45acp load with harder alloy

[randyrat]

I hate to admit it but using a little harder alloy improved my groups.
The load details:
452-200 TL SWC cast w/ Water quenched WW, sized to .452
Final weight 205 grains, i may have added a slight amount of Tin
Lubed with JPW, Alox, Beswax (small amount of BW)
4.5 grains of 700X
Cases were re-sized, belled slightly. Seated at 1.17, No crimp.
I shot a softball size group at 25 yds and it was twice or more that size with 50/50 alloy (Air cooled).

I wonder if it is the shallow rifling you all been talking about. I doubt it is exceding the strength of the alloy. I have to go with shallow rifling.
Maybe if i tried a fatter bullet and a faster powder like bullseye,red and use a light load i could get by with a softer alloy?
Whats your opinion/experience?
BTW i'm shooting a CZ Wantabe= EAA Witness, So far i like this gun. It does have shallow rifling thought.

[44man]

Stay with what works.

[fredj338]

When I started casting I used to cast 200grSWC from straight lino. I got as much as I wanted from the local small town paper. Little did I know, or I would have stored tons of it. Bullets shot great w/ just about any powder. Today I go mostly straight ww or even 50/50 mix of ww/lead. Works fine for 200-230gr bulelts to 900fps w/ little leading.

[Ricochet]

If there's an issue with rifling stripping, a faster powder is likely to aggravate it.

[Shiloh]

If it is working for you, you have no worries. I've been using range lead with WW 2:1
That works fine for me. Harder lead is for rifles, but 50/50 water dropped is working GREAT!!

Shiloh

[Dale53]

I shoot most of my .45 ACP's these days from revolvers. My 625's have rather shallow rifling. They shoot the H&G #68 and H&G #130 well under 1" at 25 yards with air cooled WW's sized .452" (that's the throat diameter, also).

Dale53

[cisco05154]

Randy,
I have been casting for .45ACP for several years with straight WW. I recently started using 50/50 WW and lead and adding about 2% tin. They come out with a hardness of about 9 or 10. For me the softer alloy produced better groups at the target loads that I am shooting. 4.1gr of WST is giving me less than 2" groups at 50 yds with a 200 gr H&G #68 style bullet. Almost no leading.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had my best luck in the 1911s with harder alloys. As a matter of fact my competition loads are usually loaded with lineotype bullets. I hate to waste it but figure i can practice with something like 5050 ww/lyno or #2 and at the short ranges you shoot competition theres not much change in point of aim. My buddy and i did a test a few years back with 4 1911s and 3 25 smiths and using 4 differnt bullets and accuracy improved everytime as we casted the bullets harder and in every gun but one accuracy was best with linotype and the one odd ball gun did its best with 5050 ww/lyno. I look for one inch 25 yard accuracy in a competion gun or better and none of the guns would do it using ww or softer alloys.

[randyrat]

Yes Lloyd your the one that wrote that a while back. I finally came around to test that.
I was comparing my barrel/rifling with some other 45s. I found mine to be one of many with the shallow rifling. So i figured would give it a go and it worked.
Now i'll play with hardness of the bullet more before i give up on a load/powder.

I get spoiled on accuracy when i shoot 22 Bullseye in the winter time. Then i go back to shooting 45 a beastly pistol with battle sites and it's tough to swallow any poor accuracy. So i'm ever trying to get more accuracy out of my 45s.
I should move to 50' instead of 75' with the 45s.