LF: recipes for .45ACP for IPSC minor PF

Kreech

Kreech

Member
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
Location
Ottawa - NCRRA and RA
Hi All,

After looking at all of the SP-01's out there, I decided that I wanted to try to load my .45ACP down to MINOR PF, just to see what the recoil of a 230 gr bullet traveling at around 550fps feels like.

I have an SVI Infinity, and shoot Frontier plated 230 grain bullets.

I also have a bunch of 215gr LSWC, but I'd rather not use them inside this winter, but I'll load a bunch up for spring shooting if you have any ideas.

I've got a reasonable selection of powders, and did some first trials with light loads of Clays and also with Trail Boss.


So, if you've got any .45ACP minor loads, then please pass them along.


Thank you!

Sean
 
Dear Kreech,
I've been loading 45ACP for many years duplicating factory for IPSC 230gr
power- Clays, 4.6 gr ==189.4 fps xtremly clean powder doesn't beat pistol up. Neglageable speed lost in cold weather. Makes MAJOR

Winchester 231- 5.7 gr=177.8 fps-5.8=186.6 fps

Nobel #4 shotgun powder 5.4gr= 878Fps Major

PP3=5.1 gr=200FPS

700X 4.9 gr=203.78 fps pretty clean
allthese are 230gr Major -hope this helpful
 
I was standing behind one of the guys shooting a .45 at the Mission Speed Steel match and I could SEE the bullets traveling to the target. Totally COOL!! You wouldn't believe the amount of arc they had at 50m. It must have been 18"-20". WOW. I'm not sure how fast they were traveling but he was using just over 4grains of Titegroup.
 
Hi All,

I'm shooting ~4.2 gr of Clays, +/- a little bit depending upon which barrel is in the gun. (I've started using "by volume" instead of "by weight" as my way to load for power-factor - I use the position of the throw-weight-adjustment bolt on the Dillon XL650 to get reproducible volumes of powder.) I can adjust this just under or just over 170pf.

I've tried Titegroup, but the recoil is much larger. There is lots of talk about VIT320, but I've never tried it. All of the serious .40 shooters seem to use it.

For the minor loads, I'm trying lighter and lighter loads of Trail Boss. It is meant to be a low-density powder, for low-velocity loads (Cowboy Action). 3.5gr under a 230 grain had measurably less recoil than the ~170pf major load. I've made up a bunch at 3gr and I'll try that, hopefully with a Crony this time. 3gr still looks OK in the case. I'll try to plot velocity vs charge weight.


I already have a 12lb recoil spring, and a 17lb mainspring in the gun. The 3.5gr of Trail Boss had no problem cycling the gun.



Why not shoot 9mm?? Because I already have an SVI w/ mags & pouches in 45, >15k cases, a Dillon XL650 w/ 2 tooleads in .45, loads of jacketed bullets and lead bullets, etc. A new 9mm version of the same will cost ~$3500-4000.

For basically "no cost" (just experimentation time) I wanted to try to shoot .45 minor. (and, get all sorts of weird looks...) Our indoor winter range is only 20yds, so I'm not worried about bullet drop at 50yds for this experiment.


I have tried the Shadow and like it a lot, especially with some 130pf-tuned loads. After a little bit of "polishing", they are really nice guns. I'm considering this option as an alternative to a SVI/STI in 9mm.

The other thoughts are for a Targetmaster or Rangemaster (yes, I know that changes to another whole topic...) for target shooting (ISSF and PPC)


OK, time to get ready for my other hobby - kayaking. Yes, kayaking on the 28th of December!

Sean
 
dirty santa said:
Dear Kreech,
I've been loading 45ACP for many years duplicating factory for IPSC 230gr
power- Clays, 4.6 gr ==189.4 fps xtremly clean powder doesn't beat pistol up. Neglageable speed lost in cold weather. Makes MAJOR

Winchester 231- 5.7 gr=177.8 fps-5.8=186.6 fps

Nobel #4 shotgun powder 5.4gr= 878Fps Major

PP3=5.1 gr=200FPS

700X 4.9 gr=203.78 fps pretty clean
allthese are 230gr Major -hope this helpful
Click to expand...

Am I reading these wrong? 45ACP loads, going around 200 Feet Per Second, or less??? Or is this some power factor thing that seems to have the same abbreviation as feet per second?
 
Field report!

I tried the 3gr of Trail Boss - it was a lot of fun!
It was like shooting a .22 on steroids!

It's still above 130pf, but it's getting closer. The timing in recoil is a lot different, and the big surprise was that I started to realize that I wasn't "deathgripping" the gun! Because of the reduced recoil, I was a lot more relaxed. The A-hits were easy, and pretty fast.

The springs are still a bit heavy. The slide cycles, but it the 12lb recoil spring is slowing it down quite a bit. I will have to get a lighter spring (9/10/11??) and try again. Maybe the same will apply to the mainspring when I get down to 130pf.

With my .22lr target gun, I practice trigger prep, and can EASILY out-shoot my SVI for group, splits, transitions, etc. The death grip isn't helping my IPSC game. I tend to slap when I'm in deathgrip mode because I don't try to feel the reset.

OK, time to go reload some more!

Sean

p.s. and, yes, those #'s with those loads have to be PF and not FPS
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom