Very Light .45acp Load?

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I'd like to know how light I can go with Bullseye underneath a 230gn cast bullet.

As of right now, I run either 4.7gns or 5.2gns depending on my needs.

How light have you gone? How light is safe? I've heard things about flashover and how it may or may not be a real phenomena.

I have a couple more powders, but would rather only have one open at a time.

Thanks,

Josh <><

[tding]

I use 4.1 grains of Bullseye under a 230 grain RN boolet for plinking with excellent results.

[yondering]

How low do you want to go? using a soft alloy, 2gr Bullseye will push the boolit out the barrel, most of the time. Be careful it doesn't bounce back and put yer eye out.

Depending on the gun and springs, 3.5 to 4gr should still cycle the action. My 5" 1911 with light springs will cycle 3gr Bullseye and a 200gr SWC.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I'd like to load up a quiet round for dispatching raccoons. Ideally this round would stay in the raccoon's body and have the report of a subsonic .22LR from a rifle barrel.

I've been having raccoons raid the homestead at night, and the .22 doesn't always do it. The 'coon will be lobotomized and I'll have to finish it with a .45.

I'd take the .22, but I need one hand to hold the flashlight. My .22 revolver is currently under the weather - a small piece went and disappeared.

I also like the idea of a LRN in the chest and not exiting.

I'll try 2gn and work up. Thank you.

Josh <><

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Not really sure what light is as it means different things to different people. The classic target shooters loading with a 185-200 grain bullet is 3.5 grains of Bullseye. Others recommend 4.0 for better performance at 50 yards or bucking the wind. Yet another type of target shooter uses lighter springs or snips them shorter by a coil or two so that lower loadings or "powder puff" loads can be used to lessen recoil. Since you specify that you are using a 230 grain RN I'll simply pass on what I use; 4.0-4.1 grains of Red Dot which is in the ballpark of the same amount of Bullseye. No idea as to the exact velocity but it is probably in the 800-900 fps range. Not much recoil with it. It shoots nines and tens all day off the bench at 25 yards. No leading using straight WW, sized .451 and lubed with 50/50 NRA formula. Never tried going lower with either RD or BE, but at some lower point with a 45Auto you won't get the slide to function and/or the accuracy will fall off. The RCBS 225 grain RN and the H&G #34 are better RN bullets than the Lyman 452374 as their wide bands provide better bearing/guiding surface. Lee's version is reported to do ok; no info on Saeco. Hope that this helps. LLS

[35remington]

Having a 200-230 grain bullet "not exit" a raccoon or possum is a pretty tall order if said bullet is fired from a pistol.

If going fast enough to reliably exit the barrel, I wouldn't make any bets on it not going through a critter likely to run around 15 lbs.

It's a fine line you're trying to run. If you could get it to around slingshot speed, then maybe - but then sticking in the barrel would be an issue. I believe even 500 fps will easily go through and through a raccoon.

I'd suggest a roundball load, single fed from the magazine. This would cut both noise for a given velocity (reduced bearing surface would also reduce chance of sticking) and penetration.

Apply two grains of Bullseye to that, and go from there.

[358wcf]

My Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (1980's) shows very light loads as "starting loads"- I shoot (amongst others) a 45 Auto Rim (Same as 45acp with a big rim), and the Lyman manual shows a starting load of 3.0 gr Bullseye with the 225 gr bullet delivering 475fps-
This definitely qualifies as a light load, and should have minimal recoil, and be relatively quiet.
Gotta love these older manuals when you want to reference tested loads that are a bit out of the ordinary!

358wcf

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

Played around some and came up with 2.6gns of BE underneath a 230gn LRN, fired by a CCI magnum large pistol primer.

It will function my pistol well using the 21# mainspring and 16# stock spring.

I didn't try the 18.5# recoil spring, but it would surprise me if it worked.

A very informal test involved a soft wood log. The bullet entered the log and lodged sideways, indicating the beginning of a tumbling effect - something I was hoping for - and I believe it should stay inside the critter.

The report is milder than a .22 pistol, and recoil is about the same, but more of a shove.

Loaded up a few A-Merc cases since I don't mind losing them, and have a well marked magazine ready for action.

