Best Auto loading pistol caliber for cast

[MostlyLeverGuns]

45 Auto, 200 SWC is easy, the .40 S&W and is surprisingly easy to load, IF you just go for moderate/easy shooting loads, lots of cheap brass. 45 ACP has advantage of large or small primers if you have/need them. The 9 is NOT a reloader's friend, high pressure, small case volume, case taper make for more difficult reloading. .380's not bad, .32 ACP about the same as .380, milder pressures but they are small to handle. A S&W 52 in 38 Special shooting full wadcutters may be the 'best' cast bullet fun pistol.

[Bazoo]

I'm another 45 ACP fan for cast. I had great results with the Lee TL452-230-2R, the Lee TL452-230-TC (which weighed closer to 240 grains with my alloy), and the RCBS 45-201-SWC, all in a 1911. It was just an easy cartridge and gun combination to work with. Wheel weight alloy worked fine for me, and I used both traditional lube and tumble lube without issue.

[BamaNapper]

I'm not a master when it comes to reloading, maybe a decade messing with semiautos. My wife and I shoot 9mm almost exclusively, but I have friends I've reloaded 45 for. I can say honestly that of the last 20K 9mm rounds I've loaded, I've had less than a handful that have not chambered and fired as expected. That's using a dozen guns of varying brands, plus what's been shot by others at the range. The 9's seem super reliable and easy to reload. On the other hand, 45's have been a headache for me. Some guns will cycle and fire round nose just fine, while other guns want a truncated cone. Some want a slightly shorter OAL, while some accept OAL as listed in the manual. Of the handful of 45 guns I tried loading for, I've yet to find a reliable round that will work for maybe all but one. I'm not saying 45's are a nightmare, just that reliable 9mm ammo was a cakewalk for me.

[Ford SD]

I have been thinking twords 45 ACP just because it could share a lot of molds with my 45 colt revolvers,
As far as 9mm vs 45ACP I think it’s a horse a peace both got there ups and downs but perhaps sharing bullets with my 45 colt revolver would be a big upside to it, I mean in average defensive shooting it would be more then sufficient, in the poo was hitting the fan world, ehh both are the wrong choice your much better suited to a rifle as Evan 5.56 hits harder

the 45 acp can be .450 -.451- .452 in diameter 185-230g

the 45 colt will need Bigger / heaver so you would not be able to share moulds

[Barry54]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...vity-pb-brass/

I use this mold for 45 acp as a 230 grain hollow point. It’s around 250 grains as a flat point.

[Winger Ed.]

I'm a big .45ACP fan on the 1911 platform.
You can tune the gun to go from mild to wild, and there is plenty of different molds
to do anything with it.

I like that little stumpy 190 SWC in my old Gold Cup, but the Lee 200 trunciated cone SWC is a close 2nd.

[charlie b]

I also love cast in my 1911 .45's. I especially like the 185-200gn SWC's, my 200gn are from Lee molds.

My HK9mm does not like cast. The barrel is not throated and shaves lead no matter how I size them (including oversize expander).

But, all of the casting and reloading has been 'easy'. From .25acp to .45 colt in pistols. The only 'difficult' ones were the .25 and .32 acp just because I had trouble handling the small cases and bullets in the press. One of the most accurate was a 1903 Colt (.32ACP).

Make your choice on what you want to shoot and how much you want to shoot it. Buy a mold for that gun, even if all you can afford is a Lee.

[jimb16]

I've shot cast in .45 auto, 9mm, .380 and even .25 auto. Cast has always worked well in any of them. The only one that gave any difficulty is the .25 auto, but that is due to getting it to cast well. I usually use nearly straight lino for that to get good bullets. It isn't the caliber, its the experience. When you know how, it gets easier.

[K43]

7.63x25 (30 Mauser) and 7.62x25 Tokerev. They're like little bottle neck rifle cartridges and just crank out easy. The only thing I change between the two is the volume of Unique and boolets. The dies stay the same.
After that .45 ACP.

[shooting on a shoestring]

RyanJames170,
Regarding using the same molds for 45 acp and 45 Colt, might work but might not.
I’ve got a couple of 1911’s in 45 acp. I’ve got mmmmm let’s say several revolvers in 45 Colt. No crossover between them for my boolits.

The 45 acp 1911’s both require 0.452” boolits. Not unusual.
A couple of the 45 Colt revolvers need 0.453”, some need 0.454” a couple need 0.456” and one needs 0.458”.

For boolit shape, the 1911’s get either a truncated cone or a semi wadcutter with rounded edges on the nose to feed well.
The 45 Colts get semi wadcutters with square edges on the nose or full wadcutters to hit harder.

