What's the deal with .45 ACP loads?
- From: Objekt <t37student@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:20:10 +0000 (UTC)
When I started reloading .45 ACP, almost 2 years ago, I had an RCBS
Rockchucker press and a Speer reloading manual. It listed a maximum
load for a 230 grain FMJ bullet as 5.0 grains Bullseye. That is, it
listed recipes for ONLY an FMJ bullet.
This presented a problem. While I had been loading Bullseye for some
time in .40 S&W, I had long since eschewed FMJ in favor of moly-coated
lead bullets. I couldn't - and still can't - load FMJ cheaper than
Winchester white box in .40 S&W, and the cost difference makes it only
tenuously justifiable with .45 ACP. So, for the majority of my .45 ACP
reloads, I knew I would be using moly-coated lead bullets.
So, I did what any reloader might do. I started with a small batch
using 4.0 grains of Bullseye with the moly-coated lead bullet, seated
and crimped to an overall length well above minimum for the similar FMJ
load. Next batch, I kicked the charge up by 0.2 grains; lather, rinse,
repeat, watching for signs of overpressure all along.
I arrived at a maximum of 5.0 grains of Bullseye under a 230 grain lead
bullet. Nary a sign of flattened primers or overstressed brass reared
its head, and the gun (Springfield Armory 1911) didn't complain. I
stopped there, reasoning that a "maximum load" for FMJ was just as
applicable to a bullet of equal mass but slightly different composition.
I found that it gave me a muzzle velocity right around the nominal 850
ft/s for hardball .45 ACP, and that was good enough for me (and bowling
pins).
Somewhere along the way, I sold the Rockchucker along with the Speer
manual, picked up a Hornaday Lock-n-Load AP, and bought a slightly used
"Modern Reloading" by Richard Lee as my reference.
The new book listed loads for a 230 grain lead bullet...but stipulated a
maximum load of 4.0 grains of Bullseye. I soon found that the Alliant
Powder reloading data also listed 4.0 grains Bullseye as a maximum for a
lead bullet.
What's the deal? Normally, I would defer to Alliant's or Mr. Lee's
data, but my experience dictates that one can successfully load up to
5.0 grains of Bullseye under a 230 grain non-FMJ bullet in .45 ACP,
without blowing gun or shooter.
Is Alliant simply playing CYA? Or, am I being capricious and foolhardy,
having escaped injury from firing thousands of rounds of this "unsafe"
load by sheer luck?
Objekt
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