Thanks,

Josh <><

[shotman]

Well the mag primer adds about 1gr so you have a starting load. You could go with 2gr but would need light spring if it a steel slide

[Gee_Wizz01]

I am with 35Remington, I think it will go all the way through a raccoon. I shot a 90 lb feral pig with a .45ACP using a 185 gr button nose wadcutter at 700 fps, and it went in the front right shoulder, went through the shoulder blade, passed through the length of the pig and hit the left rear hip joint shattering the joint and stopped just under hide in the pigs hip. A .45 slug penetrates better than people give it credit. I think that a 230 gr at 450 fps will penetrate a raccoon from end to end.

G

[yondering]

Josh, if your gun will feed them, you might try loading your boolits backwards for this light load; it should give a little extra splat factor and maybe stop the boolit a little sooner too.

Also, you may know this, but magnum primers are not needed or recommended for Bullseye powder. It's already a very fast powder as-is. Probably won't make much difference with your light load, but I wouldn't try it with anything close to full power, especially with those heavy bullets.

[35remington]

Josh, about those A-MERC cases:

Compare the extractor groove cut in them to the standard 45 ACP cases made by Winchester, Remington, et. al.

If the cut is shallower, like a .30-06 case, avoid using them in any but an Auto Rim revolver. If the extractor groove cut is too shallow, as on my A MERC cases, it's not good for the extractor.

It doesn't matter what the case is made of; steel, brass, or aluminum is of no moment when it comes to wear on the pistol. Where many cheapo and steel cases fall short is that the extractor cut in front of the case rim is not full depth.

Bad news.

[bobthenailer]

if you swap out the recoil spring to a 6 or 7 pounder it will work the slide with a very light load ! i did it once playaing around the load was so light you did not need ear plugs. i cant recall the load but start around 2.5 of BE and lessen the powder charge gradualy the velocity will be in the 500 fps range

[softpoint]

10-4 on light loads penetrating. Not long ago I shot a skunk in one of my outdoor sheds with a Marlin 1894c .357, 1.7 grains titegroup, 158 rnfp. Went through him end to end, out through the metal building, bounced of the ground and away into the brush. I wouldn't count on those bullets staying in the animal, however you can get them down pretty quiet

[JesterGrin_1]

SoftPoint that is one thing about TightGroup a little goes a long way.

[35remington]

The problem with super light springs is that oftentimes the forward travel of the slide does not have enough oomph to strip a round out of the magazine, drive it up the feedramp, and into the chamber while bringing the gun fully into battery.

Given how the gun is used manually feeding rounds from magazine to chamber is not a particular hardship.

This avoids the problem of forgetting which spring is in the gun and using full loads with a super light spring.

[WickedGoodOutdoors]

.45 cal 180 grain semi wadcutter with 3 grains of bullseye.

Very light spring

You can shoot thousands of them in a day . A friend of mine started me on Plate shoots with them. Very fast with no recoil and just enough omph to knok over the 8 inch plate.

[HiVelocity]

Okay,

Here goes my .02 worth. I would use a .410 shotgun over any pistol. I dispatch feral dogs in the jurisdiction I patrol. Since I routinely carry a 12ga, its what I use with a stiff load of #4 shot at close range. Drops them D-R-T!

Since raccoons are smaller, I'd suggest a .410 with a stiff load of 4-5 shot. This would guarantee, at least the majority of the shot, to stay within your target.

Good luck and be careful,

HiVelocity in SC

[Lloyd Smale]

my go to load in the acp is a 200 grain lyman swc and 4.3 grains of pr200. I still have quite a bit of it and its nothing but aa2 anyway so when its gone ill probably switch to the aa2. It seems to shoot as well as my best loads with bullseye and back when i bought it it was about half the price. I shoot a ton of acp and cant see using anything any slower burning as it just makes it more expensive.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I'd agree with the shotgun - if one of the things I'm trying to save weren't a bird feeder! I've rebuilt it several times now.

Surgical precision with the "Squirrel Sniper" and a coup de grace with the .45, if needed, seems to be the way to go.

Thanks,

Josh <><