.452 Hornady lead SWC for a 1911 [Archive]

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getsome

05-03-2011, 06:55 PM

Hello folks, I got a deal on two 200 count boxes of Hornady lead SWC 200 grain .452 diameter bullets (no cannelure-straight wall) which are for a .45 long colt revolver but I wanted to ask you more experienced reloaders if those can safely be loaded and fired in a 1911 semi auto which normally used a .451 diameter FMJ bullet...It seems to me it should be ok as it's only 1/1000 of an inch difference and I only plan to load fairly light for target use...A fellow shooter at the last IDPA event I shot at swore by 200 grain SWC saying they were more accurate than the 230 grain FMJ I was shooting...He was a very good shot and I was going to ask him about what bullet he was shooting but I wasn't able to talk to him...What do you experienced reloaders think? Would this be safe and ok to shoot in a 1911...I think it should be ok but with a little leading of the barrel but I would appreciate your opinions before I mess up and am sorry later....As always, thanks for your knowledge and advise....

Bawanna

05-03-2011, 08:27 PM

According to my 7th edition Hornady reloading manual your fine. They show a 200 gr lead swc listed for the ACP

I've been trying to find some 45 colt jacketed stuff but not the premium stuff. Our indoor ranges have now put the nix on lead bullets. I got about 2000 45 Colt Silver Bullets that I'll have to save for the woods or outdoor ranges.

MW surveyor

05-04-2011, 05:39 AM

getsome

There was a recent thread in the Ruger forum regarding loading 45 LC bullets in a 45 ACP. Concensis was that it was OK to do so. You may have to experiment with OAL using your chamber as a guage. Don't forget to taper crimp and not roll crimp as you would for a revolver.

BTW - lead bullets are almost always 1/1000 over bore size so that they "seal" the bore when fired. If you go to just about any lead bullet sales site, you'll see.

I've got some (500) bullets coming in the 200 grain SWC style but for ACP. They look a bit different than the 200 grain LRNFPs listed for 45 LC. Niether have a cannelure.

getsome

05-04-2011, 01:11 PM

Thanks fellows, I will commence loading tonight...:86:

MW surveyor

05-04-2011, 04:15 PM

My bullet order finally came in :) 500 200 grain LSW 45 ACP and 500 230 gr. LRN for the 45! So I'll also be loading up some tonight and test on Friday.

Wife says I need to give the mail lady a gift certificate due to the weight of the package because I also had another 1000 9 mm lead bullets in there!

(It was heavy)

earle8888

05-04-2011, 09:51 PM

I have used 250 Gr HP in 45ACP. Both boxes I got said .452 dia., one box worked great!!! Second one was actually 0.545 dia. wouldn't work. Mic um if .452 run with them. If they are larger , and you have a luber-sizer then run em thru and still go with em. I sold my other box of 250 JHP cheap to a cowboy shooter for practice.

TonyT

06-23-2011, 01:01 PM

A few years ago I used the Speer 200 gr. LSWC with 3.6 gr. Clays and WLP for a nice accurate bullseye pistol load. More reently i had switched to a 185 gr. LSWCHP bullet.

melissa5

07-02-2011, 09:33 AM

Bawanna

07-02-2011, 10:33 AM

Are there any negatives to using LRN in a 1911? They are so much cheaper than the jacketed stuff.

Not really any huge negatives. Around here we can no longer shoot them at indoor ranges, guess thats a negative.
You have to keep em slow, say 1000 FPS or slower or you can run into barrel leading issues.
They can be slightly less forgiving on the reloading press. Want to bell the case mouth perhaps a bit more so you don't shave lead seating bullets.

I was using Rainier plated bullets but found real FMJ's just as cheap at Precision Delta.

For those who shoot alot, lead is probably the ticket but I never really liked em that much. Dirty. Course I don't try to exceed the speed limit near as much these days as I used to except when I'm driving. I'm ok with milder shooting guns. Still enjoy a thumper now and then.