First Lead Bullets for .45 acp

[mjoplin]

Fairly new to reloading .45 acp and finally tried reloading some lead bullets for my Kimber and have a few questions:

Used - Hornady 200 gr lead SWC, Federal Match large pistol primers, Clays at 3.7 grains. Set case length very "unscientifically, ensuring that about 1/16" or so of the shoulder is above the case mouth. Used a combination of RCBS and Lee dies (using FCD with a slight crimp for final step). They cycled and shot with no issues, with low recoil, low muzzle flash, and little to no residue on the outside of the slide from dirty powder burn like I see with WWB ammo.

My questions

- 200 gr SWC seems to be a preferred load for a lot of folks on the web. Outside of cost (especially if you cast your own), what is the big draw? Some of the comments, such as a "cleaner hole in the target" seem unfounded based upon my small sampling of 100 that I shot. Are they supposed to be more accurate? ...pretty strange looking components vs. the FMJs I've been using

- Any thoughts on 200 or 230 gr round nose lead vs. SWC? While I had no feed issues whatsoever, it seems in theory that RN should have less chance of mis-feeds

-Anybody have any experience with Friendswood Bullets? They look to be a reasonable price compared to most I've seen (not planning to cast my own). ...or do you have any recommendations for low cost lead bullets?

Lessons learned

-really work on belling out the case mouth significantly more vs. FMJ or JHP! Got quite a bit in the way of lead shavings on the first handful while getting the die adjusted for dealing with lead

-they seem to require more force on the press lever to seat vs. standard FMJs. Lead has more drag vs. copper during the seating process perhaps

-I like the RCBS seating (has an interchangeable flat pilot for the bullet) vs. the Lee die which is constructed for round nose. It mates up with the SWC better. I also like the RCBS belling die as it does a better job. I use the carbide Lee full length sizer/decapper and the Lee Factory Crimp Die. All are in a single stage Lee press as I like to take a bit more time and ensure the powder loads are well metered and like to run batches of one step at a time. Not really interested in a progressive at this point as the engineer/geek in me likes the precision I have with a single stage.

[Jumping Frog]

Yeah, I prefer the 200 LSWC bullet. Nice crisp holes and feeds just fine in my guns.

Don't use the Lee FCD with lead bullets. Use the seating die to seat and taper crimp all in one step.

I use 4.0 to 4.1 gr of Clays.

[michael e]

I stopped using friendswood bullets, last time I tried to order from him he wouldn't answer emails or phone calls. After two weeks of no answer I sent a email to cancel my order, personally I wont use him again. If you look at his gunbroker feed back alot of people seemed to have that issue.
I use RN in my 45s, my glocks didn't seem to like SWCs had several issues making reliable with them.

[tomneal]

I've been using an overall length of 1.245 for my Kimber. (A little over 20,000 rounds.)
The last 10,000 or so have been 200 SWC from http://www.bulletworks.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tomneal]

Dillon 650
- Dillon resizer
- EGW Undersize die
- Winchester Large Pistol primers
- vihtavuori N310
- Dillon seating die
- Lee Factory Crimp Die

WD40 for case lube

Your mileage may vary.

[DocV]

I recently ordered some bullets from missouribullet.com. 38 bucks for 500. Shipping for two 500 bullet orders and a Lewis Lead remover was around 13 dollars. I only have word of mouth about these bullets. However, I grew up in the Missouri Lead mining area and know Missouri Lead is top notch

[Jumping Frog]

I recently ordered some bullets from missouribullet.com. 38 bucks for 500.

MBC has a lot of raving fans for quick service and high quality. I've really liked their 200 gr LSWC when I ordered from them.

Glad to see they are accepting orders from the public again. For a while they were so swamped they would only sell to existing customers

If you order from Missouri Bullet Co, go over the TheHighRoad.org and do a search for their THR discount code.

[LTUME1978]

I live in Alvin and have been using Friendswood Bullets for a couple of years as he is close to where I live. I have been very happy with his products. I used the Bulletworks before that. His bullets are very high quality but I could only get them when he came down for the Space City Challenge without paying a lot in shipping. I did find that the Bulletworks bullets are very hard and that I was getting a lot of leading in my barrels. I ran low on bullets a couple of years ago and tried Friendswood Bullets as they are local. Leading has not been an issue with the cast bullets from Friendswood Bullets and they are very accurate.

One reason you may not be hearing back from him is that he is very busy. I just picked up an order from him last week. It took several weeks for him to fill the order. He apologized for taking so long. He told me that, since the first of the year, his orders have quadrupled. He put in a second machine and still can't keep up. If you can get his products, you will be pleased with them.

I am curious about why we would not want to use the Lee Factory Crimp die with cast bullets. I have loaded more than 20K with the factory crimp die with no issues. It is nothing more than a taper crimp die with a slightly oversized carbide sizing ring in the die. If you use the Lee belling die, you will need to use the Lee factory crimp die to straighten out the case. The Lee belling die actually puts a taper in the case when opening up the mouth rather than just belling the mouth and the carbide ring in the factory crimp die is needed to "iron out" the taper back to the proper diameter. Please share more on why it should not be used with case bullets.

[Jumping Frog]

I am curious about why we would not want to use the Lee Factory Crimp die with cast bullets. I have loaded more than 20K with the factory crimp die with no issues. It is nothing more than a taper crimp die with a slightly oversized carbide sizing ring in the die. If you use the Lee belling die, you will need to use the Lee factory crimp die to straighten out the case. The Lee belling die actually puts a taper in the case when opening up the mouth rather than just belling the mouth and the carbide ring in the factory crimp die is needed to "iron out" the taper back to the proper diameter. Please share more on why it should not be used with case bullets.

The sizing ring can squeeze the case down. The brass is elastic and will spring back (slightly). The lead is not elastic and will be permanently smaller. If the bullet is too small, it can contribute to additional leading.

I know people who like the FCD, but removed the carbide sizing ring. However, there is nothing the FCD is doing that can't be accomplished by proper die setup in the previous steps.

You don't have to take it on faith. Measure a bullet OD before seating. Using your favorite means of dis-assembly, measure the OD afterwards. I've seen a .452 bullet come out at .449 or .450.