Which primers and powder?

McHoss

McHoss

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Ok, I’m going to start reloading and have chosen .45 as my first caliber to jump in with because I already have dies for that and a bunch of spent brass.
I plan on buying a Hornady 230g FMJ LRN bullets.
So I need primers and powder. Any suggestions?
My press is a Lee 4 hole turret with powder measure and primer arm in the ram if that matters.
FWIW, I have been shooting factory 230g loads out of my commander 1911 with no issues.
I’m trying to get all the components organized so I can give it a try.
 
45ACP, I assume.

Those Hornadys are nice bullets, but quite expensive. See if you can buy Canpro plated bullets, or cast lrad bullets. I sue cast lead in my 45s. The 200 SWC and the 225 FP. They feed just fine in every 1911 I have.

As for powder, it might depend on what your supplier, but good choices would be Win231, Universal, IMR 4757, Unique or Power Pistol.

Experienced loaders use a lot of Bullseye and TiteGroup, but these fast powders make it much easier to double charge a case, so a slower, bulkier powder is a better bet. My choice of my list would be Universal or Power Pistol.
 
Primers don't matter much as long as all your brass is either large or small pistol primers just buy 1000 of whatever.
Powder is a matter of opinion, you're loading for a pistol so accuracy is not a big deal. I just use Universal for most of my 45 Auto loading but have used others.

Buy your projectiles in BULK! 500 at a time minimum. If you buy them by the box of 100 you'll get nickel and dime'd to death.

http://www.rustywood.ca/shop_home/berry-45-452-200gr-rs-bullet/
https://www.budgetshootersupply.ca/...istol-bullets-projectiles/45-caliber-451-452/
https://x-reload.com/reloading-components/bullets.html?diametre=285
 
Some really good replies already; buy your bullets and primers in bulk. I prefer Campro or Sierra for 230gr Plated RN, and Campro for 200gr Plated TC.
I really do prefer the 200gr bullets for anything I do, but since we're talking about 230gr, I'll share some of the powders and loads that I found to be Magic at the range. But before that, a quick word about primers.
I can tell you that I've used a couple thousand each of CCI 300, Federal 150, and Winchester WLP and found that there was no discernible difference in shootabilty or accuracy. So grab what you can get cheapest in bulk and go to town!

For powders, I'll recommend the following for their versatility, metering, shootability and accuracy:
1. Alliant Bullseye. This is pretty much THE powder for 45ACP range loads. I've found that accuracy and load consistency drop off if you try to load it too hot. Meters VERY well through my Hornady L&L powder measure. Higher density powder, so does not fill the case as much as some of the flake powders. Just watch for double charges.
2. W231. I love this powder because it's so versatile for automatic pistol loads. Burns clean and meters VERY well! Ditto on the density comment above.
3. WST. This is my favorite powder due to the fact that it loads down for light recoil range rounds and burns clean in all of the automatic calibers I load for. It also meters VERY well. A bit lower density, but still does not even come close to filling the case when loaded properly, so keep an eye out.
4. Alliant Unique. Ridiculously versatile powder that meters well, burns clean, provides great accuracy and fills the case nicely. Heck, I even use this one in some of my .45-70 reloads. I always have a can of this stuff on hand. A bit lower density/flake powder, so tends to fill up the case a bit more than the others. Not quite like Clays, for example, but enough that you can typically see the top of a proper charge.


Favorite loads for 230gr Plated RN in 45ACP(G41) with COL of 1.260":
1. 5.4gr of Winchester 231: Great accuracy, full burn and moderate recoil. Just feels like a proper 45ACP round. No chrono, but I wouldn't be surprised if this made major PF for 230gr.
2. 4.5gr of Winchester WST: This is probably my favorite powder due to the fact that I can load down all of my automatic calibers(9mm, .40S&W and 45ACP) for the range with nice light recoil, excellent accuracy and full burn.
3. 4.4gr of Alliant Bullseye: This is a light recoil range load that I've used since I first purchased a 45ACP pistol. It's just awesome in every way. If I have bullseye, I just load until it's gone and that's my range ammo for the next few months.
4. 5.7gr of Alliant Unique. This one is just awesome.
5. 7.8-8.5gr of Accurate No.5: Large range of decent loads for this one I found. A sweet spot for me is right around 8.0gr. Love this powder for the fact that it flows like water and provides a really nice shooting, accurate and clean round.

Hope this helps you out!
 
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As above posts, buy your bullets in bulk. I also buy primers in bulk (cases of 5000). CCI primers can be tight but I have had no problems with Win and CCI.

Am using 230 grain Campro plated RN - 5.3 grains of W231. 1.275" OAL. No issues in all 5 of my 1911's, all pass plunk test on SAAMI max length.

I use W231 because it is usable in many different calibres that I load for.
 
