water drop .45 acp bullets?

[bigboredad]

I'm shooting a 1911 with the rcbs 230-rn the guns main purpose is home defense sometimes a ccw and last a plinker fun gun in order of importance. so my thought was to get a bullet that most closely matched the hardball profile for function and because it has been proven over the years to take the fight out of the bad guys. So if I'm trying to match hardball ammo should I water drop the boolits to harden them up or air cool or will it really make a difference

[ReloaderFred]

I"ve never water dropped a .45 acp bullet in 41 years of casting for them. It's a relatively slow, low pressure round, and I've never found the need for hard bullets in them.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[jsizemore]

WD leaded my barrel and AC did not. All has to do with the light load of fast burning powder I am using.

[S.R.Custom]

It depends... You're going to get a lot of different answers here.

Personally, I WD them. My boolits don't get as beat up on the feed ramps, and I get better accuracy when I WD. (I use 5.8 grs 231.)

[bigboredad]

jsizemore

what type of powder are you using. I usually use unique universal and trail boss with air cooled and have no leading

[thegreatdane]

I WD mine. I like 'em that way, bc they cool quicker and are a little harder for handling, pan lubing, and loading... less prone to deforming and surface marks. no other reasons, really.

[Moonie]

I've used them both ways, honestly haven't noticed a difference, it won't make a difference with your chosen boolit on target.

[Char-Gar]

I am 50 years deep into reloading the 45 ACP round for the 1911 pistol. The standard wisdom was you needed hard bullets to hold the shallow rifling. With the advent of the Speer soft swaged bullets in the 60's this old wives tale was proven false. They work just fine.

ACWW works just fine in the 1911 pistol. There is no need to water drop or use a harder alloy. You can use Lyman No 2 or Taracorp with no problems, but such alloys are not needed. With bevel based bullets these hard bullets can have a tendency to lead.

There is fad and fancy in the handloading world, just like the fashion world. Tempering of WW metal either in the oven or by water quenching started as a way for cast bullet rifles shooters to get a harder alloy without the cost of linotype.

Somewhere along the line, it became fashionable to water quench handgun bullets. More often than not this produces bullets that are too hard for their intended use.

Unless one is pushing a 454 Casull or some such other beast at rocket speed and pressure, there is no need for water quenched bullet in handgun shooting. With experience most bullet casters get over the WD phase.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I actually went the other route with my 1911´s. For a defense type round I am loading 50-50 mix and have some loaded with 25% ww to lead. I want it to expand on contact and I see no accuracy lose. I figure if the 45 Colt used pure lead it could not hurt to use softer boolits in the auto. I did polish the feed ramp on my "Night Stand" 1911 and the round nose slip into the chamber with no fuss.

[MtGun44]

No need for hard boolits in a 1911. AC WWTs works just fine.

Bill

[Bass Ackward]

So if I'm trying to match hardball ammo should I water drop the boolits to harden them up or air cool or will it really make a difference

People shoot all over the place and form opinions of the same variety. The only opinion that counts is the gun's. So .... what's Professor Gun say?

[jsizemore]

jsizemore

what type of powder are you using. I usually use unique universal and trail boss with air cooled and have no leading

I use 4.4gr of Promo with my AC #68 swc and no leading. WD or Lyman #2 sized the same lead the barrel.

[jsizemore]

I am 50 years deep into reloading the 45 ACP round for the 1911 pistol. The standard wisdom was you needed hard bullets to hold the shallow rifling. With the advent of the Speer soft swaged bullets in the 60's this old wives tale was proven false. They work just fine.

ACWW works just fine in the 1911 pistol. There is no need to water drop or use a harder alloy. You can use Lyman No 2 or Taracorp with no problems, but such alloys are not needed. With bevel based bullets these hard bullets can have a tendency to lead.

There is fad and fancy in the handloading world, just like the fashion world. Tempering of WW metal either in the oven or by water quenching started as a way for cast bullet rifles shooters to get a harder alloy without the cost of linotype.

Somewhere along the line, it became fashionable to water quench handgun bullets. More often than not this produces bullets that are too hard for their intended use.

Unless one is pushing a 454 Casull or some such other beast at rocket speed and pressure, there is no need for water quenched bullet in handgun shooting. With experience most bullet casters get over the WD phase.

Amen!

[btroj]

I water drop for my 1911. Then again, I water drop everything. Just a personal preference.
I fully agree that you should let the gun tell you what it wants. They usually will voice displeasure with things they don't like in a very clear manner.
My barrel seems ok with what I am feeding it and I get no leading.

[btroj]

I water drop for my 1911. Then again, I water drop everything. Just a personal preference.
I fully agree that you should let the gun tell you what it wants. They usually will voice displeasure with things they don't like in a very clear manner.
My barrel seems ok with what I am feeding it and I get no leading.

[pls1911]

All my 1911's have the sharp breakover lines in the chamber rounded and have polished feed ramps, chamber mouths, and chambers.
Several bullets designs from 180 through 230 grain including the (RCBS RN) feed interchanfeably like corn through a goose when loaded to a reasonable level.
My bullet alloys are somewhere around 50-50 ww / "other source" salvage or roof flashing lead.
Bullets drop from the mold at 9-10bhn, harden to about 12-14 after 30 days, but I go ahead and heat treat 'em to 18-22bhn.
Always size large .452 for the ACP and - .454 for the Blackhawks...and always clean barrels and actions with Ed's Red w/lanolin.
Never had an accuracy or leading problems with bullseye, unique, or blue dot in ACP or LC.
All 230+ slugs penetrate pigs through the shoulders...

[miestro_jerry]

I have been casting for over 30 years and generally water drop all of my cast bullets. Never had any real leading problems, I have shoot the same mold's castings, with WWs, water dropped in a Colt Series 70, a Springfield 1911, Colt Series 80, a couple of generations of Kimbers and currently my SIG P220.

Jerry

[healey55]

I water drop everything because that is how I started. I never even knew it was hardening em when I did it back in the 70's

I did it because it was just easier for me. I could reach in the bucket and pull out nice cool bullets.

[Lloyd Smale]

its sure not nessisary to prevent leading in a GOOD 1911 but it sometimes will give you better accuracy. It mostly depends on the gun. To me its another variable like changing powder, primer or bullet design to get the most accuracy out of a gun. Dont believe for a second that in a GOOD gun that water dropping is going to cause more leading. IF a harder bullet was worse how would jacketed bullets shoot? Remember that jacketed bullets are not only much harder but usually 451 diameter which is smaller then the normal 452 bullets we use.

[GabbyM]

The Lyman #452374 is the hardball profile bullet.
I don't have that bullet but others say its the slickest feeding acp bullet.

I have the RCBS 45-230-RN. It's calibrated with Linotype as most RCBS moulds are so it was dropping 242 grain bullets from WW. I milled off about .025 to .030” from the top of mould and brought it down to a 230 grain bullet. Have the same issue with a Lee 230 TC mould I have. It's 240 plus in weight. Lyman RN is 225 grains from Lyman #2 alloy and a Saeco bullets will be calibrated to 2/6 alloy. Think I'd go with the Saeco 225 gr TCBB or the Lyman 225gr RN. But I don't have either one.