Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns All around .45 ACP...

The H&G 68 200gr. bullet is my personal gold standard. Cast from either of my H&G molds, a 4 cavity and a 6 cavity, and propelled by 4.0gr. Bullseye. I don't compete in any kind of handgun competition, nor do I daily carry for fear of snakes, bears, or bad guys. What I do is shoot for fun at paper, steel, and empty cans and the bullet serves quite well for that too.

Similar great performance is turned in by 230gr. RN's from other molds I own, and frankly there's no reason not to employ that bullet for my applications. What dropped me into the lap of the H&G 68 a bazillion years ago was as much for economic reasons as anything: 30 grains less lead in each one means that about every 8th bullet I cast I get a free one. At four or six bullets every time I open the mold those free ones add up pretty quickly.

Anecdotally, I see no reason whatsoever to opt for harder alloys or powdercoating at .45ACP velocities - even hot loads fall well below the threshold where hard alloys and/or PC'ing become viable. If I ever bought said bullets and had a choice between hard/PC'ed versus soft/traditionally lubed I would opt for whichever was cheaper and/or best fit my throat(s). Throat fit trumps all in the end.

Addendum: Not ever having shot a large tough animal, such as a bear, with a .45ACP is there truly a real-world difference in penetration between a bullet of 10-12bhn versus one of 16-20bhn, given identical shapes? And does it truly matter? Not trying to start a "Campfire Polarizing Debate", just curious.

Depends on velocity. At 1500 fps or above, I'd want the harder bullet. At 1200 and under I would expect penetration to be similar.

I tried that bullet and never could get it to shoot as accurately as the #68 200 gr. SWC. I really like the larger flat meplat of that bullet and overall profile.

The Hi-Tec coating MBC uses does a couple of immediately noticeable things for the loaded ammo. There is much less smoke when firing the bullet with the coating. I shoot outside mostly so this may not be too big of a deal however if I shot at an indoor range it would definitely be a valuable improvement. And, there is a lot less residue left on the gun. It is easier to clean later and that is especially nice when cleaning revolver cylinder faces. This also means less gunk on the shooter's hands as he manipulates the gun when shooting 100+ rounds in a shooting session. Occasionally I have felt like I was at a black powder rendezvous after several hundred rounds of smoky cast bullet shooting in the past. Supposedly it makes cast bullets ok in Glock barrels, though with a decent hard cast bullet, I have never had an issue there. I like the stuff, I see advantages for my purposes with it. I'm not a salesman and I am not trying to convince anyone to quit doing what they have been doing for time eternal. I am just relaying my experience with the coated hard cast and saying that for me it is a plus and I like the stuff.

Question for a Question

If 230 grain lead 10-12 Bhn is all that’s needed, why the need for a 230 grain lead encased in a metal jacket.

I love the saeco 058 loaded to the mid nines. Power pistol will make it sing as will long shot. I was given an LBT 230 grain LFN mold the I’m falling in love with. Both of these bullets will shoot excellent groups and do a lot of work

Never said there was. FMJ .45ACP military bullets were adopted solely as a nod to Geneva Convention rules.

That's what the Hague Convention required, and the .45 was designed for Army use. Outside of that, I don't think the jacket is worth the trouble.

It sounds like we're all in agreement here, really. Sounds like everyone likes them, and at about the same speeds, too.


It should be noted in Campfire history, complete agreement is such a rare thing around here.

These have been good.

I like Magnus but coated is a lot easier loading and less smoke.

Brazos 200gr

The button head 185 "might" out group the #68 but my hands can't tell much diff in many of them. I have a Ransome rest with a 1911 insert. It might tell me the most accurate load or bullet, but it doesn't consider feed capabilities to whacking power. Several things to consider.

All things considered though, just like the thread started, the H&G 68 is good to go. At 700FPS or 950, pick yer poison.