.45 ACP bullets - what are commonly bought brands? (Casting not an option yet)

[bobznew1]

Looking for 230gr, 200gr, and possibly 185gr. for targets.

So far I've heard mention of acmebullets.com, just wondering if there are any other online sources of bullets that are regularly used by members. Thanks in advance...

[P-990]

Missouri Bullet Company. I've used their 200gr SWC in plain and coated, as well as their 230gr RN in coated, with very good results.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Old 454]

Check everglades ammo they have pretty good deals

[TJB101]

Originally Posted by Old 454

Check everglades ammo they have pretty good deals

Ditto ... great selection and shipping included in price.

[74A95]

Not enough information. Are you looking for swaged, cast, plated, jacketed?

Plinking, self defense, target shooting?

Are you seeking the best accuracy, lowest cost, etc?

[bobznew1]

Will be loading for target loads 95% of the time. But also want a personal defense load.

[5whiskey]

I like Missouri for the value. Decent boolits for the price. Still liked Dardas better when Matt was in business.

[lamarw]

I have bought most of my past requirements in .45 ACP from Precision Delta. EverGlades is also a great seller, but I have not tried them for .45.

[mikld]

I only purchase from 2 bullet manufacturers; RMR 230 FMJ, and Precision 230 RN coated. These 2 work quite well in all my 45 ACP guns and I have about 1,000 RMR bullets loaded up for my "Just In Case" ammo. I cast the other 4 styles I use. For "Target" bullets most use a 185-200 gr LSWC. The 200 gr SWC works quite well in my 1911 but doesn't feed reliably in my P90 so I need RN for that one.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...30.6_jVuZu_2Wk

[Nick_C_S]

Missouri Bullet Company. I've used their 200gr SWC

Another vote here^.

Their 200gn "Bullseye #1" http://missouribullet.com/details.ph...5&secondary=13 is my go-to lead slug for 45 ACP. It'll run from 700 f/s to 840 f/s (and maybe beyond) with next to no barrel leading in any of my three 1911's. A great bulllet.

For plated, I go with X-treme. Their 230 hp is a great range shooter. However, I did have feeding problems with their 200 fp - could never find the right OAL/load combination, I guess. Eventually just gave up on it, due to lack of need/importance to me.

For jacketed, as already mentioned several times, Everglades makes a great value priced jacketed bullet(s). I use a lot of their 230 hp's for the hot stuff.

[Don P]

SNS bullets, coated lead

[Unclenick]

The best precision I ever had was with a Hornady 200 grain JSWC over 4.2 grains of Bullseye, lit by a Federal 150 primer. 5 shots into 0.37" C-T-C at 25 yards off a bag rest. Unfortunately, that particular bullet has been discontinued and I have not tried their current HAP or other 200 grain offerings except their 200 grain swaged LSWC, which shoots OK, but not nearly as tight as that one did.

[k4swb]

Hornady's XTP for SD. Acme Hi-Tek coated for all else.

[TX Nimrod]

Most posters have the target bullets covered, but as for SD bullets? Lots of different opinions, lots of “studies” published, no concensus. You can simply increase the velocity of the target bullets as long as they feed reliably. Or, you can load expanding bullets to increase terminal effect (maybe). Feeding reliability is the most important aspect of SD ammo, some data supports the idea that the bullet doesn’t matter.

Personally I carry Remington GoldenSabre 185 HPs in my Smith M457. Is it any better than hardball or a cast bullet? Don’t know, but it feeds with 100% reliability and is easily controlable - for a .45.

https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alte...stopping-power

.

[Rangerrich99]

Missouri for cast or Rocky Mountain Reloading for any plated/jacketed.

[MarkCO]

To add a few more...Xtreme, Berrys for plated. Montana Gold, Zero and Hornady HAP for jacketed. Almost across the board, the Hornady HAP are some of the most accurate bullets I have found. In plated and coated, the Xtremes are tops (although they suffer from many over crimping them).

Golden Sabres and Hornady XTPs for serious work.

[Mike38]

For target work, I like the Precision Delta 185 grain HPSWC bullet. Has the same profile as the 200 grain SWC, but the hollow point makes it a 185 grain, so a bit less recoil with the exact same powder charge. I load 3.5 grains of Hodgdon Tite Group, using a 12 pound recoil spring in a M1911.

[74A95]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

The best precision I ever had was with a Hornady 200 grain JSWC over 4.2 grains of Bullseye, lit by a Federal 150 primer. 5 shots into 0.37" C-T-C at 25 yards off a bag rest. Unfortunately, that particular bullet has been discontinued and I have not tried their current HAP or other 200 grain offerings except their 200 grain swaged LSWC, which shoots OK, but not nearly as tight as that one did.

How many other 5-shout groups did you shoot with that ammo? Do you remember what size they were?

[std7mag]

As TX nimrod says, most people have their target loads. No real concensus as far as carry ammo.

For example.

