.45ACP Favorite handload recipe and why?

[D. Hargrove]

Seeking the vast knowledge on OSA to assist in the quest for the best .45ACP handloads. What is your favorite recipe, why you think so and if you care to share, your reloading setup.

My personal favorite:
185 LSWC 4.2gn Bullseye Starline brass new Win LP primer
Running about 760FPS and pretty darn accurate out of my slab gun.

Soft shooting, easy to get back on target, been doing it for years.
Running a Lee Progressive 1000 but am almost ready to move on to a Dillon 550.

 

[dennishoddy]

My plinker and competition round for the .45 ACP is a 200 grain LSWC, with 5.7 grains of Unique. Very soft shooting. I replaced the recoil spring from the stock 16 lb to a wolf 14 lb.
Use the same powder charge with Berry's bullets in 200 grain.
It's my wife's favorite pistol to shoot, and the one she chose to shoot at her CC class.

 

[Pokinfun]

230gn FMJRN with 4.3gns of titegroup. I upgraded to a Hornady LnL APG.

 

[Pulp]

I use TrailBoss and cast bullets for general plinking. I'd like to try some CFE Pistol, probably will sooner or later.

 

[D. Hargrove]

lots of folks I talk to are using Titegroup right now. Seems it burns a bit cleaner than bullseye they say. But under a lead bullet I suppose clean is not really truly possible.

 

[MikieG7174]

I have recently gotten into .45ACP. So I have no recipes. But my set up is as follows.
For precision rifle and all depriming and resizing operations I use a Lyman Crusher single stage. For bulk ammo (pistol and blaster) I use a Lyman Tmag.
Rcbs dies.
For powder charging I use a Lyman #55 powder thrower with a Lyman 1000 beam scale and a Frankford Arsenal powder trickler.
And lastly an RCBS universal priming tool.
For cleaning I use a Thumler's Tumbler Ultravibe 10.
Corn cob with some Polish in it.
Used to use Lee equipment exclusively. I would love to go blue, but can not justify the investment when my current equipment does me so well. Don't get me wrong, I dream of Dillon. Maybe in the next life.

 

[Pokinfun]

I have recently gotten into .45ACP. So I have no recipes. But my set up is as follows.
For precision rifle and all depriming and resizing operations I use a Lyman Crusher single stage. For bulk ammo (pistol and blaster) I use a Lyman Tmag.
Rcbs dies.
For powder charging I use a Lyman #55 powder thrower with a Lyman 1000 beam scale and a Frankford Arsenal powder trickler.
And lastly an RCBS universal priming tool.
For cleaning I use a Thumler's Tumbler Ultravibe 10.
Corn cob with some Polish in it.
Used to use Lee equipment exclusively. I would love to go blue, but can not justify the investment when my current equipment does me so well. Don't get me wrong, I dream of Dillon. Maybe in the next life.

You should try wet tumbling brass with stainless steel pins.

 

[D. Hargrove]

I am dreaming of blue as well, the Lee is OK , but there are at times issues that cause me to have to reset the whole operation. I have not tried wet tumbling yet, I just have a Lyman 1200 tumbler and finally think i have found the right media mix.

 

[Pulp]

Forgot to talk about my loading set-up. Before I moved I mostly used a Lee 4-hole Turret. I have a Lee Pro 1000, but it only has spaces for three dies, and I like to run my .45ACP through a Lee Factory Crimp die. I'm in an apartment now and my bench is in storage, so I bought the Lee hand press, it works very well, but slow. I mounted a Lee single stage on a board and clamp it to my dining room table now. Still slow, but it works. I suppose I could mount the turret on a board, just haven't done it yet.
I may buy some plated bullets this week-end, I'm getting tired of cleaning lead deposits out of my barrels. Oddly, TiteGroup under a cast bullet in my 9mm doesn't lead the barrel of my LC9S. But the 200 grain SWC's do leave quite a bit of lead, even with TrailBoss.
The following may sound like heresy to y'all, but if you're running a 1911, a caseful of Goex FFFg scrunched down with a 230 grain roundnose is a LOT of fun, and will get you some strange looks at the range!

 

[D. Hargrove]

I like it. I tried to do the same as you with the press mounted on a board and then c-clamped to the dining room table. Spousal element was not having it. Now I claim to be as manly as any married man, so I simply said I would move it when I with done with this batch. She just walked away and went to our room. Later that night I was outside working on the pool and she called me in for dinner. There set up in my den was dinner for 6. On my desk, on several TV trays even a plate with drink on the small filing cabinet. So.... I now only load in the den. So much for manly.