Played With Some Loads Using Bullseye

[Shane Tuttle]

I'm a long time HP38 (Win231) fan and have found my favorite load for use in my 1911s (.45ACP) is 5.0gr behind 230gr FMJ Precision Delta bullets seated at 1.240" using Federal Champion primers. Actually, I've used Federal Match, CCI, Remington 2.5, etc. and haven't noticed much difference. My goals in handloading is for combat, not target, accuracy, soft recoil, and reliable operation of the gun in different hands of individuals.

I've also used TiteGroup, HS6, PowerPistol, and Universal Clays in the past. I like them all for the most part. But then along comes Bullseye. Been around for some time. Proven track record. Big problem for me is I lost a sizeable amount of my loading records. So, it's back to the drawing board. Besides, I've added several firearms to the stable and guess it's time to learn how the heck you use Excel.

I started with my favorite OAL for .45ACP @ 1.240" and went with 5.0gr. Headed to the range and blazed away. Had no hiccups. Was accurate enough for my taste. One item of note was how impressed I was on how clean it burned and left the guns. I haven't cleaned my guns yet to see how easy clean up is going to be. But I'm venturing to guess it's going to be a snap. The "downside" is felt recoil seemed to be a bit higher than my pet load. I'm going to step down the charge to 4.8gr and see what happens.

Thought I'd give y'all my input on what's probably already common knowledge here. If anyone else has anything to add, whether Bullseye, OAL preferences, something completely different, by all means post away...

[jj320]

i am using 4.9gr of bullseye with 185gr lrn seems to work well so far just did a trial run with loading more to try next time at range.

[Unclenick]

That sounds about right. The old standby hardball load was 5.0 grains of Bullseye under the old elliptical nose military 230 grain ball bullet seated to 1.270". 231 always needed about 5% heavier charge to match Bullseye, IME, so I think you've gone in the right direction. About 825 fps MV and a 350 ft-lb ME from a 5" tube.

Today the military uses a 234 grain bullet over 5.0 grains of and SR powder that's fairly close the Vihtavuori N320 and fires it at about 885 fps MV and 400 ft-lbs ME.

[Shane Tuttle]

I corrected my original post. OAL was 1.240" NOT 1.230"...

[rebs]

That sounds about right. The old standby hardball load was 5.0 grains of Bullseye under the old elliptical nose military 230 grain ball bullet seated to 1.270". 231 always needed about 5% heavier charge to match Bullseye, IME, so I think you've gone in the right direction. About 325 fps MV and a 350 ft-lb ME from a 5" tube.

Today the military uses a 234 grain bullet over 5.0 grains of and SR powder that's fairly close the Vihtavuori N320 and fires it at about 885 fps MV and 400 ft-lbs ME.

Isn't 325 fps MV low ?

[CS86]

I've been interesting in getting some other powder for the .45 to test and possibly the 9mm. Main thing I'm wondering is what type of powder (flake or ball) is Bullseye, Titegroup, Powerpistol, Unique, and Univeral Clays. I've worked with HS-6 and have some W231 to try. I don't like how HS-6 meters and I'm really excited to try the W231. How do the others, that I listed, meter and what type of powder are they? Thanks

Was accurate enough for my taste. One item of note was how impressed I was on how clean it burned and left the guns.

I've noticed that HS-6 seemed to be a really dirty powder in the .45. I like hearing that you've had good luck with Bullseye.

[Miata Mike]

I have been using WST for .45acp 200 grain LSWC and Bullseye for 124 grain JHP 9mm. I am pretty sure I could work up a good load for 9mm with the WST, but I have a lot of Bullseye to use up.

[Unclenick]

Originally Posted by rebs

Isn't 325 fps MV low ?

Yep. It doesn't go with the muzzle energy number. I just spotted that typo myself and corrected it. Was meant to be 825 fps. Can't figure out how I typed it with the 3 and 8 keys so far apart.

The ft-lbs were right, though, and if you calculate backward from it to find the fps you get close to that number. Both are approximations. I've seen averages of 815 fps to 840 fps for different commercial hardball from my hardball gun (Plain Jane 5" 1911 with some fitting and minor tweaks). But 350 ft-lbs is about what the commercial stuff usually is and is what old military hardball was loaded to. I've seen photos of some old (ca. 1925) FA hardball boxes labeled as having Bullseye powder and producing 825 fps, and I think that's where this originated. 400 ft-lbs is about what the current military loadings are, with their slightly heavier bullets.


Shane,

The different COL's are just about the nose shapes. A lot of cast bullets have a more spherical nose than some jacketed bullets and wind up shorter. As a result, even with the same seating depth, the COL is shorter. Nothing wrong with that as long as you establish your load with the COL you are going to load to. A lot of lubricated lead bullets in short powder space cartridges seem to be unseated by the primer and kiss the throat before the powder gets burning, so the effect on pressure is a bit less predictable than running QuickLOAD would suggest. So, usually nothing to fret about in the .45 Auto until you start pushing to work up +P loads.

I always used Bullseye in conventional pistol matches. A number of folks would use 231 and said it was more sooty, but it metered so well they didn't want to switch. More recently I've found Clays and N310 to burn cleaner at target load levels, but I can't say I ever found Bullseye objectionable. You just have some soot and graphite thrown around that you have to clean out.

[bluetopper]

Behind a 200gr cast SWC, 4.6gr of Bullseye is my favorite load, and so very accurate.

[Shane Tuttle]

Thanks Unclenick. I've been dabbling with cast bullets from time to time and that's good to know...

[oldreloader]

CS86 I use 231,Bullseye and AA#5. They all meter extremely accurate with both my Lee PAD and RCBS uniflo.

[Unclenick]

Shane,

I see I omitted to say that the same thing happens to some degree with some jacketed 230 grain bullets. I popped down to the cellar and found 7 different kinds of hardball and just took a quick COL. They varied from 1.270" (TZZ) down to 1.255" (PMP), with a box of WC 82 that averages just over 1.265". So there's some range there, with the military makers favoring the long side, and I have every confidence that if I pulled the bullets, I'd find different lengths. Hornady 230 grain RN FMJ are about 0.640" long, while the 234 grain military bullets are 0.680". I'd not be surprised to find copper plated steel jackets a little long for reason of their lower density.