Throwing powder now :)

[Frozenguy]

I've made seven dummy 45 acp rounds now and they function beautifully in my xd45 tactical.
COAL ~ 1.255
Crimp ~ 0.470

Going to start throwing powder now. I'm using IMR SR-4756

Out of the five manuals I have and hodgdon online, the lowest charge for 230 gr jacketed round nose is 6.0 gr from Lyman.
Lee starts at 6.4 and both Lyman and lee end at 7 gr. hornady goes 6.5-7.6 gr.

So I'll start at 6 gr. should I load up some to 6.3 gr also or just see how 6 gr shoots first.

[tylenol9999]

That's exactly what I did, I loaded them in .1 gr increments. In addition I made distinctive marks on the bottom of the cases, this allowed me to identify brass at the range and check for pressure signs.

[Frozenguy]

Ok I would do .1 gr increment if I could.

I threw maybe 70 charges adjusting and confirming 6.0 gr but I sometimes got 5.9 or 6.2. I get 6.0 maybe half the time.

So I went forward and made 30 rounds so far. I weighed each charge as I went and there were some 6.1 and 6.2. I guess I could have tossed those Aside. Dammit lol.

But I'm not concerned about this batch.

I'll start a new batch and mark those charged with 6.2, 6.1, or 6.0 and separate them.

[XVIga_Rob]

I just loaded up a couple test ladders of .45ACP.

Berry's 230gr, with Unique. Per the Lyman manual, I loaded 5 rounds each, starting at 5.9gr and increasing by .1gr, up to 6.6gr. OAL = 1.272

1 ladder for me and 1 for my brother's .45. We'll be at the range soon, to find the load that works best, in each of our pistols

[Frozenguy]

I just loaded up a couple test ladders of .45ACP.

Berry's 230gr, with Unique. Per the Lyman manual, I loaded 5 rounds each, starting at 5.9gr and increasing by .1gr, up to 6.6gr. OAL = 1.272

1 ladder for me and 1 for my brother's .45. We'll be at the range soon, to find the load that works best, in each of our pistols

What equipment are you using to throw and measure your charges? Does your powder measure throw that consistent or are you custom adding/subtracting to each case?

Do people accept a +/- 0.2 gr variance for plinking ammo? What about for basic fun target shooting?

[XVIga_Rob]

Get a powder trickler. Set your powder measure to starting point (6gr, etc.), throw the charge and trickle up, to your desired weight.

Load in groups of 5 or what ever your mag holds. Mark the bases of the brass with colored sharpie's so you will know which rounds are what charge. Shoot 1 mag of each at a new target (from a rest if possible). Find the one that performs best for YOUR gun.

[XVIga_Rob]

I look for a load that cycles (chambers & ejects) through my pistol correctly, has the least amount of flash, and best group size.

[Frozenguy]

Well I'm working on a progressive so I'd like to go about it without a trickler. Although I'll probably get one when I start reloading my 30-06

[XVIga_Rob]

I did this with my 9mm and found a pretty sweet load.

Berry's 115gr with 4.9gr of Unique. Cycles through the pistol great, not much flash, and 5-shot group of 1" x .75" at 12yds.

[XVIga_Rob]

Well I'm working on a progressive so I'd like to go about it without a trickler. Although I'll probably get one when I start reloading my 30-06

I would probably pick somthing in the middle of the range. You could always load a small batch a little under and another a little over, see what you like.

Good Luck!

[chknlyps2]

Ok I would do .1 gr increment if I could.

I threw maybe 70 charges adjusting and confirming 6.0 gr but I sometimes got 5.9 or 6.2. I get 6.0 maybe half the time.

So I went forward and made 30 rounds so far. I weighed each charge as I went and there were some 6.1 and 6.2. I guess I could have tossed those Aside. Dammit lol.

But I'm not concerned about this batch.

I'll start a new batch and mark those charged with 6.2, 6.1, or 6.0 and separate them.

Don't load to many at the start load, they may not cycle your gun.

[milotrain]

Which progressive? When I'm doing a ladder series I throw the low charge on the progressive, yank the case out dump it in the scale pan, trickle up, dump into the case, slap back in the press and index. That's on a 550 though, and it's still faster than throwing in the pan and filling a loading block with weighed rounds.

[Frozenguy]

Which progressive? When I'm doing a ladder series I throw the low charge on the progressive, yank the case out dump it in the scale pan, trickle up, dump into the case, slap back in the press and index. That's on a 550 though, and it's still faster than throwing in the pan and filling a loading block with weighed rounds.

XL 650. I found this

http://www.dillonprecision.biz/support-xl650/

Basically says to operate it smoothly and make sure your bench is solid.

I try and operate the handle smoothly but I am pushing cases into dies. There are moments of resistance and other moments not. I try and keep it smooth.

My bench is really heavy and I mounted it well in addition to a strong mount but I could maybe bolt the bench to the wall.

[Frozenguy]

Don't load to many at the start load, they may not cycle your gun.

A 6.0 gr charge may not cycle the gun? I thought at worst it would be a dirty inaccurate load. Ok I would have done less then. Oh well that's what a bullet puller is for

[chknlyps2]

A 6.0 gr charge may not cycle the gun? I thought at worst it would be a dirty inaccurate load. Ok I would have done less then. Oh well that's what a bullet puller is for

It may work just fine too, I have a 9mm that does not cycle with a minimum load of Unique under a 115 grain cast bullet and have heard others say the same about other guns.