good starting load for 200gr plated 45ACP RN

G

georgiacatweazle

New member
I have some 200gr plated round nose 45 ACP from xtreme and i'm not sure of a starting load as the alternate 200gr loadings in the lyman vary too much to make an educated guess.
i have bullseye and unique powder only.

my OAL i may set to between 1.259 and 1.270

bullseye with the following is listed ...
200gr HP 3.4 - 6.0
200gr cast 3.5 - 5.6 1.161 OAL
200gr cast 4.9 - 6.0 1.235 OAL

only round nose listed is the 230gr 1.275 OAL. 3.8gr - 5.3gr

middle of the road charge i'm thinking should be 4.8gr ??
maybe a starting load of 4.0gr ?
 
Plated bullets use cast bullet data. A 200gr HP isn't cast. The style/shape makes no difference. Load for the weight and cast or jacketed.
"...200gr cast 3.5-5.6 1.161 OAL...200gr cast 4.9-6.0 1.235 OAL..." Sounds like different powders to me. And not Bullseye. The latter Unique?
My old Lyman book gives 3.5 to 4.8 of Bullseye for a 200 grain cast bullet. 5.0 to 7.2 of Unique.
Alliant shows 4.6 as MAX for a 200 grain cast bullet. And 5.4 of Unique. Reduce either by 10% for the starting load.
1.275" MAX OAL for any bullet. Always load to the max OAL in my manual, myself. Never given me any grief.
 
Plated = cast. If no cast bullet data, then jacketed start to mid-range jacketed will usually work.
Always start with the lowest starting load you can find.
If you get Richard Lee's Reloading Manual, it has plated loads--but I still check the cast loads and start with the lowest starting load.
Starting loads range from 3.1-4.0gn Bullseye with plated/cast bullets. That also tends to be the range that is most accurate.
In most of my books (and my experience), a 200gn plated/lead bullet is a 200gn plated/lead bullet, no matter what the ogive is--you just vary the COL for what is best in your guns and start with the start load.
 
the powders listed are all bullseye listings.
i figured taking the HP would have been better as it's jacketed instead of cast and the 200gr round nose is jacketed.

thanks for the info i'll use it to figure out the loading.
 
I use 3.6 gr of Bullseye under a Laser Cast 200 gr SWC. Makes a mild and accurate round. Since you are using plated, work up a bit maybe.
 
Last edited:
Xtreme told me to just use Speer's jacketed data with their bullets.

If you look at Hodgdon's 45 Auto data most of their data for a 200gr LSWC uses higher charges than a 200gr Speer JHP. If you use their cast data with a 200gr plated bullet you will actually be loading hotter than if you use their jacketed data.

The real limit on plated bullets is velocity, which should be kept below 1200fps. You will never reach this limit with a 200gr plated bullet in 45 Auto, whether you use lead or jacketed data. A plated bullet has less friction than a jacketed bullet so going overpressure using jacketed data is not an issue, all things else being equal.

Xtreme's 200gr RN is the only bullet I use in 45 Auto any more. I use jacketed data with excellent results. The correct OAL with this bullet is 1.265". With Bullseye both Speer and Sierra list a max of 5.8gr with their jacketed bullets but Speer starts at 5.2gr and Sierra starts at 4.5gr. I would probably start at 5.0gr and work up to max looking for best accuracy and stick with that load.

With Unique Speer lists 6.5gr to 7.3gr and Sierra 5.2gr to 7.4gr. Best accuracy and cleanest burn is usually found toward the upper end of load development so if it were me I'd stick with Speer's data to start and work up to best accuracy.

Alliant's latest data is just Speer's data with Alliant's powders and Speer's bullets. Alliant and Speer are both owned by ATK.
 
I would start with 4.2 grains of Bullseye. It's a long-time established equivalent for commercial match ammo loaded with 185 grain jacketed bullets, and is a good starting load for 200 grain cast and plated bullets because, while it is warmer than some cast bullet match loads, it is well below maximum and works with plated bullets, too. After you evaluate functioning at that load level, you can go in either direction to find the llower limit for your gun functioning, or if function is not good, work up in 0.2 grains steps until you see is if function is going to improve. If not, your gun likely doesn't care for the bullet shape.

I've shot a lot of 200 grain cast lead at 4.8 grains of BE in combat pistols and it functioned them fine, and a lot at 3.8 grains for my Goldcup with its weaker recoil spring for Bullseye shooting. In a combat gun, you can, of course, load hotter, as with other 200 grain bullets, but I have never felt the need to load a practice bullet above 4.8 grains, as muzzle flip and the like just didn't feel all that different to me from hardball, and the holes went in about the same place. That's all I need from a practice load. If I were going to hunt with it or run some other higher power level for some reason, I'd go to Power Pistol or HS-6.
 
I'm in agreement with post #6. I load Xtreme's 200gr plated RN at 1.265" COL and with Bullseye I've tried 5.0-5.8gr.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top