Velocity for harder LSWC bullets

I have a supply of Missouri Bullets 185 LSWC that are marked IDPA, as opposed to those marked Bullseye. These are supposed to be quite a bit harder. What velocity should I be going for to attain the best accuracy? I tried 4.1 gr WST and averaged 740 fps. With a 15lb recoil spring and a slide mounted UD scope, the shells were dropping at my feet, so that's going to need some attention, too.

That load sounds OK.  You will need to watch for leading of your barrel with those hard bullets.  You will see a residue of lead in the bore if there is a problem.  Also, harder bullets don't seal as well to the rifling and some gasses may escape at inconsistent rates around the bullet.  If you are having good accuracy don't worry about that.

As far as your brass ejecting at your feet, I would say that is perfect.  If your slide locks open after the last shot 99% of the time, then your spring balance is perfect to provide reliable cycling and not batter the gun with excessive recoil.

I shot 2658, my high with our 200 sec hard cast at 5o yd and 185 short line.
Won many regionals and state
Matches. With them. Myself and 3 other Springfield team members used the 200 to set two national team records .
Also some team matches at Perry while on ultra dot team .
Get a good load and pull the trigger a bunch.

What Brinell are your hard cast bullets from Magnus?

Well, my "hard" alloy is only about BHN 13-14 if the SAECO tester is calibrated.

Realized I was loading a lot of .45 and .38 a year ago for BE and went back to the BHN 8 or so mix.

Both shoot just fine with the same powder charges in both calibers. IMO, not being undersized AND having a decent lube are the two keys to not leading. I go 200+ rounds between cleanings and there's usually only a trace of lead anywhere, mostly very, very light and easy to clean area at the throat.

No difference in accuracy either.

The BHN 12-14s work fine in the .30 Carbine at 1850 or so FPS with RCBS/anyone else's NRA 50/50 and a home-brew mix I can't duplicate.

Just tried 3.6 gr and 4.4 gr WST with the same bullets. The 3.6 load showed 680 fps and the 4.4 was 820. Ten shots each and the standard deviation for each was 20. The 3.6 gave x-ring accuracy at 25 yds from a makeshift rest, the 4.4 grouped inside the 10-ring. I used a 12 lb spring for the lighter load and feeding/ejection were fine. Leading doesn't appear to be an issue. I think I'll load these at the lower end in terms of velocity, keep the 12 lb spring in place, and work on more consistency in reloading to try to get the Sd down closer to ten.

SD is over rated for pistol. Don't waste valuable time on it. waste it on practicing fundamentals.

jim

Thanks for the tip. Just trying to keep the highs and lows a little less extreme.

If the bullets are large enough to fill the bore and not lead, then ANY speed (up to maybe 2200fps) will work.
Forget all the "match alloy to pressure" and just find what is most accurate for you.
Fit and Lube trump everything else with lead bullets.