.45 acp First attempt, need a double shot of patience!

[hc18flyer]

My brother got one of the CMP 1911's and I am trying to load ammo for him. I have the RCBS 45-225 run mold. I ordered some 200swc coated too. Just a pain getting them the right oal.I am shooting for 1.240 he has some factory 230fmj that measure 1.244. Am I still too long? I have seen 1.235 or 1.237 mentioned as shortest for 230 rn? Thanks, hc18flyer

[Mk42gunner]

It has been a long time since I loaded 230's in a .45 (I settled on the ~200 Lyman 452460 SWC) and you really don't want to hear how short they load.

Anyway, I used to set up dies by using a factory 230 FMJ, both for seating depth and crimp. Surprisingly, this simplistic approach worked fine in the 1911's, SIG 220 and Glock that I and my shooting buddy had at the time. We also seated and crimped in one step.

Sometimes we over think things.

Robert

[wv109323]

Load the swc to where there is 1/32" of the bullet shoulder above the case mouth. Do not sweat the oal. 1.250 is usually the goal for 230 g. RN bullets.

[charlie b]

Before you load too many check the cartridges for function in the pistol. You don't want to load up several hundred and then find out they won't chamber all the way.

Sent from my SM-P580 using Tapatalk

[Walks]

Seat that RCBS bullet so the crimp groove is just below the case mouth. A slight Taper Crimp and it'll be fine.
That is a great bullet, feeds in 1911's, Glocks, USP's and every Lever Rifle I've tried.

[slim1836]

A plunk test should determine the seating depth of the boolit.

Slim

[ddixie884]

Good point, Slim.......

[Cowhide]

I just seat my RCBS 45-230-RN so the top of the driving band is flush with the top of the case trimmed to .893". That way the 45auto round fits in my 1911's and my Ruger revolver in 45auto
Depending on the length that you trim your brass to the OAL can be different and possible part of that driving band above the rim of the case.

[44MAG#1]

I have loaded thec45 Auto for years. Started out using the H&G 130 or a clone of it in the early 70's. Then move to other bullets.. It is no secret you take the barrel and use it as a Guage to check overall length to get it right. When you drop in the round WITH THE FLARE REMOVED and it won't drop out seat it slightly deeper till it does. I then seat very slightly deeper to allow for crude buildup and call that good. This has worked for years. There will be many responses from novices to those who have thousands of dollars of equipment and more firearms than the US Army and shoot more than the whole US Military but what I described will work and work well.
If your bullet seats deeper than the one in the data you are using cut the charges and work up. No secret to it and so simple even I can do it.

[DougGuy]

A plunk test should determine the seating depth of the boolit.

Slim

+1!

If you are not happy with loading shorter COA or that gives you feeding problems with the standard GI magazines, you can always have the barrel throated then it will plunk (and feed) anything that you can cycle through the magazine including the 255gr LSWC Keith type boolits which are good hunting boolits and absolutely killer on bowling pins.

I have the GI 5" 1911A1 which I did throat the barrel and it runs like a Singer sewing machine, it feeds everything you stick in the mag.

[hc18flyer]

I did load the Hoosier 200 swc's to 1.240 and they feed just fine. I am back to the RCBS 225's, have 2 'dummies' loaded up for the plunk test. I have my Lee disc powder measure set up to throw 4.5+ grains of Bullseye. Just might have to shoot a mag, just to make sure, little brother will never know! Thanks for the help, hc18flyer

[9mmskng]

What everyone forgets to tell you guys experimenting, or starting out, is bullet profile is WAY more important than manual quoted OAL! Bullets vary, nobody knows that better than you guys casting. YOUR bullets have to function in YOUR guns. Nothing's more telltale than "kerplunk" test for this.

[Idz]

I have several 45acp pistols and every one has a slightly different freebore/leade. The cast bullet that works in all of them is the Lee TL452-230-2R with 1.270 OAL. All my tries with 1R, SWC, TC profiles worked great in some but not all pistols.
.

[hc18flyer]

I did get the 200 swc to feed just fine in my brothers 1911. I also loaded about 100 of the RCBS 45-225 RN's. OAL's varied almost 0.010 and they still all feed and shot just fine. My measurement at the taper crimp was .474-.476 and they all 'plunked'. I think I can back off of the crimp a little, maybe not so 'heavy handed' ? Since the 200 SWC's feed 'just fine', I am working on getting that mold as our main boolet for our only 1911 at this time. YES Margret, I was overthinking this, this 1911 is very forgiving. I do appreciate all your help, Tom

[Half Dog]

+1 on sending it to DougGuy.

[Castaway]

We all know the ACP cartridges headspace on the case mouth don’t we? In reality, they’re more than likely head spacing on the extractor. Due to the variance in acceptable case lengths, there’s
“slop” in how the cartridge is fitted to the chamber. I load mine so they’re headspacing on the bullet. Remove the barrel and adjust the seating depth to the point the cartridge is flush with the barrel hood when dropped into the barrel.

[beltfed]

YES, the Lyman 452460 200SWC is a way to go. Feeds well, and two classic loads run my Ithaca M1911A1 well:
"Soft Ball" target load: 3.2 gr BE or "Hard Ball" load of 4.7 gr BE.
Some guns may not run well with the 3.2 BE target load. May just need a lighter recoil spring and then will probably run with the
3.2gr load,
But, I Suggest 3.4 gr should work in most guns
And my SW M1955 revolver runs great on both loads as well as Lyman 452423 Keith 235SWC or Lyman 454424 Keith 255 SWC that I load in 45 ARM cases

beltfed/arnie