Advice on 45 ACP load

Hello all,

Still a noob at all this pistol stuff, only done a few 9mm load tests so far. So I’m seeking advice before jumping into the 45 ACP. And I know you all will have the info I need.

Here’s the relevant things to know: loading for a Glock 21. It is currently converted to 460 Rowland, so it has a compensator and heavy spring. I can go back to the factory spring though if needed. Ideally I’d have a load that could cycle the heavier spring though so I could switch between 45 and 460 at will.

I ordered 200 gr X-treme HP’s from Wes. And I have both power pistol and Ramshot Zip to choose from on the shelf. And I’m planning on using SPP brass for this as I have a whack of it.

The Lyman manual shows power pistol between 6.6 and 7.4 gn and a 1.178” OAL.

The Lee manual shows Zip between 5.8 and 6.4 gn with a min OAL of 1.23”.

Am I right to assume the shorter OAL is because Lyman is referencing a HP bullet and Lee appears to not be?

Any advice or pet loads would be appreciated. Range trips are precious few for me, so getting it right in as few trips as possible is valuable to me.

Thanks!


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I am really interested in what the group experience is on this. I have tried standard and some hot 45acp's and none of them will function the slide properly in the 460 conversions.

My 460 wouldn't cycle any hot 45acp loads, and they don't recommend even shooting 45acp in the conversion.
I loaded all sorts of 45acp and 460 Rowland rounds, and just gave up on it all together.
Never got what I wanted and was tired of beating up on my gun unfortunately

Yeah, I don’t really expect to get a 45 load that’ll cycle the 460 well. It’s such a huge pressure level difference between the two, but a boy can dream.

At this point, I’m really looking for a good recipe for my 45 with the 200 gn HPs.

Eventually I’ll load some 460 rounds with the same 200 gn pills. Those would just be play rounds though so people can shoot it without burning my paycheck for ammo. For the field I’ll probably buy buffalo bore.


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Any 200gr Jacketed data, and with plated bullets, load from LOW to MID range of the jacketed data, and it will be just fine

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Originally Posted by Mambochicken

Yeah, I don’t really expect to get a 45 load that’ll cycle the 460 well. It’s such a huge pressure level difference between the two, but a boy can dream.

At this point, I’m really looking for a good recipe for my 45 with the 200 gn HPs.

Eventually I’ll load some 460 rounds with the same 200 gn pills. Those would just be play rounds though so people can shoot it without burning my paycheck for ammo. For the field I’ll probably buy buffalo bore.


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Okay, that’s good to know. So I should stay on the bottom half of the load range then.

Any meaningful difference between the two powders? Or would you load a little with each one and see what shoots better?


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Start in the bottom half of the range, and try both powders.
See what your gun likes.
Work up the loads as needed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mambochicken

Okay, that’s good to know. So I should stay on the bottom half of the load range then.

Any meaningful difference between the two powders? Or would you load a little with each one and see what shoots better?


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I really like power pistol in 45 ACP. but i load 230 gr RN

Awesome, that’s one vote for power pistol. Any idea how I can scale the RN OAL’s for HP? I have one book that doesn’t have HP load data, just RN.


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I use Titegroup in my plinkers and Power Pistol in my SD rounds. If all you have is Power Pistol, it will work just fine for 45 ACP.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dan10mmman

I am really interested in what the group experience is on this. I have tried standard and some hot 45acp's and none of them will function the slide properly in the 460 conversions.

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What firearm did you convert? I did the XDm 5.25" and mine will cycle factory 45 ACP ammo with the heavy spring in. It even cycled the 200 gr Freedom Munitions load, but just barely. The brass will actually land in between my arms (makes brass pickup super easy!). The 200 gr cycled the slide so lightly that the gun shot a few mags just fine, but doesn't come back far enough to actually lock the slide back.

I haven't tried yet, but I don't think my Titegroup 45 ACP loads are going to cycle the slide, they are pretty light. But even on the hot side they are still light to moderate so I may have to switch to a different powder for my plinkers if I want them to also function in my XDm.

I’ve been using unique forever in 9mm and 45. I recently swapped to n350 and it’s a dream. World of difference in how clean they are. I load mine a bit warm. I run 6gr with a 124gr hp in 9mm and 9gr in my 45 with 185gold dots. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ac56b55ce5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...36d6b9f5eb.jpg


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The .45 was originally designed to use a 230 Gr RN (I buy the extreme 230 RN from Wes) and that is what it likes. I myself use 6.0 Unique, COAL of 1.270, Lee factory crimp 1/2 turn..........goes bang every time and very accurate. 45 is a very easy reload. I have loaded and shot thousands of these. I don't reload many hollow points simply because ranges are getting to where you can't fire them at indoor ranges because of the catch systems. I am at the range at least 4 times a week (retired so nothing else to do) and our indoor range is a rubber catch system. Just my opinion and nothing else.............enjoy! Have fun and shoot straight.