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Old May 27, 2010, 02:11 AM   #1
oakfloor
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.45 ACP load

I have 185 GR. Jacketed SWC and some bullseye powder, whats the best target load? Thanks.
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Old May 27, 2010, 02:28 AM   #2
Head-Space
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Hodgdon HS-6 or Win. 231. You can load +P and get some good velocity. My experience w/ Bullseye in this caliber is that you can't get the gas volume over the barrel travel time sufficient to drive the load at any sort of respectable speed.

I load LRN in a semi-auto, 230 gr. The SWC seems to want to jam in the feed ramp. This caliber headspaces on the case mouth and so it's crucial to get the taper crimp accurate. Also, bell the case and crimp so that the lead bullet isn't shaved on the mouth. Shaved lead around the mouth jams up the chamber.
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Old May 27, 2010, 02:37 AM   #3
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I shoot a 230 grain cast over 5.5 grains of Win 231. Shoots good in my Colt and my Kimber.
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Old May 27, 2010, 08:36 AM   #4
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I believe he asked for a target load. Bullseye was pretty much The Standard Powder for .45 ACP for many decades. Army 230 grain hardball was loaded with 5.0 grains of it around WWI and after, and you occasionally see old National Match boxes with that load stated on them.

In this instance, though, I have to ask how you mean "target" exactly? I shot 185 grain SWC's over 3.8 grains of Bullseye for gallery match loads for many years. I was using a Goldcup with a 12 or 13 lb recoil spring for that, though, and not the 16 lb spring that comes standard on a full size Government Model. 4.2 grains of Bullseye under a 185 grain JSWC is a pretty standard recipe for mimicking commercial match ammo.

The other factor is how you load the rounds. I find for accuracy and minimum leading with cast bullets that it is best to headspace on the bullet, assuming your magazine accommodates the slightly long rounds and the gun feeds them OK? Third from left in the picture, below.

Bottom line is that you will have to work up a load that is best for you and your recoil spring setup, but Bullseye will do that just fine. You can start low, like my old load and go up 0.2 grain increments until you get reliable operation.

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Old May 27, 2010, 09:50 AM   #5
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This is great, you ask about your bullet and bullseye and get good info on 231 'n such.

Bullseye DOES WORK in 45 ACPs I dont care what you read on the internet.

The army loaded tons upon tons of 45s with bullseye. The most accurate load I've ever found for my Series 70 Gold Cup Bullseye Pistol is 3.8 grns pushing a 230 RNL cast bullet.

Use the same load as a starting point, then tweque it up and down a bit until you get to the accuracy point you desire.
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Old May 27, 2010, 01:14 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the extra info, anyway Im wanting to load up my target rounds for my gold cup, and now I know where to start.
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Old May 27, 2010, 09:31 PM   #7
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I've seen load data with 200 grain H&G 68 pattern cast bullets as low as 3.2 grains of Bullseye. One of the lady champions from the mid-60's used to run that, but she probably had a 9 lb recoil spring on the gun. She may also have used it only at 25 yards. I no longer recall. People used to shoot a warmer 50 yard slow fire load. They also used to go to a lot more trouble than we do now to reduce recoil for target work as it seemed the best way to get back on the target fast during the rapid fire phase in a match whose rules don't allow you to use two hands.

If you experiment with working the loads up and down, watch for a point in load reduction where the recoil suddenly gets softer or spongy feeling. That's the point at which the slide is no longer being pushed back quite far enough to contact the frame, so the sharp rap isn't being felt. It feels nice and cushy, but it's also the point at which softening your grip or small charge variations can bring on a failure either to eject or to feed properly, since the slide is barely getting behind the next round in the magazine. The ejection failure of such light loads can be cured by installing a Commander style extended ejector, but the possible feed problems can't.

I experimented with that quite a bit during the 80's, and finally decided that I really couldn't tell a lot of difference between loads below about 3.8 grains of Bullseye if I changed recoil springs to allow slide/frame contact under the light loads. So why not save the extra powder? Unlike the lady champion of yore, my accuracy deteriorated with lighter loads than that. Indeed, in my gun, anyway, 200 grain SWC bullets and anywhere from 4.0 to 4.5 grains of Bullseye shot best off bags. 200 grain Hornady JSWC's over 4.2 grains shot even better, though I didn't want to pay for a steady diet of those. The 185 grain cast SWC's were never quite as accurate for me as the 200's, but saved a little money and shot well enough that I couldn't gain any advantage at 50 feet, and could still clean 25 yard timed and rapid targets. It was the 50 yard slow fire targets where the difference became apparent, and I never shot the 185's at that range.
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Last edited by Unclenick; May 29, 2010 at 10:31 AM.
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Old May 28, 2010, 12:54 PM   #8
oakfloor
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Thanks unclenick, I have shot up thousands of those 200gr target loads, when I could find Win 231 and primers, great combo IMO. I just happin to find a box of remington 185 JSWC, and have some bullseye on hand. So thanks for the info, and shoot safe.
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Old May 28, 2010, 10:04 PM   #9
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I really like 3.5 gr. of Bullseye with 185 gr cast SWC's. I don't know about jacketed bullets.

Jeff
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Old June 1, 2010, 10:51 PM   #10
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4.3gr of Bullseye should give you about 710fps which will work well in a Bullseye gun. If standard springs, you could go up 5.0 and have no trouble. Neither of these loads approach full power. If you want that consult a loading manual and take your own risks.
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Old June 2, 2010, 12:57 AM   #11
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45 ACP load for 185 gr. Jacketed Semi-Wadcutter

May I suggest Hodgdon Clays (just plain Clays) or VihtaVuori N320?
For Hornady's 185 gr. jacketed SWC (button nose, encapsulated-no exposed lead) I am currently using either 4.5 grs. of Clays or 5.0 grs. of N320. I check a gun with both loads to see which shoots better in that particular firearm. My S&W 625's love the Clays either in 45 ACP or in 45 AutoRim, but my Taurus 45 ACP Tracker likes the N320. The 4.5 grs. Clays load is the Hodgdon published minimum starting load and the 5.0 grs. N320 load is actually 7 tenths below the VV published starting.
Either load will also cycle my Kimber Team Match or my 5" Sig P220 Super Matches, but the autoloaders seem to prefer the VV N320. I've shot a lot of the Hornady 185 JSWC's with these loads and the revolvers will make 1.5" groups @ 25 yds. from a rest & the auto's give sub 2.5" the same way. S&W 625's are 5" barrels, Taurus has a 6.5" barrel, Kimber Team Match is a full-size 5" 1911 with a Kart NM barrel.
Liked the Hornady's so much I bought 4k of them from TJCONEVERA with very reasonable closeout pricing, you'll have to phone them to see if they have any more, saw them in a flyer, not listed on website. Hope this helps.
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