Boolit weights for the 1911’s run from 196 grains to 215 grains.
Boolit weights for the 45 Colts run from 200 grains to 310 grains.

So for me and my guns, I don’t share boolits between 45 acp and 45 Colt.
Is it possible for you to do it? Maybe. Depends on the diameters of your 1911 throats and your 45 Colt chamber exits. If they’re the same, then yes….provided you’re ok with light weight boolits in 45 Colt hitting a little low with 45 acp boolit weights.

[Rapidrob]

.38 Special ( not .38 Super or .38 Auto) A very inexpensive round to reload due to 158 grain bullet or less weight bullets, a light powder load, very light recoil and deadly accurate. You can even shoot it indoors with Speer plastic bullets and a primer only.
My 1911 in .38 special is just a joy to shoot.

[wilecoyote]

TL-452-230-2R #90358: this six cav. Lee mold has worked without problems even on my HK45_
easy to cast, easy to feed, easy to shoot_
cheap, boring reliable, reasonably accurate even in my hands, btw_
not a .45 lover, but for sure my 1st semiauto caliber of choice about cast bullets, and with double choice of primers as bonus_

[Texas by God]

The .45 auto is my favorite pistol cartridge period.
Easy to load with hundreds of recipes for jacketed or cast bullets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hick]

the 45 acp can be .450 -.451- .452 in diameter 185-230g

the 45 colt will need Bigger / heaver so you would not be able to share moulds

Actually, you can share molds. The Lyman 452-374 is a 230 grain round nose that works fine in both. (load data for the 452-374 in 45 acp is in the Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th edition). Getting it to work well in the 45 acp is a bit tricky (PC seems to work best) but the performance makes it worth figuring out.

[HWooldridge]

My Ruger Old Model Blackhawk in 45 Colt likes .4515 diameter pills, which also work well in my 45 auto. Most modern guns run around .452, while older revolvers might be closer to .453-.454. I’ve never seen any problems with interchangeability, but I don’t own any old pistols in 45 Colt.

[.429&H110]

Dunno about best, but worst had to be my Kimber .45 before the tight camber was reamed.
Flunked the pluck test with factory loads when dirty no chance for my reloads.
All good now, though, an example of expensive not worth the money.

[35 Rem]

Regarding multi-use bullets for both 45 ACP and 45 Colt, the RCBS 45-230-CM is often mentioned as working with both cartridges. For that reason it's on my list of molds to get one of these days. Looks reasonable to think it could be made to shoot in the 45ACP.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010279526?pid=651749

[wch]

Plus one!

[Bass Ackward]

I think I see a pattern here. From handgun to rifle …. 45 ACP. Then when you get tired of chasing brass, you can get a wheeler. You can buy small primers that are cheaper and generally more available too. And if you go 45 Colt at some point, you can use the ACP sizer to neck size the Colt to get enough neck tension. But …. in the end, you’ll own everything anyway at some point. Then as you become edgumacated, come back to the 45.

[rintinglen]

I'm voting 45 ACP. It has undoubtedly been loaded more over a longer period, so there is plenty of data available. I suppose the 9mm might be seeing more favor these days, but from the 1920's until the 1980's, more 45 ACP's were reloaded than all other semi-auto cartridges combined. This had more to do with the guns available than the case. Unlike the heavily tapered 9mm, or the various bottle necked cartridges, the straight walled cartridges slide easily into a carbide die, and IME, I have had less trouble with gross variances in case thickness in the 45 ACP than in the 9mm. Plus, the greater volume is more forgiving to minor differences in the powder charge, A tenth of a grain or even two seldom makes much difference. Likewise, a few thousandths difference in length has less impact on pressures than in the case of smaller, higher pressure rounds. All in all, for cast, the 45 ACP.


And the larger case is more forgiving of minor variances. John Browning's pistol cartridges are all, save the tiny 25 ACP, easier to load than the likes of their competitors from 120 years ago. Whether the 32, 380, 38 or 45 is easier to load depends more on manual dexterity than any innate difference in the cartridges themselves. Heck, I am just finishing up a run of 400+ 6.35/25 ACP's. Size, flare, charge with powder and seat, then taper crimp so the case mouth is .472. Chances are you'll have a fine cartridge capable of excellent accuracy with no or minimal leading.


All that said, I freely confess that I carry smaller, lighter guns that kick less these days. I am older, and weaker, and a bit more bunged up than I was when I went on patrol with my SIG 220 thirty years ago.