First batch of .45acp cast loads

[bigmike13]

So I loaded up my first batch of .45acp the other day with a 230grn lrn, 5.4 grains of 231 (measured with .5 cc lee dipper), WLP primer, once fired R-P brass, and seated them to 1.272. and used a light crimp with lee FCD

I went to the indoor range the other day and all of them went bang(saved 10 of them to run though a chrono and have someone with more experience take a look at them) and were all fairly accurate out of my RIA GI 1911(I suspect operator error on the fliers but they were all inside an 8X11 sheet of paper at 15 yards) .

The brass did not look to have signs of excessive pressure as the primers looked normal and there was no bright ring showing case head separation, though the brass was thrown quite a ways away and landed 15 feet or so away from my station (there was a smooth concrete floor but the guy next to me shooting light loads with unique only had to walk 5-7 feet to pick up his brass). I will test with some factory fmj to see how far it throws it but i wonder if I have anything to worry about?

It also looks like i have some lead to scrub from my bore, so I am going to check my bullets for diameter as there were given to me by a friend who no longer reloads and cast by a local shooter. Should get it all figured out in the end.

[35remington]

I can't think of many cartridges that are less likely to have a case head separation than 45 ACP fired in an autoloading pistol. If you expect that to happen you'll be waiting a long, long, long time. Even heavily loaded brass is not subject to it. No signs will "show" on the primer even if your loads exceed maximum. The pressure isn't high enough to show indications on the primer even with hot loaded ACP's.

Max OAL is 1.275." I wouldn't approach that too closely as normal round to round variance may cause some to exceed that length.....1.265" is a better OAL as it more closely approximates factory loadings and allows some tolerance below max OAL.

Having shot that load through my 1911's, I suspect you're fine. You're probably exceeding factory velocities by a little bit.

[flinchnjerk]

Hodgdon (now Winchester's distributor) list the maximum load of 231 for a 230 grn. RNL as 5.3 grains - it's not surprising that your brass travels a fair distance. Try backing the load down to 4.8 or 4.9... I suspect that you'll be happier.

[AviatorTroy]

Now this is real contriversial around here but in MY 1911, I shoot a mag of FMJ ball at the end of the day, and there is zero leading to clean out when I get home...Just food for thought....

[kingstrider]

Your loads might be too hot. I'd slug the bore and measure against the projectiles you are using.

[35remington]

4.8 grains W231 chronos an average velocity of right at 800 fps with the Lee 230-2R loaded to 1.265. 5.3 grains averages 860 fps with the same bullet.

While a little bit warmer than factory ball, "too hot" it is not.

[bigmike13]

So I just finished scrubbing the lead out of my barrel with the copper chore boy bore brush trick, which worked great and I got to thinking about ways to reduce the need for the intense cleaning. I ran the first batch though the LEE FCD which I think might have swagged my bullet smaller than I would like. So I loaded up ten rounds tonight which I barley crimped and did not use the FCD. They all chambered in my barrel, however I did notice a little step in the brass where the bullet seated. I figure if they chambered in the barrel the step should not make a difference, but we will find out soon enough.

The other thing is I noticed that the rifling in the barrel is rather shallow (old RIA GI) could that be contributing to the lead fouling?

[Baron von Trollwhack]

That's the load I use for multiple purposes in a Taurus with the lead Lyman hardball mould. Always reliable. It is not a target gun, so, I shoot the mag empty, push a couple of Ed'sRed patches through, then couple dry patches and reload for next month. The leading I get isn't really material. BvT