Cast Boolits in 45acp?

Orneryolfart357

Orneryolfart357

New member
I have recently started reloading for the 1911. Just wondering if anyone shoots cast boolits, and what kind of results? Any leading going on? I shoot them in My 44 mag with no problems, just wondering about in a semi auto? Thanks.
 
I shoot some hard cast. The velocity of 45ACP is not to fast for cast but I do get a little lead sometimes. Not much and not hard to clean out of that short barrel if you dont shoot to many before cleaning.
For me they shoot just fine as for as accuracy and feeding. I cast the round nose just like regular hard ball.I use alox for lube,not to much.
they are not bad to play with and if you cast your own cheap and fun.Just check the barrel and clean it well before shooting jacketed bullets.
If you have been shooting them in .44 you should have no problem I would think.
 
Thanks for the tip tn. I am not set up to cast my own, so I most likely purchase them. Maybe Missouri bullets or some other brand? Hoping others can chime in as well with what store bought fodder works well.
 
200 gr commercial hard cast bullets is almost all I shoot in mine and have had no leading problems. I do clean after each range trip and normally don't shoot more than 100 rounds or so which might have something to do with it??

Regards,
hm
 
Ornery,
many years ago I had a nice Colt Series 80 set up and shot a few matches with some buddies. We all shot a semi-wadcutter flat nose bullet that fed and functioned perfectly and didn't lead up the barrels.
I think they weighed 210 grains, and they made a neat little round hole in paper targets.
It's been so long I can't remember the source, but they were the best ones for the price at the time and we shot a lot of them.
 
Geezus the thousands and thousands of 200 gr. cast semi-wadcutter H&G #68 bullets I've personally cast and/or bought and fired from various .45 ACP handguns... I couldn't hazard a guess at the numbers, though it would be interesting to know. That's a great bullet, accurate, feeds reliably, cuts good holes in paper and kills small game and varmints noticeably better than a round nose. Today I get mine from the Missouri Bullet Company with the Hi-Tek poly coating. No messy lubes and no leading. Cast bullets are great in the .45 ACP, probably 90% of the bullets that go down my bores are cast bullets. Do it right and they cost less and wear the barrel less than jacketed bullets with little muss or fuss.

EDIT: If you are getting leading from low velocity .45 ACP bullets it is probably because they are too hard. The bullet is going slow with low pressure behind it and being too hard that doesn't allow them to obturate and fully seal the bore. This allows gas cutting along the sides of the bullet base and the bullet sorta skids in the rifling smearing splashes of lead along the way. That's not a particularly great description really, hopefully you get the idea. The same alloy mix that works for a 1,400 fps .44 Magnum is most likely too hard for an 850 fps .45 ACP. And of course the opposite is true also.
 
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When I first started loading the 200 gr SWC's I did have some FTF problems in the 1911. Gunsmith friend quickly informed me of the fix. I was loading bullets w/step (shoulder) flush with case; he told me to leave about 1/32" of the .451 dia. exposed. Haven't had a FTF since.

Regards,
hm
 
most commercial cast bullets are too hard and too small. in low velocity rounds like the 45 there should be no leading.

in my 44 i run .432 bullets and have no leading problems.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I may get a box, and try them out. I currently am loading some Hornady 200gr Hp/xtp. I was amazed today when I tried them out for the first time. Using 7 grs of Unique they have much more recoil than the store bought 230 grn loads I have been shooting. I figure for practice the lead may be a good way to go.

Thanks again.
 
I quit keeping records on my Wilson 45 several years ago. Last count was between 7000-8000 rounds, and 99% of them were lead bullets. There have been a LOT more lead bullets loaded and shot in several more guns, with no problems.
 
Nothing wrong with shooting lead. I have cast and shot lead for IDPA,Cowboy Action,BPCR and several hunting rifles. Don't shoot lead as much as I used to but still have several hundred pounds in the barn. You never know.Bullets might be hard to get sometime.
If you shoot lead you will get just a little lead in the barrel,copper the same way. It may not be enough to easily see but it has to be there.How could it not?
I have never owned a firearm that never needed cleaning.
 
It would never occur to me to load jacketed 45 ACP. Maybe a quick count would be around 100,000 down range with PPC, BE and IPSC matches over decades. I've never cast one but I have a friend in OKC that did all mine. WE use to think nothing of shooting 250-300 or a morning practice. Lading on the hard cast I buy is minimal and when you team them up with a good Bartso or Kart barrel it is very limited.

Greg
 
I shot a lot of mag tech. At that time they were 9.00 a box. Could get them for 8.50 if you bought a case. Those were the days for sure.Didn't hurt anything that my shooting buddy owned a gun shop. We just had to shoot every weekend somewhere for the advertisement you know.
 
I have been slowly depleating my supply of hard cast bullets and switching over to coated.I have been buying Bayou bullets and have been very pleased with them,they ship really fast.The cost to buy the coated is just a couple of dollars more with less cleanup involved.
 
Lead is all I shoot out of all my pistols. Like some have suggested my source has recently started powder coating his bullets as an option. I might try them once I run out of the noncoated stuff just to see. Cleaning wise I wrap a copper Chore boy around a used brush and the lead comes right out.
 
Just for punching paper or ringing steel I like the 200 grain. Why pay for more lead and powder than you need to? In fact, shooting timed matches the lighter recoil impulse of the lighter bullet is an advantage. Some guys shoot 185's for the same reasons. Now, for serious social purposes I strongly prefer the 230 gr. because if I'm shooting a .45 I want a heavy fat hunk of lead in the air. If I wanted lighter weight or speed I'd use a different cartridge.
 
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