What Are you guys shooting in your 1911's?

dannyd

Well-Known Member
Lee 200 SWC Carnauba Red lube, HP-38/W231 and large or small primers. Have brass for both.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
I have 3 loads for the .45ACP.
Lyman #452374 - 228gr. RN a full power "Ball" load with 7.2grs of Unique
RCBS #45-201-KT - 201gr CT a full power "combat" with 6.0grs of Bullseye
Lyman #452488 - 196gr SWC a soft target load with 3.5grs Bullseye, this load needs an 12lb recoil spring to function.

This is one of those things I never really experimented much with. These loads are straight from My Dad's "playbook".
The only difference being I substituted the RCBS #45-201-KT for a H&G #68FB, I couldn't afford an H&G mold back in the mid 1970's.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Lyman #452374 - 228gr. RN a full power "Ball" load with 7.2grs of Unique
I load Hornady's 230-gain XTP/HP with 7.2-grains of Unique.
I'd have to look, but think that's one of those historic Lyman 45 loads that won't be found in modern manuals.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I'm pretty sure that the 45 ACP's original load used 5.0 grains of Bullseye under the 230 FMJ Ball bullet.

I've said here several times that "There are no 'bad' loads in 357 Magnum", meaning that once at full-potential the bullet weight isn't critical. I think the same can be said of the 45 ACP. Before my old shop's caliber and make/model choices expanded c. 1994, we used the 45 ACP and 9mm with the Winchester Silvertips (185 and 115 grain weights, respectively). Few people used the 9mm or the still-authorized 38 Special, but the 45 was immensely popular. That 185 grain STHP got some actual street usage, and it did well. Next came the 230 grain Ranger SXT, the renamed/unpainted (and declawed) Black Talon, and those also do fine work. They soldier on as the WWB 230 grain JHP to this day. Winchester and all of the other ammomakers now market some allegedly NEW & IMPROVED WUNDERKIND TACTICOOL JHP at between $1.10 to $1.50 per round to cater to the new-in-box CCW folks, and that's all well and good. The 45 ACP and the 357 Magnum will continue to tip over predators on either 2 or 4 legs deftly and positively with decent shot placement, rinse & repeat. Once a bullet surpasses 1200 FPS in velocity or exceeds .399" in diameter, things get real good for the good guys and real bad for the bad guys. If it does both like the 10mm, THAT'S A PARTY! (Win STHP 175 grainers @ 1250 FPS) But there isn't one thing wrong with a 45 ACP, at all.
 
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bruce381

Active Member
"and the Glock would hang up and fail to fully feed."

My only glock a 21 in 45acp will not feed SWC it gets stupid FTF jam the exsracted case gets caught on the SWC bullet edge thats feeding up.

Had to go to round nose to solve it stupid glock.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Wow,
Fantastic Response! Lots of good info here.
Back in early 2013 My good friend and MY FFL ordered 6 Remington 1911 R1S pistols and offered me one for his cost of $630 so I jumped on it about 6 months later he called me and said Remington would be sending me a $100 rebate check ( he sent in a coupon for me) in the mail ( and they did) so this was the best deal I ever got!
I got a Lee 230 Gr RN mould because it looked traditional It cast great and for the 40 to 50 rounds I ran thru it BE ( I think 4.5 Gr)
I was very happy ....Then shooting Cast bullets in my modern rifles took over!
It was then put away until this month! Learning how to shoot it again and it is exciting. I switched to Clear PC coating and 4 to 4.5 of WST because it sure is cleaner.
However most of the 45 1911 target shooters on my pistol range and we have a number of old guys that are really good and friendly & share info:
like the 200 gr Semi wadcutters ( some even the 185's) They buy their cast bullets PC coated and they love them. I can watch these guys shoot all day...they have been shooting the 1911's all their lives and you sure can tell!

My Remington 1911 R1S has pretty course fixed 3 dot combat sights......Way too difficult for me to shoot targets!
I think the first thing in order is to get some adjustable plain black target sights on it!

L Ross: Yes I have used a large amount of my Large pistol primers in my Rifles shooting "low node" over the past years!
Many of my rifle loads shoot much more accurately with them! However now we are in an uncertain time!
Trying to spread the enjoyment around as best as I can before I Have to take up Knitting instead of shooting! : (
 
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CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
"and the Glock would hang up and fail to fully feed."

My only glock a 21 in 45acp will not feed SWC it gets stupid FTF jam the exsracted case gets caught on the SWC bullet edge thats feeding up.

Had to go to round nose to solve it stupid glock.

