New to 45 APC reloading, ?

[bentrod]

I have some experience in reloading for rifle. I have an RCBS Rockchucker, scale and lots of other equipment. Now I will start loading for my COLT 1991, 45 APC.

Books I have now are: Sierra, Lee, and ABC' of Realoading

What is the best handgun book, thinking Lyman.

Dies?

Components: brass, primers, cases, bullets.

Looks like the crimping will be the biggest stumbling block in this process. What I am asking is where do I start.

bentrod

[toybox99615]

You are asking for million opinions so I'll throw out mine.

You have to consider why your reloading and how many rounds you'll be using on some regular basis. That makes equipment selection a bit easier. Then consider if you are going to add another pistol cartridge to your reloading.

Then there is the fun question: how many toys can I afford? I like lots of the older reloading tools. For me reloading is a pass time and not a job where production is mission critical.

I use a single stage RCBS press. I re-prime with the old Lee nut cracker.

I like RCBS dies in a three die set. re-sizer, decaper-expander, seater-crimping. But I also have multiple seater-crimping dies so I do not have to ajust every time I change from one bullet to another. I shoot 45 ACP SWC, 185 lead RN and 230 RN. And the number of rounds I use of each varies. I also load a lot of 38 Special 145 grain WC bullets.

I prefer old editions of Hornaday as a reference. But I use Alliance powders on-lien lately to verify loads. I use both Unique powder and Bullseye.

A powder measure like the RCBS little Dandy or the older Bonanza each with replaceable rotor makes for fast work on filling cartridges. You can measure on a scale and fill one cartride at a time but that get to be a slow process if your trying to put out 100 rounds in an evening.

All this would change if you were to be using a multi stage press. That is another whole system of this and that parts to reload.

What ever you chose you be saving ammo cost and maybe getting a better quality round for the time invested.

[Ozzieman]

Book, for me SPEER is the best, my Number 10 manual is now over 28 years old.

Dies there are good and then there are the best, Redding are the best but make sure of one thing, get carbide and when loading be sure to get a taper crimp die. It adds another cycle of running your loaded rounds through the press but it make them much more reliable. I have been reloading using a taper crimp die for over 25 years and have never had a failure to feed once in the thousands of reloads I have shot. In fact the seating die, I have it set so high that the only thing it does is seat the bullet. Using a taper crimp takes all the guess work out of reloading.
Also get a primer pocket swagger. There cheep and if you buy military ammo with swaged primers you can open the pockets and use them.
When opening the case mouths do it as little as possible, just enough to get a bullet started. Some people really bell the case mouths open and wonder why they get only 2 or 4 reloads. I have cases that have more than 10 reloads and not a crack.
Brass it doesn’t really matter but it you start with new, I prefer Federal brass, its softer brass and works easier and I get the most reloads out of it.
Also Federal primers work easier.
Get a Lee auto primer, best $20 I ever spent, you can load 100 primers in cases in 15 minutes.
I hope I have been some help but if you take one piece of advice I will say it in 4 words
TAPERCRIMP TAPERCRIMP TAPERCRIMP TAPERCRIMP

[rwilson452]

Dies? I suggest the Lee 4 die set. OK using the Lee FCD is an extra step but it is worth it. If your Colt is like my Colt it is not a picky eater. I prefer 200gr LSWC for range ammo. Winchester primers and W231 Powder. HP38 is the same powder. As for brass i have lots of Mil once fired well it was once fired when i got it. some of which I have reloaded so many times he head stamp is getting hard to read. People like Starline brass. I have never had to buy new brass. so I can't really help you there. I have several 1000 Winchester and Federal brass that I got once fired after a police class left them behind. For the most part you will find with 45ACP brass you will lose it faster than it wears out.

[Stargazer]

I have been reloading 45 ACP for 25+ years now and I bet I still have some brass from that era that is still getting reloaded today. It lasts forever, as others have said, you'll lose them before they give out. I have always had a problem with Remington brass though. Like it is thin and the bullet will slip inside it. All others, no problems.

When I got started I went to the local gunshop and wanted them to order me in a 45 ACP trim die. They laughed and said I would NEVER need it, they were right, it hasn't been touched in 25 years.

[C17A]

45ACP is one of the easiest rounds to reload successfully. Any of the faster powders such as Bullseye, HP38, Winchester 231, etc can be used to develop a useful load. Use only published load data from a reliable source. Just don't try to make a magnum out of it, and you'll do fine. You also don't need to have many different powders and bullets to attain success, or work hard to develop a useful load.

There are several issues with reloading for semiautos that need to be addressed. The power of your reload, the bullet shape, and the taper crimp are crucial to successful functioning. I am assuming you will be using cast lead bullets at some point for reloading. I can load up 45ACP for under five bucks a hundred rounds, using a cast lead bullet (cast using scrounged lead). You can use bought cast lead 200-gr SWC or 230-gr RN and save the effort.

Make sure you match the power to the recoil springs of your gun. I have a Gold Cup set up for midrange loads...my usual load is a Lyman #452488 200-gr cast SWC with 3.8 gr of Alliant Bullseye, touched off by a Winchester Large Pistol primer. Using such a light load in a gun set up for hardball loads may not work the slide fully and fail to feed or eject. Using a heavy hardball load (such as the Lyman cast lead 230-gr #452374 with 5.0 grs Bullseye, the max load in the Lyman Cast Bullet manual) in a gun set up for midrange target loads can batter the slide and frame--you ARE using a shock buffer, aren't you?
Bullet shape is important since the bullet nose can hang up on the feed ramp. Some hollow point designs are notorious in that aspect. Round nose is usually the most successful shape. If you look at many of the cast lead SWC designs, they incorporate a rounded nose portion to help feeding.
Taper crimp just enough to remove the bell-mouth to make the case walls straight, without too much that swages the bullet undersize.

