low pressure load data for my 1944 Ithaca 1911

[Jim Curlee]

Looking for some load data for my 1944 Ithaca 1911.
A guy on the 1911 forum suggested I not shoot my new/old pistol, because the slide may crack.
I know nothing about the slide cracking, but I'm going to shoot the pistol, just thought I'd see if there are any low pressure load ideas for my pistol?
I have both cast, and jacketed bullets, and a good selection of gun powder.
Thanks
Jim

[toallmy]

I enjoy shooting what would be considered light loads or low recoil loads with shotgun powder & cast boolits , as long as the rounds feed and function in the firearm all is well . It doesn't take much to poke a hole in paper .
Be careful they can bounce back .......

[Char-Gar]

I don't believe that slide cracking was a problem in the WWII pistols. Wear in the locking lug recesses in the slide was indeed a problem as that area of the slide was not hardened. They learned how to hardened the entire slide, but that didn't make it into production until just after WWII. In the early 50's the govt. ordered a bunch of these "hard slides" to replace the earlier ones that were wearing out.

I would certainly replace the recoil spring with a good new 16 lb spring. You can save your old spring and put it back in if the mood strikes you. I would suggest the Wolf 16.5V spring. It also comes with a new firing spring, which would also be a good idea to install.

I have put allot of rounds through these older pistols and enjoyed every round.

[Outpost75]

An Ithaca slide is unlikely to crack, but compared to Remington-Rand and other wartime production they are SOFT and tend to batter if shot alot with full-charge "hardball" equivalent loads. As long as to reduce max. published charges by 15% or so you are fine. The lightest load which I have found which functions the great majority of M1911 pistols and the M1A1 Thompson SMG is 4.2 grains of Bullseye with the GI FMJ 230-grain bullet. Using cast bullets of similar weight you can drop the charge to 4.0 grains with #452374, at 1.27" OAL for 680 fps at 10,100 psi, according to Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Edition (2010) p. 278.

[Thumbcocker]

Maybe a new recoil spring. There is no telling how worn the one in the gun is.

[Bmi48219]

I’ve found that 4.2 TiteGroup under a 230 gr. RN will cycle my 1911s, deliver good accuracy with minimal recoil and burns clean. I use the same charge for 9 mm 115 FMJ with the same results. I didn’t chrono the 45 load but in 9mm MV was 1,000. YRMV.

[DougGuy]

Your 1944 Ithaca slide should be the two toned parkerized finish, the forward section is a different color because it's hardened and therefore not likely to crack even with thousands of rounds of full power military hardball. Cracks occurred at the rear of the recoil spring bore, or underlug which hardening the front of the slide eliminated this common failure seen only on the non-hardened early WWII era slides that were subjected to an excessively high round count.

[Jim Curlee]

Very helpful.
I've shot it some with my regular loads, and haven't had a problem, just figured why should I look to create one.
Thanks
Jim

[35remington]

I’ve found a standard sprung 1911 will function with an HG type 200 with as low as 4 grains Bullseye, Red Dot or equivalent powder. Such are very pleasant to shoot, save some lead and are not at all hard on the gun. I don’t much care for swapping springs so functionality with a regular setup is of importance to me.

[44MAG#1]

My Kimber 3 inch 1911 functions fine with 4 grains Bullseye and the H & G #68 flat base.

[Bigslug]

New recoil spring - never a bad idea.

200 grain bullets on top of Bullseye match loads - also not a bad idea.

I normally avoid them like the plague, but a rubber shock buff IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE might be something to consider.

I own modern and vintage 1911's and my take is basically this: there's little sense in putting serious miles on a clean real antique with increasing collector value when there are modern equivalents - sometimes outright replicas - on the market by the freight car full that are often made with better steel and can be shot to destruction while feeling guilt-free.

[samari46]

My 1943 Ithaca and my newer Springfield armory 1911A1 both have shok buffs installed. The Ithaca had been shot by the previous owner a WWII vet. And I used it for steel plate matches. Definitely consider shok buffs as they are cheap insurance. Frank

[ioon44]

+1 on the shok buffs.

[reddog81]

Very helpful.
I've shot it some with my regular loads, and haven't had a problem, just figured why should I look to create one.
Thanks
Jim

What's your regular load?

Any starting load to mid-range load should be fine and I'd have minimal to no worry about "abusing" the gun. I'd recommend the same thing as 35remington suggested - 4.0 Bullseye with a 200 grain SWC.

[smkummer]

Didn’t know my 1943 Ithaca lend lease had an issue for almost 45 years of ownership. I do currently have a shock buffer installed, new standard recoil spring installed about 1K rounds ago and a slightly reduced load of 4.5 700x with Lee’s 230 grain tumble lube cast bullet. Works in all my subguns as well. In full disclosure it only gets fired about once a year because my series 70 gold cup is so sweet.