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I’m looking to buy a mold for 45acp that is good dependable feeder in 1911s. Want something around 230gr. All the molds I have are for Target style boolits. I have avoided loading 45acp much as possible. I load 45AR for my 45acp revolvers. This boolit is for practice only, will be carrying hard ball.
For a pure practice bullet, make it easy on yourself with a Lee six cavity tumble lube for their 230 that a near clone, except in lead, of the old standard hardball: fast to cast, fast to lube, inexpensive to buy.
I went nearly this same route except with their TC version. Ben's Liquid Lube and unsized tumble lube bullets save so much time and effort that they make a good default were a good argument against them and for something else is required to bypass them.
I went with the Saeco #954, 230-grain rounded flatnosed Cowboy bullet which resembles the M1887 Schofield service bullet. Feeds like hardball, safe in tube magazine levers and near universal .45 slug for ACP, Auto Rim, .45 Colt. One size fits all. RCBS 45-230CM another good choice.
The Lyman 452374 will do the job for you.
If I wanted to buy one 45 ACP mold, this is what I would get. I would carry it in preference to hardball. However, my first choice for carry would be a good 230 grain factory HP. Accurate Mold 45-230T
The Accurate Molds 45-229N is what I like and it feeds well in my 1911's and Glocks.
Most of my 45 acp is done with 200 grain SWC target with boolits like the Lyman 452460 , which has fed through at least 7 different pistols and never not fed ... but if I were looking for a 230 grain boolit I would first try the Lee 452-230-TC . I'm not a big fan of RN designs ( Lee 452-228-1R would not feed well in my 1911...that design needs to be 2R , avoid that 1R profile ) I like the wide meplate on the Lee Truncated Cone design and would be my first choice in 230 gr. weight boolit .
Gary
Go to Accurate & look at the dozens of choices. The Lee will work but the Accurate molds are just that much better. I would buy & have bought one of Toms over a Lyman or Saeco.
I second the Lyman 452374. I've cast thousands of those and it has worked well in every .45ACP pistol I've ever used it in. Feeds well and is accurate, if cast well.Quote:
Originally Posted by pworley1
Accurate 453 200 H and RCBS 45-201-SWC are my go to 45 ACP molds. They are the old standard H&G 68 design. Shot thousands in my Kimber, Colts, and GI 1911's without a hickup, always reliable & accurate too.
I second the Lee #452-230-TC, I shot it for many years in Cowboy Shooting in .45Colt & .45S&W Schofield ammo. Feeds wonderfully in OLD 1911's with G.I. bbl's and Win 92, 1866, 1873 clones and the Win 94 Trappers in .45Colt.
The #452374 also is a great choice.
Both bullets fall out their molds with a simple shake.
Either will serve you well in .45ACP
The Gold Standard for me is the LBT 425-230-LFN:
Attachment 285185
When you seat it to where the diameter starts to reduce, your COAL is about perfect for 1911 mags, it feeds slick as a greased eel's boogers, and the flat point does a fine job demolishing water bottles and other kinetic targets.
When cast hard, it's pretty destructive, but can still penetrate a lot. At standard hardball speed of 830 fps, I recovered the bullet on the right from milk jug #9 in the stack:
Attachment 285186
Not sure if Veral Smith is still playing, but his aluminum molds with their "cavitied" sprue plates are an absolute joy to cast with. Only problem is you have to run them through a lube sizer. To give me a similar tumble lube option, I started a group buy on NOE for this Ranch Dog designed mold:
Attachment 285190
During the group buy discussion, some clever participant suggested turing the front lube groove into a crimp groove so it could be run in various revolvers as well, and the rest is history. Bought two molds - one for solids, and the other for knocking out small and large cavity HP's
The Accurate Molds 45-230 A, F, FT, H, and T will all get you to about the same place, depending on your exact preferences.
No real mystery to any of them - all about 0.6" long, with a meplat of .30" to .32"
RCBS 45-225 discontinued but an awesome mold
Lyman 452374
Noe 45-237 RN, a clone of the H&G 34, the NOE is in stock as I write this.
Arsenal 453-230 RF
Arsenal 4534-230 H&G 34 clone
Arsenal 452-230 WFN
I have the RCBS, the Lyman, the NOE will be here this week and the Arsenal 452-230 WFN is on order.
I've also got a box of other 225-230 gr bullet molds that I never use and really don't like.
Yep. It’s virtually identical to the original 45 ACP ball bullet.Quote:
Originally Posted by eb in oregon
I'll be another for the Lee 230TC it's all I cast for .45 anymore
A million years ago when I first started casting, one of the first mold that I bought was the RCBS 230 grain round nose. It's a "nothing fancy" cast version of a hard ball bullet, and was designed with the 45 acp in mind. In many decades of use I cannot recall it ever jamming in any of the pistols that I've used it in.
Veral usually made them quite larger in diameter, like .452" not .425"Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigslug
I have that one and like it a lot, feeds very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by jim147
I also have the LEE 452-200 which feeds as well and at 200 vs vs 230 saves a bit of lead each shot.
Slim