All of the major die manufacturers make good dies, get a set with the carbide sizer and taper crimp. The 4-die set has the sizer, expander (for making the bell-mouth), seater, and taper crimp dies. I have Lyman dies, but RCBS, Lee, Redding, Hornady, etc are all good. Lee are the least expensive, and I have some in other calibers.

For decades, generations of target shooters have used Bullseye powder, and it works well for me.
I use Winchester Large Pistol primers, the standard (NOT magnum)--the 45ACP is a low-pressure cartridge.
Cases are what I scrounge at the range--I have several thousand in 45ACP alone. Any military crimped primers can have the crimp removed with a small pocketknife. You don't need to measure or trim cases. Remember, cases get shorter when fired, so if you want to measure cases, only measure after sizing. Purist target shooters cull out a set of cases measuring exactly .890" for the slow-fire stage. Others think the effort is worthless.
Seating depth of the bullet can help improve ignition and accuracy by taking out most of the end play of the shell-to-chamber fit. Seating a lead SWC with the wadcutter edge out by .020" past the case mouth is recommended. Seat out too much and the slide may not go into battery every time.

I am going to recommend this load for starting--a 200-gr cast lead SWC with 4.5 grs of Bullseye. It'll work the slide with authority, is well below max, and is economical to shoot. For decades the GI-issue hardball load (230-gr FMJ at 830 fps) was duplicated by a 230-gr lead RN with 5.0 grs of Bullseye, you could try that.

In terms of literature, excellent advice is found in NRA reprints of articles collected in their pamphlet "The .45 Automatic." Get the 1986 copyright with the red cover for the best articles on how to reload. No need to reinvent the wheel.
If you really want to understand how the 45 auto works, get the Kuhnhausen shop manual for the 45 automatic.

[WESHOOT2]

>LEE Carbide die set that includes their Carbide Factory Crimp die
>Forster/Bonanza die-locking rings (trust me on this one)
>dial caliper, metal (I see Grafs offers them under $30)
>LEE chamfer tool and primer pocket cleaner
>under-$30 Scale Check Weights set (mine's from Lyman)
>new Starline, IMI, or Winchester cases (to start)
>230g RN bullets, whether lead ("LRN"), plated (Rainier; "TCJ-RN"), or jacketed (W-W, R-P, Zero, or IMI "FMJ" or "FMJ-RN")
>4.8--5.5G W231
>CCI300 or WLP
>RCBS or Hornady hand-priming unit
>RCBS shellholders
>Lyman Reloading Data Log; record everything (some day you'll be glad you did)
>safety glasses; wear them whenever touchng anything other than paper

So, mine?
sized case
OAL 1.257"
mouth crimp .470"
CCI300
5.0g W231
230g RN (whether lead, plated, or FMJ)
finished with a LEE Carbide Factory Crimp die

[Alleykat]

I'd just start with the basics: It's ACP!!!

[jhansman]

Ditto on the Lee dies set, especially the FCD. It finishes off the round in a way no other die I've uses does, and I am most impressed with it. I'm using Winchester brass and primers, W231 and Titegroup, 200gr. SWCs out of my SP 1911 Loaded, with an OAL of 1.245". Love the .45ACP.....

[ForneyRider]

I bought the Lee Deluxe Pistol Die set for 45ACP.
4 dies(Decapper/Sizer, Expander/Powder-through, Bullet Seater, Factory Crimp), reloading data, dipper and shellholder. I think it was 31$.

Gonna try reloading some 230gr FMJ and JHP this weekend. Whatever they have in stock.

It's for an Springfield XD, else I would try SWC.

I plan to use Winchester Large Pistol primers with Power Pistol and W231 powders. Mixed once-fired brass.

Last time I was at a reloading supply, they had several free load data resources: IMR, Hodgdon, Norma. I bought the 7$ Hogdon magazine thingy. You can get it for $4.50 elsewhere. Alliant and Hodgon(Hodgdon, IMR, Winchester powders) have good websites for their load data. Nosler has good website for their loads. But the Nosler data online is limited to rifle as far as I can see.

I have a Nosler edition and Lee Reloading book.
Lee book has copious data. It is a compilation of several manuf's data.
I like the layout and content of the Nosler book. Has a little story of each caliber by industry names like 7-30 by Ken Waters guy, Col Jeff Cooper on .45ACP, etc. Data, of course, is limited to Nosler bullets.

Good to have a few resources. If you are particular to one type of powder/bullet, then get their book.

[Sevens]

I built up my 200 grain cast lead SWC load for my AMT Hardballer Longslide. I really, really wish I could tell you the rating of the spring in it-- I don't know it. It does have a Wilson shok-buff installed.

What I do know is that 3.8 grains of Bullseye wouldn't cycle it, but 4.4 grains of Bullseye runs it beautifully and gives me fine accuracy.

My point? My buddy ran two magazines full of these handloads of mine through his Springfield XD and they fed and shot beautifully. So don't write off a SWC just because you think your pistol won't eat them! Maybe start with a box of 100, see how they work for ya.

[KeithB78]

As already stated best to tapper crimp in a forth step, and not to much crimp, around .471 is what i use. just enough to take the bell out, you should be able to feel the case edge with your finger nail. I like those drop in case gauges, but your barrel will work too.

Enjoy

[scout6925]

Weshoot read ur info thank you
I have a SF M1911-A1 and fixing to start reloading
thank you again