Salyer RO 45 acp starting point / load recommendations

Wondering if folks running a Salyer RO (Kart barrel and bushing, slide to frame tightened) in 45 acp would share some loads that have a proven a good / decent starting point in my pistol to use while I work on my own skills.  I have BE and WST on hand.  Bullets on hand are Brazos 200 BB and 180 FB LSWC.

No access to a Ransom rest and I’m not terribly interested in load development. Just some ideas  - or a range- for me to use as a starting point for practice rounds.  I do have access to a 50 yard range to test off of bags, but being very new and working on finding the black,  I don’t suspect that I will notice much difference between a 3” or 5” load. My non-shooting time really needs to be dry fire trigger control work.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT - iron sights and stock springs. Thinking just 4.0 BE under either bullet, .467-69 taper crimp and .030 case to shoulder. Mixed brass.

Suggest that you order a "calibration pack" of recoil springs - there are several vendors.

Many references I have seen recommend a somewhat tighter crimp - 0.463" or so - with lead bullets. That is what I aim for with Brazos BB 180LSWC HiTec over 3.8 N310, which is my current favourite "short line" recipe. I try to stay close to 0.720" to the shoulder.

But I am not an expert reloader, so please seek corroboration from others.

Roy, did you mean .920” ?

Sorry. Yes indeed.

You should look through this sticky thread:

Pet Loads of Top Shooters & Loads from the past. (bullseyeforum.net)


It also has a link to a 1968 NRA load list for Bullseye that I found interesting:

Bullseye-L Loads from the Past (hostingfms.com)

4.3GR WST

I think your starting load with Bullseye is very good. One caution is that the coated bullet manufacturers usually don't recommend a tight crimp

I have 2 Salyer builds. Excellent guns. I used 4gr WST with 200gr SWC. Currently I use 4.3gr WST with 160gr for the short line and 185gr swaged for 50 yards. My Salyer built hardball gun I use 185gr Zero JHP with 4.2 Vihtavuori N310 but I used to use 4.5gr WST. The Salyer wad gun is now a backup gun to an Accuracy X but it is excellent. My hardball Salyer is in my profile pic

Start at 3.8 BE,VV310, or WST and work your way up. Somewhere between 3.8 and 4.2 is the sweet spot.

Thank each and everyone of you! This will help me focus on the things that I need to focus on and not wonder about things that aren’t going to move the needle at this point.  The above sticky of favorite load data led me to the 4.0 BE load but thought I’d ask others, especially those with a Salyer worked RO.

BTW, Orpheoet, that’s my pistol! Except I have Pachmayrs wrapped around mine. Mr. Salyer is a great person to deal with and a pleasure to talk to.  My 230 gr FMJ load has been 4.8 gr WST in. Colt ser 70 Gold Cup of my fathers. 

Maybe try a 14 or 12 lb recoil spring if I need it but I really want to just get some loads going and forget about it for a while.

My Salyer built Springfield Milspec with a Kart barrel and a slide mount red-dot needed 3.8-3.9 grains of bullseye on a 185 grain lead swc with a .465 crimp.  It would not function well with lower powder charges.  The pistol has since been re-tuned with a new barrel link and a few other tweaks.  It now works beautifully now with 3.7-3.8 grains of bullseye and a .465 crimp.

troystaten wrote:My Salyer built Springfield Milspec with a Kart barrel and a slide mount red-dot needed 3.8-3.9 grains of bullseye on a 185 grain lead swc with a .465 crimp.  It would not function well with lower powder charges.  The pistol has since been re-tuned with a new barrel link and a few other tweaks.  It now works beautifully now with 3.7-3.8 grains of bullseye and a .465 crimp.

Thanks - this is a good reference point. Without optics and loading 4.0 BE, sounds like I won’t have issues with 200 or 180 if you were also running stock springs.  And I have 14 and 12#-ers that I can test if need be. Heck might do that anyway to balance things out a bit. 

Thank you for the reference. Would you mind sharing the reason for the additional tweaks? And did you go to a shorter bbl link?

I bought the pistol from a friend, as built by Salyer to get the relationship between the lock up between the slide stop and the lugs on the top of the barrel Salyer elongated the hole in the link (my terminology is probably not the best) My gunsmith who does a lot of 1911's changed the link and ended up putting brass shims in the barrel hood so that the relationship between the slide stop and the locking lugs was the way he wanted it.  The end result is that now I can use a lower powder charge. I am running a 10 pound recoil spring.  Nothing of what I said is meant in any way a criticism of Dave Salyer as I don't know bupkiss when it comes to building a 1911 or how they should work.  I do know that  after mine was worked over by the last gunsmith the pistol is a really nice shooter.  Good luck with yours

Thanks Troy - I don’t take it as any criticism. I am very happy with Dave Salyer’s work. There’s so much that “can” be done it seems nearly endless, but I’m very comfortable with his recommendations and work. Subject to ever having an opportunity to Ransom rest the pistol, I am confident that it will serve me beyond my limits for a long time. Thanks again for the info!

Hey Rod it would be fun to have access to a good Ransom rest set up.  I am not that good at shooting from sandbags but my friend who does a lot of shooting from sandbags got some 25 yard 5 shot groups that would fit well inside of an X ring with lead bullets.  I am sure yours would do the same.  Good luck and have fun.