Getting ready to reload .45 ACP- school me

N

North East Redneck

New member
OK guys, got a new .45, M&Pc. Currently reload .38, .357 and .45 Colt on a single stage RCBS from the '60s. Use Lee dies. Mostly use Bullseye and Trail Boss.
So I know Bullseye is OK for the .45, what's better?
I have no problem with Lee dies. Do I need the three or four die set?
Usually use dippers, but have a balance scale.
Mostly use cast bullets, ready to use FMJ or whatever.
So any opinions, knowledge etc is appreciated.
 
Bullseye is a pretty darn good powder for .45 auto, from light target loads to full power.
Better than Bullseye?
N310 and Clays might be a little better for the light target loads.
Slow powders like Longshot or Power Pistol might get you a few FPS over Bullseye ,but it won't be much.
I like coated and plated bullets for plinking, 185 JHP's for serious target work.
I don't like the Lee FCD dies, I prefer standard dies.
I use a Lee sizer, Lyman M expander, Redding seater & separate taper crimp.
 
So I know Bullseye is OK for the .45, what's better?
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Don't know. All I use is Bullseye.

I have no problem with Lee dies. Do I need the three or four die set?
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You're probably OK with 3. If you pay attention to the instructions for adjusting so it both seats and crimps.

Usually use dippers, but have a balance scale.
Mostly use cast bullets, ready to use FMJ or whatever.
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Unnh. Don't measure, charge by charge, on a balance beam scale. Get a powder measure, or stick with the dippers.

So any opinions, knowledge etc is appreciated.
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230 grain round nose, 4.7 grains of bullseye. Trust me, that's probalby where you want to be.

There are subtilties. But, .45 is pretty forgiving.
 
Bulllseye (1913) was used in original factory loads. Many talk it down these days. In my experience, it is a reliably accurate powder across the full spectrum of bullet types and weights in .45 ACP.

Criticisms are - it burns dirty, but I don't care. It is too easy to double charge because it takes very little case volume. I am a very careful reloader and follow safety and quality control procedures, as such I dont care about that either.

Other good powders for .45 ACP are W231 / HP38 (same specs), Titegroup, and lots of others. I have extra 700X on hand, it works great, but meters poorly, so that one's at a disadvantage in my Dillon 550.
 
Stick with Bullseye! Use copper plated/jacketed, stay away from lead! As for Lee dies, they're fine! Make sure you get a Lee Factory Crimp die, if you don't already have one. A balance scale is better than dippers. Have fun, 45auto is easy to load for!
 
As mentioned above - Bullseye is a great choice for 45 ACP.
231/ HP-38 is also an excellent choice.
The only caution is to be careful to avoid double charges.
 
I use Bullseye, 231 and Red Dot. I found that round nose bullets tend to work in all the .45's I have fired. SWC's will work in some but not all. The other problem I have had is making loads too light to work the slide. I have a load that works great in my son's Ruger 1911, but it won't operate the slide in my brother's Kimber 1911.
 
You're going to be hard pressed to get a propellant better than Bullseye. It'll run the spectrum from pure target poppers to "90%" power. I'll take a small issue with Hammerhead in that Bullseye comes up a bit short when going for full-power - it's a bit fast for that.

lee n. field's post pretty much covered everything. Great post.

For me personally, I prefer W231 (or HP-38 - same powder; different label). W231 runs a little cleaner - okay, a lot cleaner. It's just a tick slower, so you can driver your bullets just a tick harder. I think it meters just a touch better too - but you're using dippers.

It would be foolhardy to knock Bullseye for 45 ACP. The two together is something on the order of peanut butter n jelly. I used to use B'eye for 45 ACP but made the switch over to W231 a little over a quarter century ago. I still use a lot of B'eye for 38 Special lead target loads - although, I'm actually phasing B'eye of my inventory entirely (long story). I only have a little remaining; and I don't intend to replenish.

For 45 ACP, I shoot lead, plated, and jacketed. I actually like lead bullets - I think they're the most accurate. Tough to beat a 200gn LSWC for accuracy. With B'eye, I think I loaded them in the 4.6 or 4.8gn neighborhood. Now, I use 5.0gn W231. Accurate round. Just my experience.
 
45 ACP is one of my favorite cartridges, and I've loaded a lot using all available kinds of bullets. Many, many of my reloads were with Bullseye, and I believe the "classic" load is 5.0 gr. with a 230 gr RN bullet, either lead or jacketed. If there is a "better" powder around, I've not found it (I also use UNique).

Personally I would just use the 3 die set and hide the FCD. Start off with book OAL and loads and you'll be good to go for several thousand reloads, then you can try something different, if you feel the need.

I don't crimp my 45 ACP ammo, I just use a taper crimp die to remove any flare in the case mouth. Look up "The Plunk Test" and use that to determine the "fit" of your ammo in your guns. Perhaps starting out with a 230 gr. jacketed RN would be a good idea (there have been 7.85 bizallion rounds loaded with that bullet so something must be right) to get the hang of reloading the 45 (I believe in starting with K.I.S.S.).

My favorite bullet now is a H&G 68 clone, 200 gr. LSWC, but my P90 doesn't feed it 100% so it's just used in my 1911. I reloaded a lot of Precision coated 230 gr. RN and liked them a lot, clean handling, clean shooting, and just as accurate as any bullet I've uses. Plated bullets are getting more popular and many use them in their 45s, but I tried them and found they offered no more than my home cast, my PCed bullets, or Hi-Tek coated Precision bullets, so I don't use them in any of my guns.

