Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    Some different strokes today! Testing was done indoors at Towanda Rifle and Pistol Club's range. I used the same Pact XP-1 Chrono, but this time set up with infrared sensors. The upside, they worked great! The downside, must have an external 120 VAC power source for them! They say they work in any light or even no light, but I was very pleased they were much easier to use than fooling around with the standard sensors outdoors in sunlight. The sensors were set 15' from the muzzle.

    Now wrt to the 185 gr. SWC. I sampled & checked different batches for diameter and found them right on at 0.452" dia., a separate batch was sampled and weighed, the average came out to 179.93 grs, so call it 180 grs.

    4 different powders were tested; A#2, Silhouette, A#5 and CFE-Pistol. Except for A#5 the starting charge weight was sufficient to reach the desired 917 fps to meet the IDPA 165,000 power factor. A #5 will meet the requirement with a mid-range load of about 8.2 grs.

    This time out the handgun was a Clark Hardballer built on a Colt 1991 Series 80, I've changed its configuration slightly for IDPA, but nothing radical.

    Please take the time to read the pdf attached.
    Attached Files Attached Files


    "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities".

  2. #2
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    Wayne, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    #A2 appears to have the lowest standard deviation. Great information (and apparently great bullets too from Steel Valley)!

    I know that when you shoot for chrony and shoot for accuracy, there's just so much involved that it needs to be done on different days. I'm sure many who are new to reloading and selected components don't really understand the time and effort involved in your testing, cleaning your dang firearm, and then posting the data!

    Many thanks for posting your data...

    Any idea of their BHN for this caliber of cast bullets?
    Last edited by bamboomaster; November 2nd, 2017 at 07:40 PM.
    - bamboomaster

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    Quote Originally Posted by bamboomaster View Post
    #A2 appears to have the lowest standard deviation. Great information (and apparently great bullets too from Steel Valley)!

    I know that when you shoot for chrony and shoot for accuracy, there's just so much involved that it needs to be done on different days. I'm sure many who are new to reloading and selected components don't really understand the time and effort involved in your testing, cleaning your dang firearm, and then posting the data!

    Many thanks for posting your data...

    Any idea of their BHN for this caliber of cast bullets?
    BHN is one you'd have to ask DucatiRon about!

    BUT I most generally do test for accuracy and velocity simultaneously. It is just a matter of getting the gun, chrono screens and test target lined up right. This time I was on a 50' indoor range so all I needed to do was set the screens and tack the target so I could see it through the screens at the right height. FYI I used a standard 25 yd slow fire bullseye target in each case after 20 rds had been fired there was a single gaping hole about 3" in dia. in the target.

    I just hope some is able to make use of the data. Or even better yet, chime in with some of their own!


    "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities".

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    BH for our pistol bullets is 13-14 on average. They come out of the molds around 16 but are slightly annealed after being baked twice for the coating. With the coating we havent seen any leading effects till 1500fps or there abouts. So all good clean fun with most pistols.

    Great work again Brick. Glad you like the product.

    Keep.on shooting.
    Last edited by DucatiRon; November 3rd, 2017 at 10:53 AM.
    www.Steelvalleycasting.com is your new home for coated bullets and custom ammo.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    Bang?


    "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities".

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Testing Steel Valley 185 gr. SWC .45 ACP

    Haha. Thats what i get for typing at 1 am
    www.Steelvalleycasting.com is your new home for coated bullets and custom ammo.

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