The SWC #68 clone ran reliably (with that ka-chunk hesitation) when run closer to full-potential. I should add here that I was using the OEM barrel in the G-21 for several hundred rounds of cast bullet shooting, and there were no mushroom clouds, bore leading, or other anomalies throughout this series. This involved both .452"-sized and .454"-sized bullets, about 200+ of each. I cleaned the bore when I changed bullet sizes.
 

bruce381

Active Member
The SWC #68 clone ran reliably (with that ka-chunk hesitation) when run closer to full-potential. I should add here that I was using the OEM barrel in the G-21 for several hundred rounds of cast bullet shooting, and there were no mushroom clouds, bore leading, or other anomalies throughout this series. This involved both .452"-sized and .454"-sized bullets, about 200+ of each. I cleaned the bore when I changed bullet sizes.


Yeah stock barrel and 1 tho over "size" CR lube no leading over 500 rounds NO kaboom.
Glocks still suck IMHO I only bought one so I can compalin about them with authority LOL.

Also yeah My ka chunk loading with the SWC was way worse when I load light so gave up and went to round nose lee 200gr.

All my 1911 run anything the glock will not even with a high primer does not stop them.

Where a high primer on a glock they choke.
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
JW - I have 2 1911 R1s, my son has one (all 45s), and I also have a Rock Island in 9mm/38 Super. I have to admit I am a trigger snob, and really never plan to carry the 1911. The std R1 was my FIL's/boys gave it to me because they know I love 1911s (son's is the same). I also won a competition and got the R1 Enhanced. As they are all series 80 guns, I took the 80 parts out and put the shim in (less parts/less drag/basically a 70 Series gun now). The Enhanced came out of the box with a 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 lb trigger, the std I put a couple parts in and it also has a 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 lb trigger. The one part that I left stock was the Remington sear spring. It gave a smoother/cleaner trigger pull than a Wilson trigger. My buddy who helped me with them likes their workmanship better than the Colts. I sure enjoy mine.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The 45 ACP is an interesting round.
I've shot that cartridge in different platforms and it never ceases to amaze me. There's nothing "High Tech" about it, just a good balance between pressure, bullet weight, velocity and accuracy.
Given a good pistol, that cartridge will get the job done.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
An interesting round, and in an incredibly-overbuilt platform if we are speaking of the 1911-series pistols. Heck, I like 1911s--Glocks--SIGs--CZs--and a host of others. I had to learn 'em in order to teach 'em at work, and that was a labor of love right from the git-go. Yep, "Don't throw me in that briar patch, Br'er Bear!"
 

Ian

Notorious member
However now we are in an uncertain time!
Trying to spread the enjoyment around as best as I can before I Have to take up Knitting instead of shooting! : (

Rumor has it you know something about rock locks, so I doubt any knitting is in your future regardless of what winds may blow.
 
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Walks

Well-Known Member
I haven't bought a 1911 type pistol in about 35yrs. Mine are all Colts, well made, all
Have been "ramped & throated by the old Pachmayr Gun Works of Los Angeles. They all will feed empty expanded cases w/o any problems.
The softball target load is for My Gold Cup. Accurate as the day is long.

I also have an early Glock M21 with a Wolf bbl. Added a 11lb spring and it feeds the light load with the stubby WC without problem.
The #68 bullet will feed in the stock bbl without problem too.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The 1911 designation encompasses a lot of pistols. One of the better ones I owned was well used and made by Colt and the worst one I owned was brand new and made by Colt. So I'm not convinced the prancing pony on the side of the gun is a mark of quality.
There's also a big gap between a military 1911 that was re-built (or re-assembled from similar parts) a few times and a commercial 1911.

I will say that I'm very impressed with what can be done with modern machinery and materials. Some of the current clones are outstanding pistols. What you can get now, new and out of the box, rivals what was only available from custom shops 40 years ago.
The platform is well understood at this point and manufacturers know how to make it.
 

Intel6

Active Member
I shoot lots of .45 ACP in autos (2011/1911's), revolvers (1955 Target/625's) and an AR15 in .45 ACP that uses grease gun mags. The majority of my cast reloads are with the Lee 200 SWC. That bullet seems to shoot well in everything so I tend to use it a lot. I also cast the Lee 230 TC if I want heavier loads and recently I dug out my old Lee 2 cavity 155 SWC mold and cast up a batch to go with a lighter than 200 gr. and save a bit of lead. I had never really messed with the 155 SWC but I loaded some up and they shot great in the handguns so I may be making more of those for general shooting.

I coat all my handgun bullets with HiTek (I PC most of my rifle stuff) and use WST for just about all my .45 ACP reloads.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I found 231 and WST work fine with less fowling than my old BE loads. I like the Lee 230TC Conventional lube but the Accurate 45-200E TC with WST is taking over.
 

dale2242

Well-Known Member
Lyman 452460 200 gr. SWC cast from my generic #2 alloy.
Sized .452 with 50/50 lube.
5 gr 700X.
This load runs great through any 45 we`ve tried it in.
 
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