My first reloads

[YBNORMAL]

Sorry no pictures yet, (not very exiting anyway) but I loaded up 3 sets of 5, with different powder charges at 1.230 OAL, and then another 3 sets of 5 with 1.250 OAL. This will be the first firing of a reload of my own hand. I'm pretty excited and will do a small test for grouping today after work. I want to get 1000 rounds as a buffer, sitting in the back of the safe, just in case.

Then maybe play around with the load and try to squeeze the most accuracy that I can with the rounds that I run through for plinking/training.

Wish me luck.

<goes and looks for a blast shield for that first trigger squeeze>

[WVBob]

Did you make a dummy round (no primer, no Powder) to see how they fit in the firearm you want to reload for? Sometimes we build a nice looking round that does not fit the firearm. A dummy round lets you safely load a round at the reloading bench.

[Lycanthrope]

Did you make a dummy round (no primer, no Powder) to see how they fit in the firearm you want to reload for? Sometimes we build a nice looking round that does not fit the firearm. A dummy round lets you safely load a round at the reloading bench.

Yeah, I tailer differnt dummy rounds to see what chambers the smoothest.

1.230 is on the short side. Remember that as OAL decreases, pressure goes up.....so a max load at 1.250 is over max at 1.230.

Lycangoodluckthrope

[YBNORMAL]

Did you make a dummy round (no primer, no Powder) to see how they fit in the firearm you want to reload for? Sometimes we build a nice looking round that does not fit the firearm. A dummy round lets you safely load a round at the reloading bench.

Hmmm.......I did not.

Yeah, I tailer differnt dummy rounds to see what chambers the smoothest.

1.230 is on the short side. Remember that as OAL decreases, pressure goes up.....so a max load at 1.250 is over max at 1.230.

Lycangoodluckthrope

I was under the impression that pressure would go down as you seat deaper as the bullet gets a running start into the rifling......

I started with the first three loads in the Hornady book for .45acp, and they are all under max load.

YBlosingsomeconfidenceinhimselfNORMAL

[Lycanthrope]

Everytime you change the type of bullets you shoot, make a dummy round. Size the case and seat your round......no primer, no powder. I usually Start long and then try to walk the round into the chamberr from the mag. That is, I SLOWLY ride the slide forward trying to get the round to stall out on the feedramp. If this happens, I shorten the OAL....just a tad.....until it goes in like butter. I crimp it up and run it through some more to make sure it runs well at speed (drop the slide on it).

In rifles where you may not have a lot of freebore, lengthening the OAL can cause pressure to spike because you are right up against the lands. In auto pistols you usually have some room and have to load them beyond mag length before you start getting that close. Also in pistol calibers, you are using faster powders so any variance in OAL will usually show up as a pressure increase/decrease.....especially if you are using Clays or Bullseye or other faster burners.

At 1.230 you should be ok if you are well under max, but that's pretty short for best feeding (mind posting the load?). I've never had to go deeper than 1.240 or longer than 1.260 (which did not like to live eject). 1.250 is the standard for factory 230 ball, but like I said before, I do like to start the dummy rounds a bit longer.

Lycanwelcometoreloadingthrope

[YBNORMAL]

Thanks for the info Lycan!

I'm using a 230gr Barry's bullet

with Win WSF 5.4gr/5.8gr/6.1gr (5 each)

and remington primers

2 sets of that powder gradation seated in 2 groups like I posted before at 1.230 and 1.250

My Lyman and Hornady both had fmj roundnose at 1.23 min and iirc, the lyman had 1.275 as the max OAL. So I decided to load the middle but still have a spread to show any difference the OAL would make.

[Lycanthrope]

I have to head off to work (and I have never loaded WSF), but know that plated bullets fall somewhere between lead and FMJ. That is, lead bullets seal better and have more velocity/higher pressure than a FMJ. So, a FMJ round at max will be high pressure when using lead or plated.

I usually need about .2 grains more powder to get the same speed out of a FMJ as compared to a plated bullet....but that depends on a lot of variables so don't take it as Gospel.

Start with your 1.25 loads. Then your lowest 1.23 load. At the first sign of pressure.....STOP. I prefer to go up in .2 grain incremements. .4 grains is a pretty big leap in .45 ACP.

Lycangoslowbepatientthrope

[max384]

Lycanthrop gave some really good advice. I actualy load my .45 ACP at 1.270" OAL and have had great results. I also check to make sure that a round will chamber and feed properly before making any real bullets and that the OAL falls between min and max OAL. I use 4.5gr bullseye with a 230gr FMJ. I have always loaded plated and jacketed bullets to the same loads with no problems... though many do recommend against that. As Lycanthrope said, .4 gr increments are pretty big for a .45 ACP... though I also have never used Win WSF before.

As long as you're not below minimum listed OAL, above the maximum OAL, aren't approaching maximum powder charges, and aren't trying this on an antique firearm (where structural integrity may be an issue), you should be okay.

I was very nervous to fire my first reloads. I was terrified that I had done something wrong even though I triple checked every step of every load (those were probably my safest loads I've ever done ). Once you fire a few good rounds through your gun, you'll gain confidence in your reloads. Now it's rare for me to fire anything through any of my guns except my own reloads. I don't think twice about it.

Also, you had said that you might try to tailor your load to get the best accuracy for plinking and target. IMO, if it's just for plinking or target I use a round that is inexpesive to load. What I mean by that is that I use a powder that is inexpensive and one that does not require me to fill the case. For example, using Blue Dot powder on a .45 ACP load requires using almost twice the powder as Bullseye. I buy both Bullseye and Blue Dot powder for $16.95/pound (less expensive if you buy bulk containers). There are 7000 grains in a pound. So using middle of the road charges on both:

Bullseye:
7000/4.5 = 1556 loads/pound 16.95/1556 = 1.1 cents per round

Blue Dot:
7000/8.8 = 795 loads/pound 16.95/795 = 2.1 cents per round

This was actually a bad example, once I did the math... since it's only a difference of $10 per 1000 rounds... (facepalm myself ) It makes a lot bigger difference if you're loading a round that requires more powder, like rifle rounds - which generally use more expensive powders as well.

Anyhow, the moral of my ramblings are that for plinking ammo, I load for cost more than accuracy - assuming that it still functions and feeds flawlessly.

[Lycanthrope]

Took a look at the Hodgdon site at lunch and you should be OK by their numbers.

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Lycangoforththrope

[YBNORMAL]

Thanks again guys, I can't express how nice it is to have someone to ask questions of.

The .4 gr jump was what was listed in the Hornady book, and I will make note that it is a big jump.

Yesterday when I got home I made a dummy round and cycled it through a few times. The 1.23 OAL stalled a few times racking slowly, but worked ok when the slide was dropped. I did seem to notice (maybe just me) that the brass was getting beat up a little more on the shorter OAL. It seemed that it would work 'ok', but I don't think I will stay with OAL that short. The 1.250 OAL fed much nicer so I will work from there I suppose.

Thanks again!