.45 ACP reloading
- Thread starter ordnancemarine
- Start date
Caliche Pit
Silver $$ Contributor
I use Dillon dies but in the last station on my 650 I use the factory crimp die by Lee. Dillon has a great crimp die as well, I just like the finished cartridge sizing feature that the Lee die has built into it.
Napsac and Marine,
if you are required to shoot the 230 gr ball rounds for leg matches i strongly recommend the Hornady or especially the Zero 230gr FMJs. Zeros are about $100/k, pretty reasonable. The zeros and 4 gr of dirty old bullseye(my load) as FDShuster stated will get you in there for your timed and rapids, a little more zip for the 50 yard line. You will know you are there when you are seeing "sparks" while you are shooting. FWIW i use a old Pacific die set and and a Lee taper crimp die after bullets are seated. i have loaded several thousand over the years on a Single stage press!! i now have a progressive na dthe learning curve is leveling out. I still havent loaded the .45 on my progressive yet, but its coming. The normal issued ammo in the military is "hotter" and as FD stated will accelerate the process of a ball gun beating itself loose. get any taper crimp die you can a you will see reliable feeding for days to come. Good luck to you and Semper Fi Ordie,
cheers,
Doc
if you are required to shoot the 230 gr ball rounds for leg matches i strongly recommend the Hornady or especially the Zero 230gr FMJs. Zeros are about $100/k, pretty reasonable. The zeros and 4 gr of dirty old bullseye(my load) as FDShuster stated will get you in there for your timed and rapids, a little more zip for the 50 yard line. You will know you are there when you are seeing "sparks" while you are shooting. FWIW i use a old Pacific die set and and a Lee taper crimp die after bullets are seated. i have loaded several thousand over the years on a Single stage press!! i now have a progressive na dthe learning curve is leveling out. I still havent loaded the .45 on my progressive yet, but its coming. The normal issued ammo in the military is "hotter" and as FD stated will accelerate the process of a ball gun beating itself loose. get any taper crimp die you can a you will see reliable feeding for days to come. Good luck to you and Semper Fi Ordie,
cheers,
Doc
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
Doc,
I have a Paul Taylor HB gun and that thing is tighter than a tick-on-a-hound dog but 4 grains of BE won't cycle it, needs a couple of tenths more. Sure does shoot good though.
As far as powder, I've tried WST and it shoots much cleaner than BE but I can't say it shoots better but pretty much on par.
My other HB gun was put together by the AMU years ago andit will cycle reliably on 4 grains of BE (maybe as low as 3.8 IIRC). But you're right, some of that military issue stuff is just plain HOT. I remember yeafs ago at the Fleet & All Navy matches we were issued TZZ ball ammo (mid-80's vintage) and it was darn-hot. The stuff with 90's head stamps wasn't to bad.
That TZZ brass was pretty darn good.
Jim
I have a Paul Taylor HB gun and that thing is tighter than a tick-on-a-hound dog but 4 grains of BE won't cycle it, needs a couple of tenths more. Sure does shoot good though.
As far as powder, I've tried WST and it shoots much cleaner than BE but I can't say it shoots better but pretty much on par.
My other HB gun was put together by the AMU years ago andit will cycle reliably on 4 grains of BE (maybe as low as 3.8 IIRC). But you're right, some of that military issue stuff is just plain HOT. I remember yeafs ago at the Fleet & All Navy matches we were issued TZZ ball ammo (mid-80's vintage) and it was darn-hot. The stuff with 90's head stamps wasn't to bad.
That TZZ brass was pretty darn good.
Jim
Tj,
I think I still have some of that tzz in ball and wad cutter. I took my gold and silver on white box issued stuff. Not too hot, not too cold....just right as goldilocks said. Your Taylor gun just needs a bunch of hot tzz to loosen things up a little
will u be at the matches this year?
Cheers,
Doc
I think I still have some of that tzz in ball and wad cutter. I took my gold and silver on white box issued stuff. Not too hot, not too cold....just right as goldilocks said. Your Taylor gun just needs a bunch of hot tzz to loosen things up a little
will u be at the matches this year? Cheers,
Doc
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
Unfortunately not. We're up to our nickers @ work. There is always next year though, (Lord willing and the creek not rising).
The best white box stuff I shot I believe they made back in Crane (95 I believe) was Sierra 230 grain ball, WW brass and WLP primer and I believe 4.2 grains of B/E. It shoots good in every gun for me.
The TZZ W/C I have has 87 LOT # but with 86 head stamp brass. Shoots pretty good although I can reload some that are better.
Jim
The best white box stuff I shot I believe they made back in Crane (95 I believe) was Sierra 230 grain ball, WW brass and WLP primer and I believe 4.2 grains of B/E. It shoots good in every gun for me.
The TZZ W/C I have has 87 LOT # but with 86 head stamp brass. Shoots pretty good although I can reload some that are better.
Jim
I load a lot of pistol ammo. I added a step in my case prep that has made a great improvement in all my semi auto ammo. I roll size all my brass in a Case Pro 100 roll sizer. It resizes the web, case headand extractor groove. This reconditions ammo shot in a gun that does not support the case when it is fired. I load my ammo on a Dillon 1050 or 550 press using carbide sizing die(s) and a taper crimp. I check all ammo in a case gauge before shooting it.
Nat Lambeth
Nat Lambeth
You do realize that mentioning the CasePro 100 is going to cost me dearly, don't you? ;D
I thought I was up on the more esoteric reloading tools (and have accumulated many of them over the years), but that one escaped me. Now I gotta' have one for when I start doing .45ACP again....