For target shooting i usually use 185gr LSWC over a charge of Alliant Green Dot. Velocity for target loads is approx 800 fps.

For carry ammo it depends.
185gr LSWC over Green Dot at 900 fps.
185 gr Sierra Tournament Master over a load of Silhouette at 900 fps.
Or 185 gr Sierra JHP over Silhouette at 900 fps.

Pistol is Springfield Armory Milspec Champion.

[dallasb]

Originally Posted by bobznew1

Looking for 230gr, 200gr, and possibly 185gr. for targets.



So far I've heard mention of acmebullets.com, just wondering if there are any other online sources of bullets that are regularly used by members. Thanks in advance...

Check out rocky mountain reloading

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[zeke]

Missouri bullets makes a very good 215 gn flatnose that could qualify for target/vermin http://missouribullet.com/details.ph...5&secondary=13
This bullet is selctive about COL, and guessing some models may have trouble feeding them.

For jacketed vermin bullets have liking for 230 xtp or 230 Speer sb gold dot.

[Unclenick]

Bobznew1,

Whatever bullet you wind up with, note that for lead bullets most 45's shoot best headspacing on the bullet. The third image from the left shows how to set up your bullet seating depth to do that, using your barrel as a gauge. As long as it doesn't cause you feed problems, I found it cut group size by almost 40% when I first discovered it.

Originally Posted by 74A95

How many other 5-shout groups did you shoot with that ammo? Do you remember what size they were?

There's a story to it. I had just finished tightening and fitting up the gun for bull's-eye pistol matches and was shooting lead through it off the bench. It was grouping about an inch at 25 yards range with the cast bullets from a bag with iron sights. I was very satisfied with that. Especially since I was having trouble with the bag I brought being a little short for the job, making me put it up on a stack of targets that kept slipping a little.

On the next firing point was a friend with a Hoppe's pistol rest (no longer made) and an Aimpoint sight on one of those left grip panel replacement mounts. He was throwing nearly 3" groups using the load I wrote down. He had actually loaded them on my equipment a week before the range session. My powder and primers; his cases and bullets. He had just put a Colt National Match barrel in his gun, but just as a drop-in that he hadn't fitted to the gun in any way. I explained he needed to do that. Nonetheless, he was questioning the sight and wanted me to try it. So I swapped the grip panel mount and sight onto my gun and shot the five for the group without zeroing the sight. That's why the group is high on the target.

Since I didn't have a spotting scope with me that day, I couldn't see what had happened from the bench. So I swapped the sight back onto the owner's gun while we waited for a cease-fire to go see what the damages were. Not too bad. Obviously, it proved the sight and the load were fine. He decided he needed to fit up his gun after that.

I was tickled with the group but didn't like the weight of the Aimpoint with the cast metal grip panel mount for offhand shooting (as match rules required). So I never got one of those rigs nor had occasion to repeat the feat. I just know what we loaded for him.

Statistically, a five-shot group isn't impressive. If I assume the worst and that it was just lucky on the small side, based on 95% confidence, a five-shot group with an average size of 1 unit of measure (an inch, a centimeter, a foot; whatever) will randomly vary from 0.652 to 1.53 times the average. So I can say with 95% confidence that the average group would be no bigger than 0.567" if that one was on the small side. On the other hand, if it was on the largest side, the average group would be just 0.25". Even though human intuition says it is more likely the former than the latter, the odds are actually equally high in either direction. The odds are 2:1 the average 5-shot group size over many more samples would turn out to be between 0.306" and 0.468", and are only 1:40 that the group was an outlier (outside the range for 95% of all 5-shot groups I might fire with the same ammo and conditions) on the small side.

[zeke]

Can remember igniting several heated debates decades ago with this technique and the whole how a 1911 head spaces. It works, and worked very well for me. Especially with the older style swc's and looser fit 1911's i was using.

[Unclenick]

Yep. Better accuracy and less leading because it stops bullets from entering the throat from a cartridge tipped toward the side of the chamber by headspacing on the extractor hook and shearing metal off. That helps accuracy by keeping the bullet balanced and the land contact helps keep start pressure consistent. Without it, many lubricated lead bullets will start slipping out of their cases under primer pressure, which makes for a high spread in velocity.

I've talked a number of folks into trying this and universally got positive feedback. A lot of other experimenters have discovered it at one time or another, too, both before and after me, but you don't see it written up in too many places. I'm not sure why, but suspect fear of increasing pressure by contacting the throat is part of it. Fear of recommending finding COL's that might turn out to be a little outside of SAAMI spec may be another. But with lead bullets you are already dealing with low start pressure and, indeed, lead bullets have lubricants that can cause them to slip out of a case too easily for best ignition.

[zxcvbob]

Has anybody used Berry's plated bullets lately? (been about 10 years since I bought any) Not sure if they are still cheaper than jacketed bullets. I know they have some new hollow-points for defensive use, but I'm mainly talking about their plain old 200 and 230 grain round-nosed bullets. I think they also used to have a 185 grain hollow base.