Bullet type for .45?

I'm starting to reload and am not sure which bullet heads to order. I shoot matches at 7, 15, 25, and 50 yards. Planning to use BE powder. Budget is a factor and I am not planning to do my own casting yet, or ever.

Should I go with Zero swaged lead 185 grain SWCHP or jacketed 185 grain HP? What about non-HP at 185 or 200 grains? Should I load two different types, one for 7 - 25 yards, and one for 50 yards?

I realize that the answer may be "try them" but before investing in bullets I thought I might benefit from another members experience.

Thanks,

Jerry,

for 50 yards the 185gr JHP is "the" bullet, Zero makes a good one and is priced fairly. For 25 yards and in anything will work. I use Zero 185 LSWCHP but have used Zero 185 and 200 SWC with good success. I settled on the 185 LSWCHP as they provide the same bearing surface as the 200 with less felt recoil. 3.8 - 4.2 grains of Bullseye or Clays works for me.

I have not shot anything at 7 or 15 yards.

Hope this helps

Thanks Joe. The consensus is that this is the right bullet choice. Doesn't seem to be a consensus on load though. I've been recommended BE from as low as 3.4 to as high as 4.5. I've ordered a 14 and 12 pound Wolff spring so that I can experiment.

Jerry Goldfarb wrote:Thanks Joe. The consensus is that this is the right bullet choice. Doesn't seem to be a consensus on load though. I've been recommended BE from as low as 3.4 to as high as 4.5. I've ordered a 14 and 12 pound Wolff spring so that I can experiment.

The load is dictated by your gun setup, if you have a dot on the slide you need more powder, where as just open sights can do the same job with less. I can tell you over 4 gr of bullseye with this bullet is a hot and less accurate load. 4.4-4.5 will work for a FMJ 185.

My most accurate 25 yard 185 load is 4.1 BE. I use 200g for 50 yards over 3.8 Clays, both with a slide mounted dot.

Determine your most accurate load and change the recoil spring to obtain reliable function...not too light or excessive frame battering will occur.

I'm still using up my (now 20,000 round) stockpile of Star bullets up. 3.9 grains of Bullseye behind the 185 grain swaged hollow point bullet is amazingly accurate. Better than the Nosler jacketed bullet.

bullseyepistol wrote:I'm still using up my (now 20,000 round) stockpile of Star bullets up. 3.9 grains of Bullseye behind the 185 grain swaged hollow point bullet is amazingly accurate. Better than the Nosler jacketed bullet.

This is My load too and i find the same thing, its a waste of money to shoot fmj as this load will clean a 50 yard target if you can shoot that good. exact load i use is. 3.9, good brass, wlp or fed primer, 1.215- 1.208 oal( shoots the same) crimp to 4.70.

For Bullseye league and 2700 matches, I've had very good results with Penn Bullets 200 gr LSWC for 45 ACP. Penn offers a match grade bullet that is swaged to .451 or .452. Very accurate over BE or N310 and cuts a nice clean hole in targets. Bob Palermo really knows his bullets and is very customer friendly. He ships bulk USPS so the shipping cost is low.

I'm using the following:

45ACP Outdoors: Star 185g LSWCHP (I still have 7K) with Clays or Vectan Ba10, WLP primers and Starline brass.

Indoors: Quality Cast 160g LSWC with same powders, WLP primers and Starline brass.

327 Fed. Mag: Quality Cast 98g DEWC AA#2 powder, Federal 327 brass or Starline 32 H&R brass, Federal or Winchester primers.



9mm: Penn 115g LSWC, Starline brass sorted to length, Bullseye powder and CCI primers.

I like the 185 JHP and at only .05 more per bullet will spend the money for the confidence in accuracy and consistency.

I have not had the privilege of ever shooting the Star 185 SWCHP. I hear they are good and the people that have them seem to want to hang onto them. I would not want to start using a bullet that has a limited supply chain.

In my gun the 185 JHP scores higher from my hand than the 185 SWCHP. Have not bench/ransom tested either to see which is better in those condition as I cannot shoot from a rest in a match.

How it feels from my hand and how it scores from my hand is important information to me. Load some up go shoot and see what happens!

I do not see enough (any?) difference using different JHP or LSWC of various main brands from my hand. I seek to gain confidence in my shooting much more than in components. I just turned Master, I didn't do it because of the bullet.

Joe, I don't think it is the Star bullet so much as this gun likes lead especially swagged.

Jack, knowing what the pistol likes helps my confidence. I spend most of my time dry firing these days. Congrats on the Master card.

Happy New Year - gene

Penn's Bullets have good prices on .45 cal (.451 dia.) 200 gr LSWC in match grade. I get excellent results with 3.7 gr N310 for 2700 matches.

Jack H,

Do you use the same bullet and load for long and short line? If so, what are you using?

With experience I found my Toyota made Les Baer likes most anything made with 3.8-4.0 BE. Swaged Zero or Star, Laser cast, 185 or 200, I do not see any difference from my hand that is not ME.

When I can shoot a 1" ammo into the 8 ring just as good as with a 3" ammo, then I might start testing.