I thought I was up on the more esoteric reloading tools (and have accumulated many of them over the years), but that one escaped me. Now I gotta' have one for when I start doing .45ACP again....
jim: Have you tried a slightly lighter recoil spring to get reliable functioning? I have a set of Wolff springs from the very light 7# for wadcutter loads that go "pop" not "bang", in 1# increments, up to the heaviest at 16# for G.I. hardball. With those I have all the bases covered for whatever load combination I happen to be using at the time.
I do like and use the hard rubber/neoprene shock buffers between the rear of the recoil spring and the recoil spring guide. They prevent the metal to metal contact & some extra protection if the recoil spring is just a little on the too light side.
You are correct about the TZZ hardball ammo. It was issued to us at Camp Perry one year, and there were a lot of comments after the rapid fire. 5 shots in 10 seconds is always interesting, but it was even more so with the TZZ. You are right again, it is high quality brass not only in 45 ACP, but also 223.
I do like and use the hard rubber/neoprene shock buffers between the rear of the recoil spring and the recoil spring guide. They prevent the metal to metal contact & some extra protection if the recoil spring is just a little on the too light side.
You are correct about the TZZ hardball ammo. It was issued to us at Camp Perry one year, and there were a lot of comments after the rapid fire. 5 shots in 10 seconds is always interesting, but it was even more so with the TZZ. You are right again, it is high quality brass not only in 45 ACP, but also 223.
Doc: Speaking of the old G.I. 230 gr. FMJ hardball: After we were done shooting the Presidents 100 and the individual leg match's, that evening after the ranges were all closed down, but still daylight, we used to walk 2 or 300 yards downrange and harvest all the hardball bullets that were laying in the grass. Except for the shallow rifling grooves they had no deformation and were usable for 25 yard timed and rapid fire practice. Often took 500 to 750 re-usable hardball bullets home for reloading.
The copper jackets were so thick, after firing and landing in the grass they were just too good to not use them a second time around.
I even test fired some using my Ransom machine rest and the majority would hold the X ring at 25 yards, that's how hard they are.
The copper jackets were so thick, after firing and landing in the grass they were just too good to not use them a second time around.
I even test fired some using my Ransom machine rest and the majority would hold the X ring at 25 yards, that's how hard they are.
Thats pretty cool FD..
by the time i got there for Rifle i only ever found a few. I have only done Pistol at Perry once. P100 and Leg, My daughter shot with me using her Pardini in .22. we had fun. Bu to be honest i think she liked the roller coasters in Sandusky more. i dont reckon anyone will find any reusable bullets anywhere these days!!
cheers,
Doc
by the time i got there for Rifle i only ever found a few. I have only done Pistol at Perry once. P100 and Leg, My daughter shot with me using her Pardini in .22. we had fun. Bu to be honest i think she liked the roller coasters in Sandusky more. i dont reckon anyone will find any reusable bullets anywhere these days!!
cheers,
Doc
hoz53
Gold $$ Contributor
I hope I'm not hijacking this thread. I have a stainless Springfield 1911 I bought a year or so ago? I've never had a SS 1911, but I thought it might not wear/ loosen up as fast as a carbon steel one. It's just a standard model and I'm not accurizing it. What I wonder about is that the SS seems to gall and I've thought of selling it and getting a carbon steel one for this reason. But mabie the SS one just needs a little tuning ect. I haven't shot it much so mabie this is what it needs. Can anybody give me an idea on this? Thanks
[br]napsac9 said:
If two different stainless steel types are used for the slide and receiver, there is usually no problem. If the same stainless is used for both, there can be galling problems. This should not be a problem on your pistol. I use a small amount of telfon-bearing lube on the rails and have seen no issues.
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
fdshuster said:
I have some extra springs but WRT the Taylor gun it is really stout/strong (not sure of the correct word) when trying to pull the slide to the rear from the home/battery position which is just the opposite of the other HB gun I have. It's a heck of a lot better than it used to be but still, it shoots so darn good and functions reliabily, I just keep shooting it.
I've used the buffers on and off through the years, they seem to work.
Wow... a wealth of information to pour over. Thank you all very much for the information. I appreciate the help more then you can know.
A bit of an old topic, but catching up on my reading and had a couple of thoughts.
Have been doing 45 acp on a Dillon 550 for a bit, started off with a Lee single stage a few years ago:
1. Everyone is spot on with the taper crimp. Roll crimp is typically for 45 Colt. Plunk test in your barrel for fit. I seat and taper crimp in the same step. All you are really doing is cleaning up the bell in the neck of the brass to get to the proper diameter of around .465-.471
2. Try some different powder. W-231 is very popular. I really like Clays it is clean burning and very soft recoil. I also use Unique sometimes as I have a lot of it.
3. Great discussion on the bullets, was fascinated at the reuse of Military ball bullets. I have had great luck with Bayou Bullets. They are lead covered in a hard translucent green lube coating. Doesn't lead the barrel, create the smoke typical with lead & lube, are cost effective vs. jacketed, and look cool to boot!
Have been doing 45 acp on a Dillon 550 for a bit, started off with a Lee single stage a few years ago:
1. Everyone is spot on with the taper crimp. Roll crimp is typically for 45 Colt. Plunk test in your barrel for fit. I seat and taper crimp in the same step. All you are really doing is cleaning up the bell in the neck of the brass to get to the proper diameter of around .465-.471
2. Try some different powder. W-231 is very popular. I really like Clays it is clean burning and very soft recoil. I also use Unique sometimes as I have a lot of it.
3. Great discussion on the bullets, was fascinated at the reuse of Military ball bullets. I have had great luck with Bayou Bullets. They are lead covered in a hard translucent green lube coating. Doesn't lead the barrel, create the smoke typical with lead & lube, are cost effective vs. jacketed, and look cool to boot!
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