.45 ACP and Trail Boss Test Results

m&p45acp10+1 · September 19, 2010, 08:25 AM

I have been using Trail Boss for my .41 mag for a while now with exelent results. I have also used it in my .221 Rem Fireball loads. Well I got bored and the hey I have not used this for my .45 ACP LSWCs yet. So I decided to test some for the heck of it.
Cases are assorted range pick up of corse. Primers are CCI LP. Bullets are home cast 200 Grain LSWC (Lee Mold Standard non TL) tumble lubed in LLA. COL is 1.20 for all loads. Sorry guys I do not own a chrono so no chronno results. Just the old fashioned holes in the paper evaluation. Test guns were my M&P 45 and a 1911 Springfield GI that a friend brought along.
Load 1: 3.5 grains of Trail Boss Est. Vel. is in the 650 fps area. Results it is an accurate low recoil load. Recoil was very mild. POI and POA matched at 15 yards. The slides on both test guns cycled witout problem. The GI did have a problem of throwing the brass onto the shooter.
Load 2: 4 grains TB both pistols liked this load a lot. POI and POA matched as well. The brass on the shooter with the GI stopped.
I am skipping up to the max load. The other loads in between were marginal in diffeance at best. In fact in both pistols almost indestingushable.
Load 5: 5.4 grains of TB (Max load listed by Hodgdaon is 5.5 grains) Est Vel. somewhere in the low 800 fps area. This load felt like my Bulls Eye loads I use which is 4.3 grains Bulls Eye. Though the Trail Boss is worlds cleaner than the Bull's Eye.
Overall my evaluation is I will probably swithch to the Trail Boss when I have used up all of the Bulls Eye. It is so much easeir to clean out it is not funny. My pistol was cean enough that I could hardly tell it had been fired at all. I am gonna load up a few hundred more to test at the range today with my girlfriend. Hopefuly she may let me shoot a few of my own guns this time.

Till then keep shootin', and stay safe.
Nate

September 19, 2010, 08:25 AM	#1
m&p45acp10+1 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,930	.45 ACP and Trail Boss Test Results I have been using Trail Boss for my .41 mag for a while now with exelent results. I have also used it in my .221 Rem Fireball loads. Well I got bored and the hey I have not used this for my .45 ACP LSWCs yet. So I decided to test some for the heck of it. Cases are assorted range pick up of corse. Primers are CCI LP. Bullets are home cast 200 Grain LSWC (Lee Mold Standard non TL) tumble lubed in LLA. COL is 1.20 for all loads. Sorry guys I do not own a chrono so no chronno results. Just the old fashioned holes in the paper evaluation. Test guns were my M&P 45 and a 1911 Springfield GI that a friend brought along. Load 1: 3.5 grains of Trail Boss Est. Vel. is in the 650 fps area. Results it is an accurate low recoil load. Recoil was very mild. POI and POA matched at 15 yards. The slides on both test guns cycled witout problem. The GI did have a problem of throwing the brass onto the shooter. Load 2: 4 grains TB both pistols liked this load a lot. POI and POA matched as well. The brass on the shooter with the GI stopped. I am skipping up to the max load. The other loads in between were marginal in diffeance at best. In fact in both pistols almost indestingushable. Load 5: 5.4 grains of TB (Max load listed by Hodgdaon is 5.5 grains) Est Vel. somewhere in the low 800 fps area. This load felt like my Bulls Eye loads I use which is 4.3 grains Bulls Eye. Though the Trail Boss is worlds cleaner than the Bull's Eye. Overall my evaluation is I will probably swithch to the Trail Boss when I have used up all of the Bulls Eye. It is so much easeir to clean out it is not funny. My pistol was cean enough that I could hardly tell it had been fired at all. I am gonna load up a few hundred more to test at the range today with my girlfriend. Hopefuly she may let me shoot a few of my own guns this time. Till then keep shootin', and stay safe. Nate __________________ No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you. Last edited by m&p45acp10+1; September 19, 2010 at 08:34 AM.