Handloading 45 acp
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Some of the real experts on the forum will undoubtedly come along and give you more advice but just to state the obvious, faster powders are generally used for lower velocity rounds and slower powders are used to get higher velocity.
At one time I shot a fair amount .45 ACP in a 1911 style handgun in some informal league competition and almost everyone used 185 grain semi-wadcutters or 200 grain semi-wadcutters and just enough Bullseye powder to reliably cycle the action. These were powder puff loads, low velocity, very accurate and we had no leading problems.
I really liked the Hornady lead swaged semi-wadcutter bullets either 185 or 200 grain.
I suspect the .45 ACP is one of the easiest cartridges to reload.
Good luck.
At one time I shot a fair amount .45 ACP in a 1911 style handgun in some informal league competition and almost everyone used 185 grain semi-wadcutters or 200 grain semi-wadcutters and just enough Bullseye powder to reliably cycle the action. These were powder puff loads, low velocity, very accurate and we had no leading problems.
I really liked the Hornady lead swaged semi-wadcutter bullets either 185 or 200 grain.
I suspect the .45 ACP is one of the easiest cartridges to reload.
Good luck.
To me, faster powders are about efficiency as are cast loads. Basically accurate & cheap handloads. Leading is always a possibility. It is related to bullet fit to bore. The bullet should be 0.001-0.002” over bore size. Hardness can be a factor, but usually only for the diy caster people.
Missouri Bullet Company
I've been loading 200 LSWC's for 1911's for decades. I use W231 but have also used Bullseye with great results. Leading is rarely an issue. I use a soft cast (these: https://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=56&category=5 ) and load them up to 840 f/s with these propellants with no trouble.
I'd stay away from HS-6. It needs more pressure than 45 ACP specs to truly run clean and consistent. HS-6 likes heavy bullets, and pumped up to stout pressures. But that's another story, I suppose.
Even Unique is an intermediate burner and I'd reserve it for heavier bullets, loaded hot.
45 ACP does really well with fast propellants. Of the ones you mentioned, Bullseye is the no-brainer. It is well beyond tried n true tested in 45 ACP.
I've been loading 200 LSWC's for 1911's for decades. I use W231 but have also used Bullseye with great results. Leading is rarely an issue. I use a soft cast (these: https://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=56&category=5 ) and load them up to 840 f/s with these propellants with no trouble.
I'd stay away from HS-6. It needs more pressure than 45 ACP specs to truly run clean and consistent. HS-6 likes heavy bullets, and pumped up to stout pressures. But that's another story, I suppose.
Even Unique is an intermediate burner and I'd reserve it for heavier bullets, loaded hot.
45 ACP does really well with fast propellants. Of the ones you mentioned, Bullseye is the no-brainer. It is well beyond tried n true tested in 45 ACP.
I run the 5.0 gr. Bullseye with a 230 gr. round nose bullet that duplicates the original 1911 .45 ACP arsenal/factory load. In fact, for all practical purposes, it I were to replace the bullet with one of full metal jacket style it would be the original loading.
However, my preference is for 5.0 gr. Unique with the 200 gr. semi-wadcutter, the SAECO #068 which is a clone of the H&G #68. The bullet is my home cast using an alloy running 11 on the BHN scale. Very little to no leading with that load. I have a custom 1911 that was shot using a Ransom rest and groups averaged 2 to 2.5" at 50 yards. That gun is way more accurate than my skill level.
FWIW, I'm thinking about going with W231. I was gifted an 8 pound can of the stuff so why not give it a try. W231 has been a favorite in my .38 Spl. wadcutter target loads so maybe it will do double duty in the ACP.
Paul B.
However, my preference is for 5.0 gr. Unique with the 200 gr. semi-wadcutter, the SAECO #068 which is a clone of the H&G #68. The bullet is my home cast using an alloy running 11 on the BHN scale. Very little to no leading with that load. I have a custom 1911 that was shot using a Ransom rest and groups averaged 2 to 2.5" at 50 yards. That gun is way more accurate than my skill level.
FWIW, I'm thinking about going with W231. I was gifted an 8 pound can of the stuff so why not give it a try. W231 has been a favorite in my .38 Spl. wadcutter target loads so maybe it will do double duty in the ACP.
Paul B.
Bullseye and 231 are the old standbys, and a lot of folks have used Unique for ages, too. As mentioned, HS-6 was common for high power and heavy bullet loads, as is Power Pistol. A powder that is between Bullseye and Unique is Hodgdon Universal. Like Bullseye, it is a finer flake than Unique, so it meters better than Unique (though not as well as 231), and unlike any of those powders, it has no graphite coating, so it is less dirty to shoot. I have used quite a bit of it with 200-grain bullets and up. About 4.2 grains to 5.3 grains for hardball.
