45 ACP Accuracy Load

[41rem]

Have a favorite? I'm thinking of using a 200 grain LSWC to punch some X rings out

New to the 45 ACP game

 

[truck driver]

Lots of good accurate target loads for .45 acp with light bullets to soften the recoil.
First you need to find a load that is consistent and reliable that you can tune to the gun. Just like a rifle each pistol likes a specific bullet and powder.
Bullseye powder is the most popular and can be loaded up and down with no problems and is not position sensitve in the case, 200 gr lead SWC start with 3.8grs, go up to 4.0grs or down to 3.5grs, works well with a 185gr Lead SWC also taper crimp to .465", OAL is measured off the bullet shoulder and here's the scientific measurement, the thickness of your finger nail, the bullet is seated off the shoulder and the seating stem is modified by drilling it with a 3.8" drill bit. AMU's favorite load is 4.3grs of Vit N310 Star Line cases WW large primer 185gr Nosler JHP or a 185gr Zero JHP taper crimp to .470" OAL 1.20", case length is .888"- .893" before sizing anything shorter should be recycled, the bullet is seated off the ogave so you have to drill out the seating stem with the same 3/8" drill bit. the reason for doing this is so you can seat the bullets straight in the case, it is very easy to seat them crooked.
If you want more info look at the BullseyeL web sight and you will find a ton of information.
bullseyeforum.net

 

[truck driver]

If you think I was blowing smoke about the information I provided this is what my recently rebarreled and tuned 1911 .45 acp will do at 50yds from a ransome rest during testing by my pistol smith.

 

[Hunter26]

I don't have a specific load but my Springfield gets fed a lot of 200gr SWC's over Titegroup and Win231/HP-38. I've used Hornady HAP, Oregon Trail and cast my own that are a copy of the famous H&G 68 mold. All have been extremely accurate with loads on the lighter side but that would function the slide reliably.

 

[JD338]

Nice shooting Roger!

JD338

 

[Bruce Mc]

5 grs of 231 with the 200gr lead swc has worked for me a long time.

 

[truck driver]

Nice shooting Roger!

JD338

Thanks JD338, but it was not me. This is a test target fired from a Ransome pistol rest by my pistol smith. If I could shoot that good I would be a National Champion lol, funny thing is the pistol was built by the now National Bullseye Champion. He not only shoots good but builds a great shooting pistol. If I can hold the 9 ring at 50yds I will be very happy, at 77yrs I'm well past my prime but I'm still out there trying.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

3
Shot some 3.5grs Bullseye and 200gr SWC loads yesterday. Pleasant to shoot and made a big hole clustered together as long as I did my part.

 

[Guy Miner]

Sadly Bullseye has been pretty much unobtainable for several years. It's a great powder for accuracy loads with the 45 ACP and 38 Special.

 

[41rem]

Sadly Bullseye has been pretty much unobtainable for several years. It's a great powder for accuracy loads with the 45 ACP and 38 Special.

Thats ok on my end, l have a decent supply of WW 231 on hand so I'll start with that.

 

[Guy Miner]

Aiming at the "8" and the head at various distances:


5.0 grains of W231 is working out well for me.

Guy

 

[JD338]

I load 5.3 grs W231 with a Berry 230 gr copper plated bullet.

JD338

 

[RL338]

Aiming at the "8" and the head at various distances:
View attachment 28923
View attachment 28924
5.0 grains of W231 is working out well for me.

Guy

Nice shooting Guy

 

[truck driver]

I showed you what the pistol will do so since I just got it back from the Smith I thought I would share a few pictures.
The padded waterproof case was unexpected but a nice touch from the Smith, the picture of the bottom of the slide shows a special cut done to relieve the pressure on the disconnect when the slide goes back into battery after firing. This is done for smoother cycling of the slide when shooting soft target loads under 800fps, it also helps to make it more reliable when feeding the next round but not necessary on a carry gun.
Tight fitted barrel, barrel bushing, new pins custom made slide stop, sear cut for a short roll along with a 14# flat coil recoil spring and long recoil guide rod and 19# main spring is what makes it shoot so good.
Even though it has had virtually 10s of thousands of rounds shot threw it since Les Bare built it while working in the Springfield Armory Custom shop the slide is still fairly tight which also helps.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm running low on my stash of 200 gr LSWC cast bullets. I'll finish them out by reloading 50-100 more then I'll switch to two other bullets I've had great results with in low-recoil target loads:

185 grain Nosler JHP - bought 3,000 of them back when Nosler/SPS had some great bargains on them - it's a bullet that the US Army Marksmanship Unit used for excellent accuracy and our friend Roy Y. says it's great on whitetail too!

185 grain Berrys RN hollow base plated - have quite a few on hand. Inexpensive, accurate and smooth feeding as they pretty much duplicate the profile of a 230 grain FMJ bullet. I've shot those things into tiny groups in the past.

Will likely load those 185's to around 900 fps.

Guy

 

[41rem]

Aiming at the "8" and the head at various distances:
View attachment 28923
View attachment 28924
5.0 grains of W231 is working out well for me.

Guy

Good shooting Guy!

I've got the SA 45 myself, I'll post a few target pics after my bullets arrive & I get to loading

 

[41rem]

Rainy day here, good for reloading in the warm & dry man cave. Found a bag of mixed head stamp 45 brass half a box of Sierra 185 JHC. Went to work with my eBay low buget Lyman dies, Remington 2.5 primers and some AA #5

Starting load said 9.5 grains for 1040 fps out of a 5"

Will test soon