Reloading .45 Colt & .45 ACP

[Skinny 1950]

I am setting up to reload .45 Colt and .45ACP and am torn between a progressive press and a 4 hole turret press. Has anyone used both and could tell me which way to go on this???
I don't shoot a lot of rounds per range session but this may change as costs go down.
I am looking at a Lee #90234 .45 (.452'') 200 grain RNFP bullet mold for both .45 Colt and .45ACP,I have shot RNFP bullets through my 1911 and they feed properly. I may have to change alloys for the different bullets as the 1911 was made for FMJ.
Any thoughts on this?? Thanks

 

[luke s]

you will have to define "a lot of rounds" per range session.

lets put it this way, before I had a progressive it took me 3 evenings to make 1000 9mm and 700 .45 acp rounds. now the same amount takes 3 hours! with the single stage, reloading became a chore when making a lot of rounds

shoot your cast bullets no problem as long as they feed properly

 

[t-star]

now hold on there- the "willingness " of your 45 acp depends on the FEED RAMP and the throating, not on the alloy of your bullet- some 45acps will feed semi-wadcutters right out of the box, others need to have their feed ramps worked on and their barrels throated; you'll have to see what yours likes;as for your revolver, it doesn't matter what you stick in there- and round nose SHOULD do either job- you may have to adjust for oal, but with round nose , you should be good- lots of us shoot swcs with very few problems
now as to going progressive or turret, that's up to you- the fact that you want to cast your own leads me to believe that you don't shoot enough to justify a progressive- i have a progressive and BUY my bullets as i don't have the time to cast them- also, if you do a lot of shooting, look at getting a GANG mould, which will throw 6 bullets at once, instead of one at a time- it all comes down to "HOW VALUEABLE IS YOUR TIME?"- the casting thing can become a whole hobby by itself

 

[Skinny 1950]

I can't see shooting more than 100 rounds per session with the cartridge guns and I already cast 5 different calibres.... .31 .36 .44 .45 .50 all for round balls and a .36 conical bullet.
Thanks for the input....go to go to work now to pay for all of this stuff

 

[tjhaile]

I don't think you would regret getting a progressive press. It is better to have more capacity than you need than not enough. If nothing else, spending less time to load the same quantity of ammo is always a plus. Cost-wise, there isn't much difference between a Dillon Square Deal or RL 550B and a turret press from, say, RCBS or Redding.

 

[luke s]

there is also the hornady single stage press. quick change bushings dont take much longer to change then a turret

but if you factor in the costs of the progressive versus single stage LNL, and the bullet offer worth, etc, the price difference between them shrinks pretty quick

 

[ckid]

I really don't think you will regret get a progressive either...

As to using a different alloy between .45 ACP and .45 Colt, I wouldn't bother... I cast for both with sometimes the same molds and just stick to wheel weights...

The only time you might want to consider casting something different is if you are loading black powder in your .45 Colt... I would try wheel weights first before dismissing them, but you may have better luck with a softer mix, some thing in the 20:1 to 30:1 pure lead/tin mix...

 

[jethunter]

some bullets will interchange ok between .45 acp and 45 colt. A lot won't though. A bullet with a seating groove like many .45 colt bullets have is not really suitable for .45 acp because it headspaces on the mouth of the case.

I guess you have already checked and know that your .45 colt is .452" and not .454"? The older colt SAAs were .454" and most of those do not handle the .452" bullets that well. Lee doesn't make .454" molds but several other makers do.

I mix equal parts ww and pure lead to cast a fairly soft antique-friendly bullet.

 

[Skinny 1950]

I bought a Uberti 1873 SAA reproduction in .45 Colt from a CGNer and it had never been shot. I am shooting factory ammo with it right now in order to get some casings,the first batch was Hornady 255gr Cowboy Action Loads 725FPS,and I just bought some American Eagle 225gr jacketed soft point 860 fps. I didn't get any instructions with the gun about what kind of factory ammo to use so I am hoping the American Eagle isn't too hot for this gun.
I am planning on loading Black Powder in .45 Colt (Goex FFFG) and some kind of smokeess in .45ACP.
I always like to show off my new guns so here are a couple of pictures: