Powder & Primers For .45 Auto Plinking

[Jake1798]

Hey guys I'm going to start reloading rounds for my 1911 .45 and I'm wondering what powder and primers I should use. I'm just going to use it for plinking right now and will be using cheap bullets like Remington or Winchester bulk 230gr. Any recommendations?

 

[bear.23]

5Gr of 231 with just about any regular large primer (what ever is cheap) Winnies or CCI will work...

 

[undertaker]

4 grains of bullseye, with a 225 or 230 grain lead bullet, large pistol primer

 

[RUPZUK]

I use REX2 powder , super cheap and works for me .
I've used several primers all with positive results . Buy them 5000 at a time to get the best deal . Federal primers are not recommended with Lee reloaders for some reason or another .
lead or jacketed ?
200 grain lead are probably the cheapest .
I would think Montana Gold 200 grain are the cheapest jacketed .
Watch out for your primer pocket size , 45acp now comes in small primer as well .

 

[PoFF]

4.5 grains of Titegroup with either Win or CCI Large Pistol Primers. Clean an cheap

I also like 6.5 grains of Longshot with the same primers. It gives very high velocities. Downside is that this powder is DIRTY as hell.

For your bullets, I'd recommend Frontier 230 grains Round nosers that Marstar sells, I've loaded over 20000 of those without a problem, and they're pretty cheap too. You could also use the 200 grains flat nosers, but I've found that they tend to jam in my gun. But each gun has it's own behavior.

 

[Cocked&Locked]

4 grains of bullseye, with a 225 or 230 grain lead bullet, large pistol primer

X2, cheap, reliable and a pound lasts forever.

 

[outdoors]

.45acp

I've used 6.5 grains of Unique for years under various 230 grain cast bullets.

Outdoors

 

[PeterPan]

4.8-4.9 Titegroup with 200gr LSWC loaded to 1.220"
Any Large Pistol primer, however I use Federal 150

Good Luck

 

[AOWM]

I like IMR 700X 5grn for 230grn lead roundnose like another poster said buy primers bulk to save$

 

[OneBarfly]

200 Lead SWC are accurate and will not batter your .45 as much as full-patch 230 Ball. Unique is my powder of choice in this caliber. 6 to 6.5 grains

 

[kombayotch]

TiteGroup is an awesome powder. You can load anything with it and it is safe to use un very light loads where the powder takes up very little of the case volume.

 

[thecollector]

200 Lead SWC are accurate and will not batter your .45 as much as full-patch 230 Ball. Unique is my powder of choice in this caliber. 6 to 6.5 grains

DITTO.

Also, Bullseye, WW-231, and Titegroup are good for .45 ACP.
Cast lead .45's around $35. for 500; Copper PLATED .45 bullets, about $50. for 500 (Excel); all cheaper than the big brand jacketed bulk bullets.

 

[Bookworm]

5.1 grains of 231
Federal primers
200 grain cast bullet

Been shooting them for years and both my and my sons Colt digest them real well.

Dave

 

[Jake1798]

Thanks guys all your replies have been really helpful.

 

[Obtunded]

4.5 grains of Titegroup with either Win or CCI Large Pistol Primers. Clean an cheap

I agree. My 1911 will cycle with 3.5 grains using 230FMJ's. It makes it even cheaper using less powder and the load you could shoot all day long

 

[acrashb]

It makes it even cheaper using less powder and the load you could shoot all day long

Less powder, and cheaper. Titegroup is under $20/pound from higginson powders (before shipping etc).

 

[Smitty]

If you run across 185 gr SWC then buy them for the powder used is less, so is the kick plus a clean target hole. That is my choice along with any make of primer though Green Dot, Unique, W-231, HP-38 or Tightgroup do a great job & some of my fellow shooters are doing well with same though using Bullseye.

 

[Gibbs505]

I use 231 and fed primers!

 

[EdGCNM]

Actually, for comparable loads/pressures you usually use more powder the lighter the bullet. For the same powder, a 185gr normally requires more powder than a 200, which uses more than a 230 gr. The least amount of powder is with a 230 gr. The greater mass of the heavier bullet makes the pressures build faster and so needs less powder.

If you try TiteGroup in lighter loads, you may find it dirty (it created more fouling than any other powder I've tried, including W231, Unique, Bullseye, Red Dot, and Clays) in such loads. See what you think. It is very clean in regular to full power loads. For lighter loads, try Hodgdon Clays, which is much used in the bullseye community, usually 3.6-3.8 grains behind a 200 gr. LSWC.