As to leading, if your gun will still feed them from the magazine, the best way I've found to minimize leading and maximize accuracy is to seat the lead bullet out to headspace on the bullet before the case mouth reaches the end of the chamber. I've had it reduce leading to an ignorable level, and cut group size by 40% with soft swaged 185-grain bullets. You have to use your barrel as a gauge to set it up. It looks like the third image from the left this:
As to leading, if your gun will still feed them from the magazine, the best way I've found to minimize leading and maximize accuracy is to seat the lead bullet out to headspace on the bullet before the case mouth reaches the end of the chamber. I've had it reduce leading to an ignorable level, and cut group size by 40% with soft swaged 185-grain bullets. You have to use your barrel as a gauge to set it up. It looks like the third image from the left this:
DukeConnor
New member
I doubt you can push a 45 acp fast enough to get leading.
ammo.crafter
New member
45acp
Nick gives advice re Missouri Bullets as a reference.
You must match lead bullets' BHN vis-a-vis velocity if you want to maximize accuracy.
Good luck.
Nick gives advice re Missouri Bullets as a reference.
You must match lead bullets' BHN vis-a-vis velocity if you want to maximize accuracy.
Good luck.
Doubt all you want, but it's a fact. You absolutely CAN get leading in the .45acp shooting lead bullets.
Leading can happen at ANY speed.
The three primary factors are bullet speed, bullet construction (alloy) and bullet fit in the barrel. Additional factors include how "hot" the powder burns, and lubrication.
All these things must be balanced in relationship to each other, or you get leading, of some degree.
The more something(s) are out of balance the worse the leading is. Usually...
lee n. field
New member
4.8 grains of Bullseye works fine for everything from 180 to 230grain in .45 ACP..
Use polymer coated bullets to eliminate the leading risk.
You don't have to worry too much about leading . Usually the velocities for the 185 gr. and 200 gr. cast lead SWC's used in 45 acp is around 800 to 850 fps ... some target loads have velocities at just 725 fps ... low velocities and low pressure will allow a relitively soft bhn and just about any halfway decent lubricant to put those fears to rest .
Lead and the 45 acp is one of the easier rounds to get good results with and there is no big leading problem to worry about .
Even when loaded hotter ... the low pressure helps keeps lead away .
I've been casting and loading 45 acp since 1967 and have never had a barrel lead up with a decent cast bullet and conventional lube ... This new powder coating on cast bullets will take care of any concern ... so I'm told .
Gary
"softer" lead alloys generally do fine in the .45acp, HOWEVER, don't go with dead soft "pure" lead. (unless the ammo is only going to be used in a revolver or single shot)
For semi autos, the alloy has be a little harder than pure lead, so it doesn't get battered during the feeding cycle, and in particular, "smoosh" out and STICK on the feed ramp.
Harder bullets are not an issue, just be aware there is a lower limit to how soft the bullet can be and still function properly in a semi auto.
For semi autos, the alloy has be a little harder than pure lead, so it doesn't get battered during the feeding cycle, and in particular, "smoosh" out and STICK on the feed ramp.
Harder bullets are not an issue, just be aware there is a lower limit to how soft the bullet can be and still function properly in a semi auto.
With the last lead smelter in the U.S. closed down, less availability of lead alloys (type metals, bearings, wheel weights, etc.), I have scrounged any available lead whatsoever, with no consideration to alloy hardness. In short, if I can get it, I cast it and shoot it including in the .45 ACP. With such lack of concern for hardness, I have found that powder coating in combination of the .45 ACP being an easy round to handload, leading has never been a problem despite using fast or slow powders.
The last lead smelter in the US shut down a long time ago, and really hadn't been a major factor in the lead supply even when running. Yes, its a bit sad to lose the "in country" ability, but we weren't doing much smelting of lead ore for some time before.
Much of the commercial lead supply has been coming from recycled lead for some time, along with purchase of "new" lead and recycled lead from other countries.
Wheel weights, bearing and babbit metal and some others can be used for many shooting applications, as it (for alloy content) and Lyman has extensive information available in the manual and books about alloying such sources for specific applications.
About every alloy will work as .45acp slugs, as long as its hard enough not to stick on the feed ramp, and there are many ways of doing that. Very hard slugs will also be fine, the low pressure and velocity of the ACP round makes it very versatile in that regard.
Much of the commercial lead supply has been coming from recycled lead for some time, along with purchase of "new" lead and recycled lead from other countries.
Wheel weights, bearing and babbit metal and some others can be used for many shooting applications, as it (for alloy content) and Lyman has extensive information available in the manual and books about alloying such sources for specific applications.
About every alloy will work as .45acp slugs, as long as its hard enough not to stick on the feed ramp, and there are many ways of doing that. Very hard slugs will also be fine, the low pressure and velocity of the ACP round makes it very versatile in that regard.