.45 auto-rim ?'s

[amprecon]

I have a S&W 625 which I bought for my "woods gun". Regarding other calibers and guns I chose the 625 because of it's ability to shoot acp and ar, but the deciding factor was an article in a October 19, 1998 Guns & Ammo special issue called the "Complete Book of the .45", titled "Forgotten Powerhouse" written by Chuck Taylor.
One loading that really caught my attention was the 14.5 grs of 2400 under a 255gr cast swc which he claims is safe to use in the new 625's and supposedly delivers 1,083 fps from a five-inch barrel and shoots inside one inch at 25 meters.
-Does anyone have any experience with the .45ar?
-Has anyone ever used a load similar to the one I've just described?
-What have been your experiences with the .45ar in the "boonies"?
-What is your favorite loading for the .45ar?
-Is a roll-crimp necessary, if so where do I get one for my Dillon RL550B?
-Where do I get #454424 hardcast Keith bullets? I found some 255gr harcast swc's from National Bullet Co., 1,000 for $43.00, is this a good deal?

Thanks for any input.

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello, sir. I have loaded some AR rounds, but not too many. At the time I was doing this, Remington was about the only source for brass and even a light roll crimp would result in cracks after but one or two reloads. I suggest a taper crimp as for the ACP round.

I have not loaded this thing "hot" or with bullets heavier than 230 grains. Loads will match or even exceed the 5" Gov't Model with similar powder charges.

Since Remington no longer produces AR cases, finding them can be hard...., but look over at www.starlinebrass.com. They will be making AR in the near future according to their site!

Best.

[jack pringle]

had an older M25 i picked up in the 70's. shot high, a lot, with the heavy bullets. ordered a real tall front sight and just kept filing it down until i was satisfied. then the front sight looked a little ridiculous for height. Ruger came out with the Redhawk and the M25 went on the block. the Redhawk went on the block when the SRH came out. my income was less then. now i keep them all.

operationally the M25 was perfect and dead accurate. was a jewel with the l85 gr swc. i remember it fondly. maybe i will find it in a pawnshop someday.

[birdman]

I have a 25-2 S&W that has been bobbed to 4" barrell and round butted to K-frame size. I have loaded to 6.8 gr of Unique using a 245 gr. round nose flat point cast bullet. With this load I'm getting over 950 fps and it is accurate producing as much energy as a 158 gr. .357 but also having the advantage of that .452 diameter bullet. I have heard of the load you mention and I'm sure it will squeeze a few more fps out of the round but I see no need. My load is plenty powerful for whitetails (at least in Texas) and is much more economical. Since all you'll get out of the added velocity is a little flatter trajectory why bother. You should probably limit you shots to 50 yds. with this combo anyway. BTW the last time I looked Midway was still carrying autorim brass by Remington. Has that been discontinued? regards, birdman

[C.R.Sam]

One loading that really caught my attention was the 14.5 grs of 2400 under a 255gr cast swc which he claims is safe to use in the new 625's and supposedly delivers 1,083 fps from a five-inch barrel and shoots inside one inch at 25 meters.

That's a pretty stiff load.
I would want to second and third source it for safety reasons.

Also wonder if that "inside one inch at 25m" is one of the gunzine five shot groups from rest where three holes count and two are considered "flyers". Not that honest under 4 minute loads aren't doable...just that all too often we see fudging on group size in write ups.

Sam

[amprecon]

I just received 200 brand new .45 ar cases for $34.00 from Midway USA yesterday. I've found it at several locations including Cheyennebrass.com, just type in .45 auto-rim brass in the Yahoo! search and it'll bring up a few locations.