Free 45 cal bullets need help....

[41mag]

WEll I received a call from a long time friend who told me to come by his house he had something for me. When I got there he said he didn't know anyone else who would use them and pointed to 9 - 1# coffee cans filled with cast wad cutters. He had gotten them from his wifes grandparents and I know nothing else about them nor does he. They were cleaning out one of the storage rooms and found them, as well as a ton of other stuff. I figured that if anyone could help me out you folks could. I am pretty sure the hardness is up to snuff as from what I have been told through the years Grandpaw was an avid shooter who put tons of rounds through his guns.

I know I will have to size them, however I haven't got a clue as to where to start. THey will also need to be lubed as well I presume, there again, not a clue. I own only one pistol in which these will work and would love to utilize them for target loads. The pistol is in 45 Auto. Besides slugging the barrel, to get the deminsions, what else would be necessary before looking into gettiing a sizing die? Also, for simply target loads under 1000 fps would tumble lube work, or would other means be necessary?

Since I do not cast anything at the present, nor see it in the near future I would like to keep cost to a minimum as what ever I purchase would simply be limited to doing up only these bullets. Likewise, even used components will work once I figure out exactly what I need. I do however have a melting unit as well as a couple of sets of moulds, so who knows once I get started.

One last question, is WW 231 a good powder to use for this type load? Only asking as there were some of this being possibly available as well. Just didn't pick it up at the time. I have never used it for anything, but looking at some of the old load notes looks to be decent for several calibers.

Thanks,

[Christian for Israel]

i use tumble lube with everything, exclusively, and never have a leading problem, even in my .30-06 approaching 2800 FPS. as for slugging the barrel, while in my opinion that is a good thing to do for extreme accuracy, for target loads simply sizing the boolits to .451 would be fine as that is the nominal diameter of a .45 acp barrel.

i've never used 231 but it should be fine as long as you follow the book's recommendations for loads. it sounds like someone is trying to influence you to get into casting...you made a good score my friend.

[Dale53]

Win 231 powder will work just fine with target loads (I have loaded "tons" of .45's with this powder).

Lee's push through sizing die at .452" should work well for you. That is a standard die so the price is good (order from F&M Reloading, Midway, or Natchez, etc.)

I have lube sizers so have not used Lee Tumble Lube. You can always pan lube (if you do it in 9" cake pans you can do a LOT at one time and it is a very good way to lube with minimum equipment). Pan lubing requires a compatible (and inexpensive) lube as you use quite a bit getting set up.

I have long used Emmert's Homemix lube for pan lubing:
50% Pure Natural Beeswax
40% Crisco
10% Canola Oil

The percentage is figured by melted volume. Use a double boiler (You can rig a makeshift one out of large tin cans). I use a large Pyrex cup sitting in a kitchen saucepan. Since the lube is only in the Pyrex there is NO mess in the saucepan. I put a couple of jar lids in the bottom of the pan to keep the Pyrex off the bottom. Use water in the saucepan up a couple of inches on the Pyrex cup (you can get these in LARGE sizes and they have the mesurements on the side of the cup - very convenient. It is important NOT to overheat the lube as it will damage it. Hence, the double boiler.

Pan lube the bullets, then push the bullets through the Lee sizer. It really does not take long at all. While the Lee sizer is inexpensive, it really is a SUPERIOR way to size.

Dale53

[copdills]

Dale is right on with the Lee sizer .452 I haven't cast any myself but have used lee sizers and they do work very well and cost is very little I think I gave $13 for mine and it comes as a kit with the tumble lube

Good Luck copdills

[yondering]

Something to think about before you spend any money on this: Are those wadcutters, or semi-wadcutters? If they are wadcutters, is your 45 ACP a semi-auto? Most semi-auto's won't feed wadcutters without having a little work done to them. You might load up a few dummy rounds to check in your gun. If they don't work, just sell them here.

Your cheapest way to go, as Dale53 said, is the lee sizer kit, which comes with a bottle of Lee Liquid Alox (LLA) tumble lube. You probably want the .452" sizer, .451" is the correct size for jacketed bullets but may be too small for cast.

Win 231 will work fine, it's a good powder for 45 ACP.

[Christian for Israel]

rechecking my sizing die i find that it is indeed .452. sorry about that.

[41mag]

Something to think about before you spend any money on this: Are those wadcutters, or semi-wadcutters? If they are wadcutters, is your 45 ACP a semi-auto?

Your correct they are SWC's and they should function fine depending on the load as they have the similar profile as some I have used in the past. Worst case I suppose would be having to load them up for the old .45 Colt, or melt them down for fishin weights:lol:

[Larry Gibson]

Concur with the Lee .452 sizing kit with the LLA. It will work fine. 4.6 gr of 231 with either 185 or 200-205 gr SWCs is a good target load in 45 ACP.

Larry Gibson

[ForneyRider]

I use w231 a lot for 45ACP lo-po rounds. But I go with Power Pistol for higher velocity. W231 is a fast powder and pressures rise quickly on max loads.

W231 4.6gr, 5.0gr, 5.3gr(max load on some books) with 230gr bullet will do pretty good. 4.6gr of W231 in 45ACP case is very subtle to the eye. Be careful not to get adouble charge. Depending on tightness of your pistol and springs used, you may want to adjust your load up or down.

I use 7.5gr PP with 230gr JHP or FMJ for 950fps. That is a max load on some books.

I am using 5.0gr and 5.3gr of W231 with "200gr" cast lead RN bullet. They shoot great, but haven't chronied them or weighed the bullet for exact weight.

[runfiverun]

can't even add to what has been said.
sept that when they work well , and you like them small little groups.
don't say we told ya so.

[41mag]

I appreciate all of the info. Exactly what I was looking for.

I have shot a LOT of cast bullets only never done the casting. Seemed that someone else always had everything and I just supplied the lead and or just covered the cost. I have for the most part shot the other type bullets as you used to be able to get pretty decent deals on them bulk. Generally a couple of us would split an order.

WEll thanks again. I will holler back as soon as I get something rolling. I know I don't do much posting but I do come by every now and again and do some catch up reading.

Later,

[greyswindir]

Larry is spot on, 4.6 grains of W231 is an excellent target load. It is very, very accurate and the recoil is gentle. I just stumbled upon this load in the past month or so and it is great!

[blackthorn]

41 Mag---Your post said you knew you "would have to size them". Did you actually measure them? If not load one up without primer/powder and try it in your gun to see if it will chamber. You MAY only have to lube, load and shoot.