Federal Goldmedal match .45 ACP 185 gr FMJ-SWC 770

I just brought home my first true bulleye 1911 acp and was wondering if Federal Gold medal match 185 grain fmj swc would be a good round use as a base line for comparing hand loads.

thanks

Hello troystaten,

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "a base line" but the answer to my interpretation of your question is....

Start with the ASYM factory match load as it's recipe is fairly well documented:

Starline cases
Winchester primers
4.2 grains of VV N310 powder
185 grain Nosler bullet

Take measurements of the factory rounds to duplicate the overall length and crimp.  Shoot, test and compare from there.

Jim

troystaten wrote:I just brought home my first true bulleye 1911 acp and was wondering if Federal Gold medal match 185 grain fmj swc would be a good round use as a base line for comparing hand loads.

thanks

Yes, this ammo has a history of providing very good groups. If you test from a machine rest at 50 yards, you should be able to see just what your pistol is capable of in the accuracy department. As far as reloads go, if they stay within the 10 ring at 50 yards and function reliably through your pistol, you are good to go. The selection of the bullet seems to be a big factor in 50 yard accuracy. The Nosler and Zero 185 grain JHP have a great reputation. Putting 4.5 grains or so of Alliant Bullseye powder behind it produces very good groups out of any pistol I've shot it in. This load (using an alternative powder for N 310) was recommended to me many years ago by Dave Salyer who with Al Doorman, "invented" the Marine Corps load which has been copied by others, including ASYM and Atlanta Arms. It produces velocities of about 829 fps.

Hello all,

Closer to 775 - 780 feet per second for ASYM and 4.2 grains of VV N310.

Jim

Thank you everybody, mainly I was wondering if this particular type of factory ammo is a good one to compare with any reloads that I might try to put together. 

thanks

Yes, it is.

I just got my hands on some VV N310.  So 4.2 is enough for the 50yard line as well?  Can anyone throw me the OAL and crimp #s

Hello,

4.2 grains is my go to load (very accurate) for several of my M1911s. Try a 1.216" over all length and a 0.469" crimp.

Jim

Christopher Miceli wrote:I just got my hands on some VV N310.  So 4.2 is enough for the 50yard line as well?  Can anyone throw me the OAL and crimp #s

I remember Dave Salyer telling me that COAL wasn't a critical factor in accuracy. A COAL of around 1.20" and a taper crimp of around .470" should get you good groups with the Nosler 185 gr. JHP.

The difference between an X and a 10 might be the crimp and OAL, 9's and 8's most often the shooter.

A late friend of mine was on the USAR bullseye team and he was issued ammo every year, Winchester wad till the late 80s and Federal wad after that. He used my Ransom rest every year to test fire what he was issued, no two lots shot the same size groups  and sometimes point of impact at 50 yds. No two lots were exactly the same. Some lots were used for 25 yds only, they did not group at 50 yards.
Tom Ginovsky

Just ordered 5 boxes from Midway, they have it as a clearance item for 36 bucks a box.

your pistol have a dot frame/slide or irons?   What recoil spring you going with?

Hey Christopher, it has a red dot sight mounted on the slide not sure about the spring, it is lighter than the factory spring.  This is my first red dot sight not sure that I like it, might switch to irons since that is what my model 41 and other revolvers have.

Well I was finally able to get to the range and shoot my new to me 1911, things like work and family interfered with more important things like shooting.  I was able to compare the Federal 185 FMJ simiwadcutters to my reloads (185 grain magnus button nose wadcutters with 4.8 grains of 231) and the accuracy was about the same between the two of them.  This is my first 1911 as I have always shot revolvers and am on a learning curve with this gun.  Thanks for all the help and info on this forum.

The Federal Gold Medal Match 45 auto ammo (45B) is loaded with Alliant BE-86 powder.

BEA wrote:The Federal Gold Medal Match 45 auto ammo (45B) is loaded with Alliant BE-86 powder.

Actually; they used a canister grade powder that had burning characteristics similar to BE-86 but it was not BE-86 itself.

Jim

BE-86 is a canister powder as of last year.  It is for sure what Federal uses in their Gold Medal match 185 gr.  BE-86 was only a OEM powder for many years and has been used by the ammo companies for a variety of factory handgun rounds.  It has a burn speed SIMILAR to Unique, but is a smaller flake, which makes it meter well.  Visually, it looks much like Bullseye, so care must be taken to not get the 2 confused.

BEA wrote:BE-86 is a canister powder as of last year.  It is for sure what Federal uses in their Gold Medal match 185 gr.  BE-86 was only a OEM powder for many years and has been used by the ammo companies for a variety of factory handgun rounds.  It has a burn speed SIMILAR to Unique, but is a smaller flake, which makes it meter well.  Visually, it looks much like Bullseye, so care must be taken to not get the 2 confused.

How much BE-86 does Federal use in their Gold Medal match 185 gr. cartridge?

I don't think Federal is going to release quite that much info, but it would be an easy matter to work up a load using BE-86 @ 770 fps to duplicate the load..The sales data lists 770 as the muzzle velocity..

I wonder if it's like WD-40, just the 86th reissue of BE.

Jerry Keefer wrote:I don't think Federal is going to release quite that much info, but it would be an easy matter to work up a load using BE-86 @ 770 fps to duplicate the load..The sales data lists 770 as the muzzle velocity..

Couldn't one just pull a bullet and weigh the powder?

I did, weight wise it appears to be Power Pistol. 6.5 grains I think, but, I'm at work.

BE Mike wrote:

Jerry Keefer wrote:I don't think Federal is going to release quite that much info, but it would be an easy matter to work up a load using BE-86 @ 770 fps to duplicate the load..The sales data lists 770 as the muzzle velocity..

Couldn't one just pull a bullet and weigh the powder?

Yes... absolutely..

Bullseye on the left, BE-86 on the right..
Naked eye is impossible to distinguish between them.. Under the micro scope, ,the 86 appears to have a smoother finish on each granule..