Projectile weight, FPS Muzzle Velocity, and ft lbs Muzzle Energy.

When shopping online it's difficult to find a factory load that matches what a reloader talks about.
However, on Ammo.com the Projectile weight, FPS Muzzle Velocity, and ft lbs Muzzle Energy are usually posted.
Please help non reloaders by discussing these three factors in relation to each other.

Here are two examples:

CCI 45 Auto Ammo - 50 Rounds of 230 Grain FMJ Ammunition
$16.99
New Condition
50 Rounds
Made by Blazer
Discount Aluminum
845 FPS Muzzle Velocity
230 Grain
FMJ Bullet
Aluminum Casing
Berdan Primer
365 ft lbs Muzzle Energy
34¢ Cost Per Round



Federal 45 Auto Ammo - 50 Rounds of 185 Grain FMJ-Semi Wadcutter Ammunition
$28.99
New Condition
50 Rounds
Made by Federal
American-made Range
770 FPS Muzzle Velocity
185 Grain
Semi-Wadcutter Bullet
Brass Casing
Boxer Primer
244 ft lbs Muzzle Energy
58¢ Cost Per Round


Thanks in advance for your wisdom.
Wes

PS, Do you ever sell your reloads?
And, how many rounds do you have to make to amortize the cost of reloading equipment given a busy season of competition?

You really don't need to amortize the reloading equipment, as it can have good resale value, so it isn't money wasted.

I bought a nearly new Dillon XL650 complete with cases, projectiles, loads of powder and pretty much everything that was needed to reload .45ACP, 38 Spec., and 9mm for pretty much the cost of the press itself, so to me there is no cost to amortize as it will all come back if I ever decide sell it.

Good equipment will hold it's value.

Selling reloads is a no-no because under Federal law that makes you a manufacturer of ammunition without a Federal license. That is a felony. Chances are they wouldn’t prosecute unless you sold a lot of ammo.

Most of the Bullseye loads for 45 ACP are between 700 and 800 fps. 230 FMJ at 845 fps is M1911 Ball (hardball) and is a bit brutal for normal shooting. A lot of folks used it to practice with and build skills, particularly service teams. For normal use I suggest something less. The quasi standard is a 200 grain LSWC cast with a velocity of 675 to 750 fps. A secondary standard is a 185 LSWC cast at velocities of 750-800 and 185 JHP at 775 to 825. With the latter at 50 yards because of the better accuracy. If I was going to Perry I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot the JHP for the whole match.

As for powders and recipes, it really doesn’t matter much. Bullseye, Red Dot, WST, Green Dot, Titegroup, Clays, VV310 or 320, and even Unique have been used with more or less success. Bullseye and WST seem to be the most popular but any powder in the speed range of Bullseye to Unique will work. Primers are immaterial as is brass. The key is bullets. Some are better than others.

Think about some other things also, such as how accurate the ammo will be, and what are you poking a hole into.  On this forum, absolute reliability is very important, and right after that will come accuracy, but the number of shots fired is usually huge, so cost per round can be a big consideration.  Poking a really big or deep hole or other effects are not important.  Also, some ammunition in some firearms will give decent accuracy at 50 feet range, but well more than 3 times the size group at 3 times that distance, which is where some of our shots go.  

There are other forums where pistol bullets are chiefly compared for their ability to swiftly incapacitate, such incapacitation typically taking place at short ranges, and the number of rounds fired is typically smaller.  For these persons, the consequences of failure to incapacitate are enormous, and since the number of rounds fired to incapacitate can be low, people may be willing to pay a lot for slightly more incapacitating ammo.  For these persons, accuracy at bad breath distance is important, but group size at 50 yards is not.  

Most of the people here are reloaders.  The Blazer Aluminum you ask about has cartridge cases made of Aluminum, which CCI strongly encourages people not to reload.  Also, some people report problems with the cases sticking in their chambers or doing other unwanted things.  I have little experience with Blazer Aluminum, but lots of unpleasant experiences with other CCI Blazer ammo loaded in brass cases with bullets that are cheaply plated with copper, not jacketed, and the plating spalling off in flight.  The bullet has a round nose, which is more forgiving in pistols that give feeding trouble.  

The Federal ammo you ask has about the best reputation for accuracy, not just up close, but at longer ranges.  It won't make an inaccurate pistol shoot well, but through an accurate pistol it will probably shoot as well as anything available.  I hate reloading some of Federal's other cases, but their .45 acp brass cases are good.  

You mention both Boxer and Berdan primed cases.  The Berdan priming system involves the anvil for the primer being a part of the case, is more difficult to reload, and the required Berdan primers have not been available as a component for a decade.  The Boxer priming system has the anvil being a part of the initiator cap, is easier to reload, and except during these political panics are available freely.  Usually, looking down into the case, if you see two little holes it is Berdan, one larger hole is Boxer.  

Most of us might share reloaded ammo with a friend who was short, but few of us would sell our reloads, and fewer would buy any from someone they did not know really well and have faith in the abilities of.

Since no one has answered your title question, the relationship among the three terms is:

ME = (M x V x V)/450,400

Where M = bullet mass in grains, V is velocity in fps and the fudge factor converts ME into ft lbs.  Google is your friend here, and yields sites that will calculate for you.

If you really don't want to reload, people generally say good things about Zero's loaded ammo:

http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RZD&Product_Code=R711-A&Category_Code=ZBA-45ACP

Haven't tried it personally, but it's loaded to bullseye velocities, I believe.

sharkdoctor wrote:Since no one has answered your title question, the relationship among the three terms is:

ME = (M x V x V)/450,400

Where M = bullet mass in grains, V is velocity in fps and the fudge factor converts ME into ft lbs.  Google is your friend here, and yields sites that will calculate for you.

This is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks.
I am going to copy and paste this entire thread into Word for posterity.

Dcforman wrote:If you really don't want to reload, people generally say good things about Zero's loaded ammo:

http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RZD&Product_Code=R711-A&Category_Code=ZBA-45ACP

Haven't tried it personally, but it's loaded to bullseye velocities, I believe.

0.4806 cents a round is a competitive price. Thanks.

No problem! Still not cheap. For what it's worth, if you consider brass to be a reusable item, the cost of materials to make the same round yourself is around $0.04 for primer, $0.02 for powder, and maybe $0.10 for the bullet. Cheaper if you get stuff in bulk. New Starline brass is $0.17 each, and if you use it 15 times, drops the cost to around $0.01 each loading. So you're total cost (conservatively) is $0.17 a round. 

That right there shows you why we all reload.

Dave

Besides, if you are careful developing loads for a particular pistol the resultant rounds can be more accurate than even the most expensive boxed ammo.  Not to mention the fun you have doing it.