looking for a 45 acp load

rebs · February 7, 2013, 11:36 AM

A friend of a friend gave him a box of 230 fmj 45 acp that he reloaded, I don't shoot other peoples reloads so I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder. I only load 200 gr lswc in 45 acp but would like to load these and just shoot them without the time to work up a load for just 50 bullets. Does anyone have a safe or standard load for 230 gr fmj using either unique or bullseye powder ?

PawPaw · February 7, 2013, 12:57 PM

4.5 grains of Bullseye is a very standard load for the 230 grain FMJ bullet.

DASHZNT · February 7, 2013, 01:13 PM

I agree.. I worked up my 230gr loads to 5.0gr of Bullseye powder and they cycle perfectly and are very accurate as well. Best part is they serve a double purpose of Target Load and SD if necessary. Make sure you acquire a loading manual, Iyou can never have enough of them and although you wont use them all the time, its great to reference your questions and our answers with them. Good Luck and have fun with it.

DASHZNT

Don P · February 7, 2013, 01:20 PM

5 grains of unique will do nicely

rebs · February 7, 2013, 01:48 PM

Thank you for your replies. normally I would start at a minimum or safe load and work up using the reloading guides that I have. But in this case it will be a one time loading to shoot off the 50 230 gr fmj bullets that I have. I would rather just load them and shoot them instead of them just sitting on my reloading bench. Like I said in the OP I was given these rounds that were reloaded by someone else and I would not risk shooting them. I did however want to save the brass and shoot the bullets. The brass will be reloaded using 200 gr lswc's in the future.

**Unclenick** · February 7, 2013, 02:03 PM

5 grains is an old standard for FMJ RN 230's. About 820-830 fps from a 5" tube. 4.5 grains is more common and a little more accurate with cast and swaged RN 230's to help avoid leading or deforming the bullets, but either will work just fine for you.

rebs · February 7, 2013, 02:41 PM

Quote:

5 grains is an old standard for FMJ RN 230's. About 820-830 fps from a 5" tube. 4.5 grains is more common and a little more accurate with cast and swaged RN 230's to help avoid leading or deforming the bullets, but either will work just fine for you.

Unclenick are you talking bullseye or unique powder ?

**Unclenick** · February 7, 2013, 04:27 PM

Bullseye. Sorry. Depending whose data you go by, it takes anywhere from 15%-35% more Unique to hit the same velocities.

dwpmusic · February 7, 2013, 05:31 PM

I've been using 5.5gr Win231 with 230gr FMJ with good results.

jersurf101 · February 8, 2013, 12:19 AM

4.2 grains of Bullseye works the action in my Springfield 1911 but is a good bit lighter than factory ammo. Real pleasant to shoot though.

rebs · February 8, 2013, 06:44 AM

I use 4.2 of Bullseye for 200 gr lswc's. What I asked about is 230 gr fmj's.

rebs · February 14, 2013, 01:59 PM

Do you guys add any crimp to 230 gr fmj's ? Do you use the OAL in the reloading manual or is their a better OAL for a Gold Cup ?

**Unclenick** · February 14, 2013, 05:24 PM

The Gold cup will handle standard FMJ COL's. Besides, if you push them in too deep the neck at the case mouth loses contact with the sides of the bullet. You don't want that as the round is supposed to headspace on the case mouth, so it needs support. You want to remember it comes with a 14 lb recoil spring installed for using target bullets, so you may want to put in a standard 1911 16 lb spring or even an 18 lb recoil spring to reduce battering of the frame by the slide if you shoot much hardball.

No crimp, per se, is normally required with jacketed bullets, nor desired if you are headspacing on the case mouth as designed. The brass on copper friction is great enough to render that crimp unnecessary. However, you will be flaring the case mouth slightly with the expander die before seating the bullet and that flare needs to be ironed out to put the case mouth back in spec for headspacing (0.467"-0.473" diameter). The normal method is to adjust the crimp die until it just flattens that flare. At that point the case mouth should be in the correct size range, with thinner necked brass at the short end and thicker necked brass at the wide end of the range.

rebs · February 14, 2013, 07:10 PM

Unclenick Thank you for the help I appreciate it.
I was only going to load the 50 rounds that I pulled apart because of being mloaded by someone I do not know. As fate wouyld have it another friend sold his 45 acp and just gave me almost 200 185 gr jacketed hollow points. So I will be loading them also.
Any advice on loading these 185 gr jhp's ?

USMC EOD · February 14, 2013, 07:35 PM

I load 6.0 grains Unique with a 230 grain FMJ. I shoot them in both a Ruger SR1911, and a Springfield Armory 1911 Ultra Compact. I have fired about 350 rounds from both guns in the last couple of months, without so much as a hickup. Please check your loading data in your manuals before taking someones word on it online.