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For 45ACP I've used Bullseye, W231 and currently, Titegroup. All of these are relatively fast, low bulk powders and as previously mentioned, can be doubled charged easily by novice reloaders. I like Titegroup because I got used to using it and I like its accuracy. Not saying HP38/231 is not accurate.

I also use a 4-hole Lee Turret (Classic Cast). To prevent double charging, I always cycle the handle full down and full up. No exceptions. This way, there is no chance of a double charge.

As an added precaution, I always look at the case and make sure the powder level is consistent with a proper single charge. Not all cases have the same interal volume, so powder levels will vary.
Double charges will be quite obvious. Try double charging, just so you will be familiar with how a double charge looks like.

Budget Shooter also carries Titegroup. $116/4lbs vs $112/4 lbs for HP38/231, but you'll actually save a couple percent since you only need 4.8 grains TG vs 5.3 grains HP38. And the TG load gives a slight 21 fps faster muzzle velocity (from the Hodgdon Chart). So its really a toss up between the two powders.

If you want even higher velocity, 700X gives 894 fps, 61 fps higher than HP38/231 at $114/4lbs. At 5 grains per round, 700X is about same cost per shot as 231/TG but if you want the most velocity in a cheap powder, 700X is a good option.

Note that HP38/231 and Titegroup meter very well through the Lee Powder measure.

https://www.budgetshootersupply.ca/product/hodgdon-titegroup-4lb-powder-jug/
https://www.budgetshootersupply.ca/product/hodgdon-hi-skor-700x-4lb-smokeless-powder/
 
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Only your gun can answer those questions. I agree that primers don't really seem to make a difference, not for me anyway, maybe for better marksmen than I it would matter. Welcome to the wonderful world of experimentation and working up loads. Leads to lots of range time, with a good excuse if you're married - "you're going to the range? Again!?!?" Well I'm working up a new load I need to go chrony a few samples." :)

Speaking of which, if you don't have a chrony make it a priority, helps a lot.
 
Thanks everyone for all the input.
I was in my LGS today to see what they have available as that would be a big factor in what I choose. They carry Unique at $34/lb. They have some of the others mentioned above as well. I can get Canpro bullets there. Not 100% sure on the price but I think $120/1000. They are currently out of small pistol primers, which I believe fit my brass, so I’ll have to wait. They are $50/10000.
The Canpro site listed load data for the 230g RN of 5.0 to 6.0 of Unique.
 
One other question.
The guys at the store, all of them, say that .45 ACP are small pistol primers.
Every piece of brass I have (185 of them) are large primers unless I’m mistaken. I measured a 9mm primer vs a .45 primer and got 0.175 vs 0.210. Am I missing something? I though MOST .45 were the large primers.
 
McHoss said:
One other question. The guys at the store, all of them, say that .45 ACP are small pistol primers. Every piece of brass I have (185 of them) are large primers unless I’m mistaken. I measured a 9mm primer vs a .45 primer and got 0.175 vs 0.210. Am I missing something? I though MOST .45 were the large primers.
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Lots of both types kicking around but I've only ever found or used large primer .45acp brass. Every brand I've tried has worked fine with 7.0 grains of Autocomp under a 200gr Campro. Snappy and more fun than a 230gr thudder.
 
McHoss said:
One other question.
The guys at the store, all of them, say that .45 ACP are small pistol primers.
Every piece of brass I have (185 of them) are large primers unless I’m mistaken. I measured a 9mm primer vs a .45 primer and got 0.175 vs 0.210. Am I missing something? I though MOST .45 were the large primers.
Click to expand...

I'd find another gun store.....

"Most" are large primer but even Federal makes a large and small primer version. Any small primer brass I find/get given I trade to a shooting buddy for large primer. Don't try and reload both types.....
 
Paul_T said:
I'd find another gun store.....

"Most" are large primer but even Federal makes a large and small primer version. Any small primer brass I find/get given I trade to a shooting buddy for large primer. Don't try and reload both types.....
Click to expand...
There really isn’t another store. It’s this or Bass Pro and they don’t even sell primers or powder.
Glad to know I’m not losing it. I was sure I had read that only a few manufactures have started using small. Thanks.
 
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Paul_T said:
I'd find another gun store.....

"Most" are large primer but even Federal makes a large and small primer version. Any small primer brass I find/get given I trade to a shooting buddy for large primer. Don't try and reload both types.....
Click to expand...

Yup, I give away all my small primer and Norinco brass.


McHoss said:
There really isn’t another store. It’s this or Bass Pro and they don’t even sell primers or powder.
Glad to know I’m not losing it. I was sure I had read that only a few manufactures have started using small. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Just don't ask the guys at the gun counter of Bass Pro for any advice, just go in and buy what you need.
I found the same problems at WSS when they were around as well as Cabela's and Canadian Tire gun counter. They typically aren't a reliable source of information.
 
I use range pick 45ACP. 90% is large primer. I put the SP in a bucket and load it when I get a lot of it accumulated. Then I use it when shooting a match where I will be losing most of the brass (like in snow).
 
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