255gr .45 ACP load finally perfected for Glock

[reflex264]

I finally got this boooooger worked out. With the bullet cast from 50/50 and water dropped I can drive it 930fps with a load that allows quick follow-up shots. It was jamming before when I thought I had the load right. I do some of my best thinking when I can't sleep. When I got home from work today I went to the shop and looked at my pressure data again. The starting load with Blue Dot is 8.5grs. That load will work in a ACP case and is considered a +P load. My brain storm was to set the bullet back farther in the case since the fat nose will allow the ogive to contact the feed ramp. I worked just a few minutes and came up with a OAL of 1.153". Loaded up a handful and stepped out to our 25 yard range. BINGO!!! Accurate. Hits to point of aim and chronied 930fps. My informal impact test resulted into bottles being tossed into the air. That is a sign of a good flat meplat's impact. I pulled off some rapid fire bursts and hit what I was aiming at. My thinking is anyone looking for a heavy bullet load in the .45 ACP this is about as good as it gets. Now I know how to make my 255gr Super loads function correctly. I shot these today with the 19lbs spring. Using the super brass, the 24lbs spring and setting the bullets at 1.153" will allow the gun to launch this same bullet around 1150fps. Good enough. Note this was all shot from the 6" Storm Lake barrel.reflex264

[38 WCF]

What mold is that bullet cast from.
LBT ??

[tek4260]

Looks like the Lee 255 to me

[dougader]

I found the 255 grain rnfp bullets I had on hand from Beartooth Bullets had to be seated deeper than their 265 grain WFNGC bullets.

I ended up with a COAL in 45 Super[/u][/i] of 1.186" with the 265's. I used Blue Dot as well and ran the slugs from 1033 fps up to 1144 fps.

What blew me away was the unheard of ES I was getting. Usually when loading with Blue Dot I consider ES's of 55-75 fps about par for the course. With the 45 SUPER loads, I was getting ES's of 16 fps and even 11 fps.

[nonpcnrarn]

Jul 15, 2011 19:58:59 GMT -5 dougader said:

I found the 255 grain rnfp bullets I had on hand from Beartooth Bullets had to be seated deeper than their 265 grain WFNGC bullets.

I ended up with a COAL in 45 Super

[/u][/i] of 1.186" with the 265's. I used Blue Dot as well and ran the slugs from 1033 fps up to 1144 fps.

What blew me away was the unheard of ES I was getting. Usually when loading with Blue Dot I consider ES's of 55-75 fps about par for the course. With the 45 SUPER loads, I was getting ES's of 16 fps and even 11 fps.




[/quote]

I am thinking of setting up my SA Milspec 1911 for 45 +P loads and using 255 gr WFN bullets. I would be using 45 Super brass for an extra margin of safety. Had you tried the 255 gr WFN bullets in your Glock? Is Blue Dot better for this than say Power Pistol? What made you decide to go to 265 gr vs 255 gr? Is the Glock stronger than a stainless 1911 or is there another reason you used a Glock rather than a 1911?

[kaytod]

I shoot 255's in my 1911 at 800 fps with unique.

I tend to get the "whatya doin that for?" from the velocity guys. I just tell them it's my semi auto 45 Schofeld.

If one really thinks about it, that sure isn't a bad thing.

[dougader]

I got my bullets from Beartooth in Idaho. I don't recall seeing a 255 WFN from them. I had ordered the 255 RNFP especially for my 45 Super.... but then this RNFP has such a long bearing surface and an extra wide meplat, I found I really had to seat them deep or the rounds wouldn't chamber in the tight Lone Wolf barrel I use; plus the LW barrel has a really short throat. Its a 4-port 6" LW barrel that I use.

It just kind of worked out that way, I guess. I had some 265 WFNGC bullets on hand and tried them and they seem to work very well and they are accurate as heck too.

I used a Glock because it is what I had on hand. You MUST use the Starline 45 Super brass for these loads. Regular 45 auto, or even 45 +P brass just isn't strong enough to hold the pressure and youll get bulged cases pretty quickly without the Super cases.

Same deal with the powder. I didn't have any Power Pistol on hand and the local stores here don't seem to carry it. I saw a load in the 45 data I have with BD and a 260 grain Speer jhp, so I used that as a starting point.

[nonpcnrarn]

Aug 19, 2011 18:53:44 GMT -5 dougader said:

I got my bullets from Beartooth in Idaho. I don't recall seeing a 255 WFN from them. I had ordered the 255 RNFP especially for my 45 Super.... but then this RNFP has such a long bearing surface and an extra wide meplat, I found I really had to seat them deep or the rounds wouldn't chamber in the tight Lone Wolf barrel I use; plus the LW barrel has a really short throat. Its a 4-port 6" LW barrel that I use.

It just kind of worked out that way, I guess. I had some 265 WFNGC bullets on hand and tried them and they seem to work very well and they are accurate as heck too.

I used a Glock because it is what I had on hand. You MUST use the Starline 45 Super brass for these loads. Regular 45 auto, or even 45 +P brass just isn't strong enough to hold the pressure and youll get bulged cases pretty quickly without the Super cases.

Same deal with the powder. I didn't have any Power Pistol on hand and the local stores here don't seem to carry it. I saw a load in the 45 data I have with BD and a 260 grain Speer jhp, so I used that as a starting point.

Thanks for the info. I figured the Beartooth 255 gr WFN would be as heavy as I dared go. The meplat size of the 255 gr WFN is the same as the 265 gr WFN. I was going to shoot for the same velocity or better than the Buffalo Bore 255 gr hardcast FP in 45 ACP. I don't know if I can equal their 45 Super loading using the same bullet but will try. They use a RNFP which you pointed out encroaches on the powder space more than either weight WFN.

[erich]

I got this from a 4" SIG-Sauer P220 Compact SAO earlier this summer:

6.5 gr Unique/255-gr Penn RNFP: M 934.4/ES 17.33/SD 6.32

Frankly, I think that's a little more oomph than this gun needs launched from it, so I'm going to confine this loading to my Ruger P90 (a tanklike design) from now on. Thought that others in this threatd might be interested in seeing what this load (which I'll not claim is safe in any guns but my own) did from a 4" tube at 5950'>sea level.

[Markbo]

Hmmmmmm... sounds like one of those might be just the ticket for my .460 Rowland, huh? ;D