Dodge DeBoulet · February 14, 2013, 08:26 PM

4.6gr WST with Precision Delta 230gr ball. Very accurate in my Kimber Gold Combat STS II.

**Unclenick** · February 15, 2013, 10:38 AM

Rebs,

It depends on the length of the hollow points. I show Speer Gold Dots at 0.528" in QuickLOAD. Alliant seats those to 1.2" COL. They give a load of Bullseye at 6.4 grains, which QuickLOAD says matches the pressure of the 5.0 grain load of Bullseye under a 230 grain FMJ. They give a load of 9.5 grains of Power pistol, which roughly matches that same pressure in QuickLOAD, but gets you a far bigger fireball and more recoil and adds about 60 fps to get you from 985 fps to 1045 fps in a 4.4" barrel (roughly 40 fps more in a 5" barrel). I've seen the claim made that you have to exceed about 1000 fps to shoot out tires with a pistol bullet, so whether or not that's important to you is your call.

If I substitute a Hornady XTP (0.577" long) with that same COL, it reduces the charges about 8% to keep pressure constant. So you can see the seating depth matters. If you can measure the length and also the distance from the base to the crimp cannelure at about 2/3 up the cannelure (where I usually seat these), I can give you a better estimate.

These loads are all for middling pressures and are not +P.

rebs · February 15, 2013, 09:26 PM

these 185 gr hP's do not have a crimp cannalure

**Unclenick** · February 16, 2013, 11:47 AM

Measure the length of the bullets. Then apply Magic Marker around one and set and lock the jaws of your caliper at 0.001" less than the bullet's diameter as measured on your caliper. Gently set the jaws over the nose of the bullet to see where they scuff the ink. Measure the distance from the bullet base to that mark on both sides and take the average. That's the length of the bearing surface.

Subtract that bearing surface length from the bullet length to get the length of the ogive and tip. Add that to 0.92" to get an estimated COL. Add 0.898" (max case length) plus the average bullet length, then subtract that COL. This is the seating depth. Tell me that last result and the bullet length.

zeke · February 16, 2013, 07:03 PM

depending on what fmj and throat of chamber, 5.5 to 6.2 grains unique over using fed 150 primer and 1.250 t0 1.260 oal.

February 7, 2013, 11:36 AM	#1
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	looking for a 45 acp load A friend of a friend gave him a box of 230 fmj 45 acp that he reloaded, I don't shoot other peoples reloads so I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder. I only load 200 gr lswc in 45 acp but would like to load these and just shoot them without the time to work up a load for just 50 bullets. Does anyone have a safe or standard load for 230 gr fmj using either unique or bullseye powder ?

February 7, 2013, 12:57 PM	#2
PawPaw Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Central Louisiana Posts: 3,137	4.5 grains of Bullseye is a very standard load for the 230 grain FMJ bullet. __________________ Dennis Dezendorf http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com

February 7, 2013, 01:20 PM	#4
Don P Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2005 Location: Swamp dweller Posts: 6,187	5 grains of unique will do nicely __________________ *NRA Life Member, NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Pistol Instructor,, USPSA & Steel Challange NROI Range Officer, ICORE Range Officer, ,MAG 40 Graduate* *As you are, I once was, As I am, You will be.*

February 7, 2013, 02:03 PM	#6
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	5 grains is an old standard for FMJ RN 230's. About 820-830 fps from a 5" tube. 4.5 grains is more common and a little more accurate with cast and swaged RN 230's to help avoid leading or deforming the bullets, but either will work just fine for you. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 7, 2013, 04:27 PM	#8
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Bullseye. Sorry. Depending whose data you go by, it takes anywhere from 15%-35% more Unique to hit the same velocities. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 7, 2013, 01:13 PM	#3
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	I agree.. I worked up my 230gr loads to 5.0gr of Bullseye powder and they cycle perfectly and are very accurate as well. Best part is they serve a double purpose of Target Load and SD if necessary. Make sure you acquire a loading manual, Iyou can never have enough of them and although you wont use them all the time, its great to reference your questions and our answers with them. Good Luck and have fun with it. DASHZNT

February 7, 2013, 01:48 PM	#5
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	Thank you for your replies. normally I would start at a minimum or safe load and work up using the reloading guides that I have. But in this case it will be a one time loading to shoot off the 50 230 gr fmj bullets that I have. I would rather just load them and shoot them instead of them just sitting on my reloading bench. Like I said in the OP I was given these rounds that were reloaded by someone else and I would not risk shooting them. I did however want to save the brass and shoot the bullets. The brass will be reloaded using 200 gr lswc's in the future.

February 7, 2013, 05:31 PM	#9
dwpmusic Junior Member Join Date: June 20, 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 14	I've been using 5.5gr Win231 with 230gr FMJ with good results.

