Handloading the
.45 ACP Part 2

I load and shoot large amounts of cast bullets of several types in my 1911s. As outlined in the first installment of this series, all of my .45 ACP rounds — and I do mean all — are loaded the same way. First, all brass is sized using the Lee Undersized Carbide Sizing Die, then case mouths are expanded just enough to accept the bullet using the Lee Universal Expanding Die and then, after placing the proper powder charge and seating the bullet without crimping, I turn to the Lee Factory Crimp Die. All of this ensures reloads will function in any 1911 I happen to use.

There are so many excellent powders applicable to the .45 ACP as well as a long list of bullets. In fact, one could fill a book with nothing but .45 ACP loads. I started back in the late 1950s using commercial cast round-nose bullets and powder that’s no longer available. What follows are some of the current powders and bullets I am using so let us take a look at some of the cast bullets I use beginning with the above-mentioned 200-grain SWCs.

SWC

While I started using 7.5 grains of Unique, I have since mostly pulled back slightly to 7.0 grains resulting in loads about 30 fps less in muzzle velocity. The Lyman #45260 in the hollow-point version over 7.0 grains of Unique results in 1,050 fps and a five-shot group of just over 1″ while in the standard non-hollow-point bullet with 7.5 grains of Unique — that I now use more sparingly — muzzle velocity is over 1,075 fps with 1″ groups. These results are from a Springfield Armory 5″ TRP 1911.

Switching to the #45-201 from RCBS and the Oregon Trail 45-200 SWC, both over 7.0 grains of unique and fired in the same TRP, result in 1″ groups and muzzle velocities of 1,088 and 1,053 fps respectively. For an easier-shooting load, I go with 5.0 grains of W231 with any of these bullets for just over 825 fps. I have been using the Lyman #452460 cast bullet probably longer than any other design starting with a single-cavity mold, moving up to a double cavity and the latest being a four-cavity design. The latter drops bullets very quickly, however at this stage of my life my hands get tired very quickly from the weight of the steel mold.

This #452460 bullet has proven to be accurate with several different powders. I have shot it a lot in the Springfield Armory Range Officer. With 5.0 grains of W231 the muzzle velocity is 800 fps with a group of just over 1″; 5.0 grains of Red Dot, 900 fps, 7/8″; and 5.0 grains of Bullseye results in 855 fps and just over 1″. So it seems the magic number for this bullet and these powders is 5.0 grains. There was a time when it was difficult to find a 1911 that would function flawlessly with SWC bullets. This does not seem to be the case with currently offered 1911s and I have tried these loads in well over a dozen such pistols with nary a problem.

Keith, Again

Recently I have discovered a cast bullet that unexpectedly works exceptionally well in .45 ACP loads. In the 1930s Elmer Keith designed what he considered the perfect .45 Colt bullet. This was first offered by Ideal and carried on by Lyman. It is the #454424 and weighs around 255 grains from my alloy. Several years ago Lyman took a step I know Keith would not approve of — “improving” his design and giving it a new designation as #452424.

This newer bullet when cast of type metal drops out of my mold at 217 grains. Looking at it closely, I thought “why not try in the .45 ACP?” Bullets were sized at 0.452″ and seated with the front shoulder inside the case and then crimped with the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Unlike the 200-grain SWC loads mentioned above, this bullet does not have a tapered nose, being more blunt in design. I was pleasantly surprised to find it works in every 1911 I tried, including both Government Models and Commanders, with never a failure to feed and chamber. This is excellent news as the blunt-nosed bullet delivers extreme shocking power.

This bullet takes up more powder capacity, so when using Bullseye I back off on the powder charge to 4.5 grains instead of the normal 5.0 grains for duplicating Hardball loads. This gives me a muzzle velocity of 850 fps with groups just over 1″ from the Springfield Armory TRP. Call it a modernized version of the original Hardball.

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