Plunk test;
 

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"...Usually use dippers..." Throw those away. They can vary the powder charge + or - a full grain. Use a powder thrower once you have worked up the load. And visually check there's powder in each case.
Shooting jacketed bullets gets expensive in a hurry. Cast or plated aren't too bad. Taper crimp only and as little as works in your pistol. Just enough flare for the bullet to sit in the case by itself too.
"...230 grain round nose, 4.7 grains of Bullseye..." 4.5 for a cast 230. snicker. Point is that you must work up the load for your pistol.
"...when going for full-power..." No real need for hot loads. My 4.5 grain cast bullet load works just fine for bullseye shooting and bowling pins in the old days.
"...stay away from lead..." Absolutely no need to do that unless you're shooting indoors and the range owners demand no lead.
"...7.85 bizallion..." Bazillion. snicker.
 
stay away from lead!
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. . . ^ I missed that one the first time through.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree.

My favorite bullet now is a H&G 68 clone, 200 gr. LSWC
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Me too. These: http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=56&category=5&secondary=13&keywords=

Although lead is the most economical way to shoot, that's not why I use them. I use them because they are consistent and highly accurate. 45 ACP is a natural for lead. Many (most) chamberings/calibers aren't well suited for lead slugs. But 45 ACP with it's modest pressure and high mass to barrel distribution (read: large caliber), is very well suited for lead. Barrel leading (given a realistically loaded round) is minimal in the 45 ACP world.

I shoot my share of plated and jacketed too; but lead gets the call most often.
 
"...Usually use dippers..." Throw those away. They can vary the powder charge + or - a full grain. Use a powder thrower once you have worked up the load.
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...and what is a powder thrower other than mechanized dipper? Exact same principle....a hollow cavity that is filled to the top and then leveled off. Any powder that varies when using dippers will also vary when using a thrower. Only advantage a thrower has over using dippers is speed. Many powders(Unique for one) shoots best when charged by volume as opposed to weight and is one reason it is so popular among those that use dippers. Many benchrest shooters charge by volume as opposed to weight, citing it delivers more consistency with certain powders. While I agree, dippers are slow for loading volumes of .45ACP, that is their only disadvantage.

As for good powders for .45ACP, Bullseye is a good one as is Unique, along with W231/HP38. Your manuals will tell you what powders are appropriate for the shooting you are doing and the projectiles you are using. Always the best place to start.
 
Powders I haven't been able to beat Bulls Eye yet. 700x, red dot, unique, are good substitutes, Tight Group is very snappy. I don't care for it. I am looking forward to trying W 231 but haven't seen it yet. They say it's cleaner and meters well. That's not a bad thing.

I just about finished up prepping some range brass this week. Things to watch for. Blazer is the only primer pocket that have small pistol size. All the rest are Large pistol.

Some federal flash holes are extra large some are standard size flash holes. The quality of the Fed. cases are the best for spring back tension to hold the bullet tight.

Winchester and W-W are what I would say are good.

R-P Throw them out. Very poor tension to hold the bullet. Speer are only a little better.


You can use the scoops for your powder. Although I have been using a lee powder thrower for years and with the right powders it can't be beat for speed with good accuracy. When you have a large batch of cases to load you will be glad to have a good quality powder thrower.

Keep us in tune with how you are coming along.

:)
 
With a little practice and concentration, I can hold Bullseye powder charges to about .2 grain with my Lee dippers...
 
I always use bulky powder in my pistol rounds so there is never any question about double-charges occurring, as double-charges can occur w/ Bullseye. :(

I use Unique for most of my pistol reloading including .45ACP, but there are lots of others. :)
 
.45 auto is about as easy as it gets for semi-auto pistols. Bullseye works well along with many other powders - I've used Unique, Win 231, power pistol, and Tite-group.

The dippers might work OK for 45 ACP since it's such a forgiving round but I'd would pick up a Lee perfect power dispenser for $25. The dispenser will provide better consistency and allow for finer tuning of loads.

I've used FMJ and plated before I started casting my own but the last couple thousand rounds I've loaded have been cast.

One thing I don't think anyone else has mentioned is that you need to inspect the brass to verify what size primers your brass has. Historically Large pistol primers was the standard but recently some manufacturers have switched to Small pistol primers. Each type of primer works well however if you try and use a large primer in a small primer pocket it's not going to work out very well and a small primer will just fall out of a large primer pocket.
 
Thanks everyone. Lot of good info.
I will be trying the Bullseye first as I have it.
Will keep an eye out for a couple others as well.
For the first loads gonna go with 230gr plated bullets.
Currently have Blazer, S&B and Winchester brass on hand.
Also have Federal and Winchester primers.
Going to start with getting the 4 piece die set and see how using just the three works.
The powder measure suggested will also be on the list.
I have successfully and safely loaded 1000s of .38 and .357 and 100s of .45 Colt with dippers, maybe it's time to move up.
 
To be honest, I have reloaded .45 auto for a couple of years now. Not too many, maybe 500-600 rounds total. At the time of my start into this world, powder was extremely scarce. I mean SCARCE!! I ended up looking around and picking up some Win AA Super Handicap(Shotgun powder). I looked at the burn rate chart and started VERY LOW. I have since worked up to 6.5 gr on a 185gr Hornady XTP. I love the decent recoil and the accuracy is fantastic. Just my 2c. I have since moved back to my home state and powder is plenty. I am looking forward to finally running out of my AA SH. :D. Oh and the setup you have is fine for what you're doing. Start light and go stronger. I usually do 5 round batches and with each one i would uptake by .2gr till i felt comfortable with the recoil. I have put thousands of round from the factory through this pistol and before i get judged on basing it by the recoil. I know this pistol. My first and biggest love!!!
 
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