February 8, 2013, 12:19 AM	#10
jersurf101 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2013 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 553	4.2 grains of Bullseye works the action in my Springfield 1911 but is a good bit lighter than factory ammo. Real pleasant to shoot though.

February 8, 2013, 06:44 AM	#11
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	I use 4.2 of Bullseye for 200 gr lswc's. What I asked about is 230 gr fmj's.

February 14, 2013, 01:59 PM	#12
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	Do you guys add any crimp to 230 gr fmj's ? Do you use the OAL in the reloading manual or is their a better OAL for a Gold Cup ?

February 14, 2013, 05:24 PM	#13
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	The Gold cup will handle standard FMJ COL's. Besides, if you push them in too deep the neck at the case mouth loses contact with the sides of the bullet. You don't want that as the round is supposed to headspace on the case mouth, so it needs support. You want to remember it comes with a 14 lb recoil spring installed for using target bullets, so you may want to put in a standard 1911 16 lb spring or even an 18 lb recoil spring to reduce battering of the frame by the slide if you shoot much hardball. No crimp, per se, is normally required with jacketed bullets, nor desired if you are headspacing on the case mouth as designed. The brass on copper friction is great enough to render that crimp unnecessary. However, you will be flaring the case mouth slightly with the expander die before seating the bullet and that flare needs to be ironed out to put the case mouth back in spec for headspacing (0.467"-0.473" diameter). The normal method is to adjust the crimp die until it just flattens that flare. At that point the case mouth should be in the correct size range, with thinner necked brass at the short end and thicker necked brass at the wide end of the range. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 14, 2013, 07:10 PM	#14
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	Unclenick Thank you for the help I appreciate it. I was only going to load the 50 rounds that I pulled apart because of being mloaded by someone I do not know. As fate wouyld have it another friend sold his 45 acp and just gave me almost 200 185 gr jacketed hollow points. So I will be loading them also. Any advice on loading these 185 gr jhp's ?

February 14, 2013, 07:35 PM	#15
USMC EOD Member Join Date: January 6, 2013 Location: Virginia Posts: 60	I load 6.0 grains Unique with a 230 grain FMJ. I shoot them in both a Ruger SR1911, and a Springfield Armory 1911 Ultra Compact. I have fired about 350 rounds from both guns in the last couple of months, without so much as a hickup. Please check your loading data in your manuals before taking someones word on it online.

February 14, 2013, 08:26 PM	#16
Dodge DeBoulet Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2009 Posts: 181	4.6gr WST with Precision Delta 230gr ball. Very accurate in my Kimber Gold Combat STS II.

February 15, 2013, 10:38 AM	#17
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Rebs, It depends on the length of the hollow points. I show Speer Gold Dots at 0.528" in QuickLOAD. Alliant seats those to 1.2" COL. They give a load of Bullseye at 6.4 grains, which QuickLOAD says matches the pressure of the 5.0 grain load of Bullseye under a 230 grain FMJ. They give a load of 9.5 grains of Power pistol, which roughly matches that same pressure in QuickLOAD, but gets you a far bigger fireball and more recoil and adds about 60 fps to get you from 985 fps to 1045 fps in a 4.4" barrel (roughly 40 fps more in a 5" barrel). I've seen the claim made that you have to exceed about 1000 fps to shoot out tires with a pistol bullet, so whether or not that's important to you is your call. If I substitute a Hornady XTP (0.577" long) with that same COL, it reduces the charges about 8% to keep pressure constant. So you can see the seating depth matters. If you can measure the length and also the distance from the base to the crimp cannelure at about 2/3 up the cannelure (where I usually seat these), I can give you a better estimate. These loads are all for middling pressures and are not +P. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 15, 2013, 09:26 PM	#18
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	these 185 gr hP's do not have a crimp cannalure

February 16, 2013, 11:47 AM	#19
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Measure the length of the bullets. Then apply Magic Marker around one and set and lock the jaws of your caliper at 0.001" less than the bullet's diameter as measured on your caliper. Gently set the jaws over the nose of the bullet to see where they scuff the ink. Measure the distance from the bullet base to that mark on both sides and take the average. That's the length of the bearing surface. Subtract that bearing surface length from the bullet length to get the length of the ogive and tip. Add that to 0.92" to get an estimated COL. Add 0.898" (max case length) plus the average bullet length, then subtract that COL. This is the seating depth. Tell me that last result and the bullet length. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 16, 2013, 07:03 PM	#20
zeke Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 1999 Location: NW Wi Posts: 1,671	depending on what fmj and throat of chamber, 5.5 to 6.2 grains unique over using fed 150 primer and 1.250 t0 1.260 oal.