Zero 185 SWHP - Best of Both Worlds?

Hi All,

I was wondering if I could get some opinions...

There is a knowledgeable bullseye shooter at my club (former 2650 shooter) who swears by the Zero 185 gr SWHP bullet.  This is the 185 gr lead semi wad cutter hollow point.  He says that it has the same bullet profile as the 200 LSWC which is cast from the HG 68 mold, and has the benefits in stability from the HG 68 design, but has a reduced weight from the hollow point allowing softer recoil and lower powder use.

What are your thoughts.  Is the 185 gr SWHP a good bullet choice for the above reasons? Would you choose this bullet over a Zero 185 JHP or a Zero 200 gr LSWC?

Best,

Joe

I use them for the long line with 4.3gr WST 1.225"COL and 0.467" crimp. Off a sandbag with my Accuracy X they'll group in the X ring. With my gun they outperform JHP at 50 yards. Best I've done with them in a match is 98 slow fire.

for the short line 3.5 gr BE zero 185 SWHP .925 to shoulder .465 crimp will drill the X every time if I do MY part

My go to 45 bullet.

Guess I'm the exception. My shooting buddy loves them but they lead my barrel up bad so had to discontinue their use after about 500-600 rounds. Have to push them a little at 4.3 WST with a .463 crimp due to a tight custom gun with kart barrel from Jon and a 9000SC but never have issues with my home cast bullets or Magnus or Brazos cast. Nice bullets if they work for you. For my gun I'd rather deal with the snap of JHP then days cleaning from swaged.

I've switched to it also. 

3.8 is excellent SF load for that bullet.
Jon

The 185 swhp zero is accurate and economical. I like them more than the 200s and see little need to shoot jhp at 50. I recently have concluded that having one load for both the shortline and longline works best for me, the swhp bullet is my preference.

IMHO, the best bang for your buck.  Literally.

It is all I shoot for the .45. 
4.0 long line
3.3 Short line 
15# recoil spring
Frame mount dot.

Oh and .469-.470 crimp 1.207" COL

If you're getting leading, you could be loading them wrong; swaged and soft bullets get squeezed when seated if the shell id is too small.

Prove it by testing with unresized brass, accuracy improves too. Get the right expander plug or a bigger die. Brand D doesn't do it.

bruce martindale wrote:If you're getting leading, you could be loading them wrong; swaged and soft bullets get squeezed when seated if the shell id is too small.

Prove it by testing with unresized brass, accuracy improves too. Get the right expander plug or a bigger die. Brand D doesn't do it.

Isn't the Dillon expander plug also the powder drop? If so, what would one do to replace the .45 ACP expander plug? Would a .45 Long Colt expander plug work?

Buy one of these....
https://www.photoescapeinc.com/products/powder-funnel.html

Check both the diameter AND the length of the plug. I think I'm using 0.453. But, I'm also using a 454 Casull sizer die from Hornady.
Bullets should hand start to a depth of 1/16". Length should be the full bearing length of the bullet. Good luck

You could use a Colt .45 sizing die. works perfect and gives the same case dimensions as new star line cases

The old 45 Colt, yes. The new sammi dimensions are smaller and l measured the same results as standard ACP dies. I can't recall when the change was made. Can't tell you what brand I had tested (RCBS?) so maybe there are some that didn't change?

I was having a problem with my seating die putting a ring around the nose of the when pushing it into the case, since I didn't want to alter the die seating stem, I just started to use a 9mm sizing die to seat the bullets.  It just pushes on the shoulder of the bullet and doesn't deform the nose at all.  Since I do all of my reloading on a single stage press, and crimp in a separate operation it works well for me.
Mike

TonyH wrote:Buy one of these....
https://www.photoescapeinc.com/products/powder-funnel.html

I think I'd go with the HTC version for a swaged bullet. It will expand the case deeper.