloy for about 1 bkajillion years.
you might just be able to pull it off.

[243winxb]

Pure lead = feeding problems in some 45 acp autos.

[Love Life]

I've used 40 to 1 and pure lead quite a bit in the 45 ACP and Colt. Size right and use a good lube. For plinking I'll shoot anything that fills the mould and comes out looking pretty close to what the bullet shape is supposed to be.

For carry and desert loafing my boolits are cast of 40 to 1, 20 to 1, or pure lead and meticulously culled.

[Andrew Mason]

i made up a batch of 1-20 .45 acp bullets.

i got some unacceptable leading, now, my bullets were being sized to .451 instead of .452, so that may have been something to do with it.
my latest batch is a 50-50 mix of coww and 1-20 allow. i have high hopes for it.

[Love Life]

I size to .452 for 45 acp and size to chamber dimensions for my revolver. Now I don't shoot bazillions of these at a time, but usually a couple mags or cylinders full to test for accuracy, function, and leading. Once everything is ironed out I load a box of 50 or 100 and call it good.

[jonp]

I have found some of the very soft 45acp boolits will jam on the top of the ramp. Other than that, if you gun shoots them load them lite and fire away

[turmech]

I switched from 50/50 to 25/75 (WW/PB) with no change in powder charge or sizing in 45 acp. I did this to extend my WW stash. I could not tell a difference in performace and had no leading. Had the same results with 38 special

[MattOrgan]

You'll be fine, just like the many shooters who have fired millions of pure swaged lead
bullets in 9mm (Gasp!), .38, .45, and others. And these bullets just have some mystery coating for lube, that still allows you to easily brush or patch the residue out. Feeding issues because of pure lead bullets? Not likely. Biggest problem with casting pure lead bullets for me is getting them to fill out properly. That's where a little tin can make things right. Often 1 part in 40 is enough as stated previously. Relax. This is supposed to be fun. I've been using all my really old primers (some 50+ years old) lately to save my new ones; even mixing brands. They've all gone off and I see no accuracy difference in my cast '06 and Hornet loads at 50 yards.

[rmatchell]

I'm going to have to try this, anything to make the coww last longer works for me

[Grump]

Well, I have a coupla hundred .45 slugs with enough tin in them to make them bright and shiny and they fill out nice. Not as soft as pure lead, but BHN 8 seems plenty soft to me. Accuracy is a bit off though, about 5 inches at 50 yards. The Hornady jaxtedededed shot 2.2 inches the same day. But I think for most people 5 inches at 50 is good enough.

[Agent1187]

I have been using unmixed range scrap, which in my case is 95% jacketed and 5% cast boolits, and is quite soft. Hardly any leading after 400 rounds in a sitting. My COWW are very limited, and have been relegated to casting rifle boolits only!

[Love Life]

I like the softer alloys because they smush.

[captaint]

Andrew - To prevent the leading, I would size the boolits @ .452. That, alone, should take care of your issue. You can harden them up a little, if you feel like it. Probably not necessary, though. Mike