Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .45 Colt - New Target Load

I seem to be caught up on my honey-do list, so I thought I'd snap together a few new bullets for tomorrow's range trip. Normally loading a few rounds is hardly thread-worthy here, but I guess I'm just bored...

I'm meeting up with my old fraternity big-brother, and we are going to dent some primers at his club's outdoor range. I've had these 250 grain cast lead "Pinbusters" from Missouri Bullet Company just sitting around for awhile now. I wanted something safe to shoot out of his Taurus Judge, but with a bit more poop than cowboy action rounds. I'll also shoot them out of my Ruger Bisley.

With a higher book load of W231, these should be exiting at about 900 fps; Hodgdon says the pressure is under 14,000. I gave them the plunk test after crimping the first few, and they drop right in and out.


They look kind of cool too.


Hopefully, they go where I aim.


I am attending video church in the morning and then we are shooting in the afternoon, weather permitting. Should be a good time.

I picked up a bunch of those to play with in ACP

Throw that thing away. It is not a 9MM the Miraculous Farce. You will be laughed off the range. Why subject yourself to the humiliation you will receive when you bring forth that archaic cream puff with those lackluster loads.
You will be forever scarred emotionally from the association with that thing.

Nice looking bullets, Wade. I'm gonna be heading for the range today, too. I'll also be shooting some Missouri bullets. I like 'em and placed another order last night for some Keith 255's and their 340 grain 480 bullet for a 480 Ruger on the way. I believe my next order will be for some 158 grain .357's and some 225 grain 45 and Roland ACP's. Their bullets make for some economical shooting you can take from the range to the field and not be undergunned, I believe. I'll be shooting some .357 180 hi tech's today and some 325 hi techs for my 45 Colt's. They shot pretty good for me last time, when you factor in I haven't done much shooting for quite a while, but have made it down the last 3 weekends in a row. Today will be the fourth.

I've used them in .45 Super and .460 Rowland, they were accurate in both pistols running 1050 fps (Super) and a little over 1100 fps in the Rowland.

Good bullets.

Ever fooled with the 215 express SWC they offer ? Have a pile of those too . Need to start putting some loads together again

That sounds fun! I have some of their 325gr WFN Hi-Tek's too. When I ordered them, their actual weight was 315, not that it matters much. I've posted this pic before, but here are the ones they sent me. My daughters call them my "lipstick bullets." I liked the name so I use it too. Now my buddies have picked it up. It's kind of funny to hear somebody at the range say, "Well, you should try some lipstick bullets. Wade knows where to get them." ...nobody laughs at the name, because that's just what they're called. I shoot them over HS-6.



I've thought about trying some of their 180gr .357 bullets, but I can't really think of a purpose for them, other than the "holy crap, that's a big bullet" factor when you pull them out of your range bag. Do you use them for anything besides targets? Also, have you tried their 158 SWC? I think that might be a better choice for me, since I rarely shoot .357's out of my .357's, and even then only at paper.

I know you are just being you, but you actually raise an interesting perspective: So many people (including myself at one time) see no reason in the world to own or shoot SA revolvers. Slow to load; slow to shoot; and painfully slow to unload. Why bother?! But then they hold one in their hands...it changes a man.

It's like what Obi Wan said about the light saber, "...a more elegant weapon for a more civilized age."

If you're willing, I sure appreciate hearing your load specs--powder, charge weight, OAL, and what gun you're shooting them out of.

Nothing done yet .
Was sidetracked all winter loading target ammo for a tournament I was shooting , then the current state of affairs . Bought them to replicate the underwood / buffalo bore 250 gr +p load in 45 acp . Figure on trying some unique and going slower from there .

I also got some of MBCs 215 express swc , which I really like the large Meplat on , loaded them for 45 acp over 5g of bullseye to get the OAL where I wanted it for feeding , then put it over 7 gr unique , per John Taffins notes referring to Coopers “max effort “ acp load . It shot well . Cooper supposedly recommended 7.5gr . I need to chronograph .

All of this is in a Glock g41, my main 45 . Though I will be putting together a g21 with carver compensator for a dedicated 45 super gun

Do those coated bullets leave the bore easier to clean than lubed bullets? One of my 45 Colts, a S&W 25-2, has oversized throats and can lead up the barrel pretty quick if I don't order oversize lubed bullets which can be more expensive.

In my experience, coated bullets eliminate the need for lube and do not lead the barrel at all.

EDITED TO ADD: And, they don't smoke like lubed bullets.

Interesting, Thanks. I will get some and try them.

Range Report:

I fired a couple dozen at the range today. I started at 10 yards and planned on moving to longer distance but never bothered. The load was accurate enough, but it didn't have enough "oomph" for me. I was looking for something with a bit more recoil than standard "safe" .45 Colt loads, but less than the zinger, dedicated "strong action" loads. These loads felt like shooting standard .38 specials out of my S&W Model 66. If I'm going to take the time to load practice ammo on a single stage press, it needs to be what I want. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and I had such a good time, I never even thought about stopping to take a pic.

It was fun, Wade! Yes, the 45 325 grain Slammers, or lipsticks, are actually 315 grains. There's gotta be a story there. Not that I've screened all their other offerings, but of the ones I have looked at there is no double grain weight listed. I doubt I could tell the difference, anyway ,nor the critter or concrete barrier they collide with.

I've been on a bit of a heavy hard cast thing lately. I have commercial heavy hard cast ammo for 9mm, 10mm and 357, so I thought I'l load some as well. Same with 45's and have 340 grain 480's on the way for when my Ruger 480 gets here. My next order will include the 158's and maybe more 325/315's. I bought the 325/315's and 357 180's on the sample plan. I don't believe they are doing that now, or possibly anymore. I tried to get another hundred of each, but their software did not allow it.

Shooting the hardcast with powers like H110 and N110 always reminds me a little of the 460 Wby I had for 12 years,until I accepted that Tyrannosaurs Rex was not coming back. I could often get two 500 grain bullets touching, but never the third.It had a set trigger. It's the same with the heavy hard cast. At 25 yards, which I know if not all that far away, I was able to print a few groups around an inch, with some touching, but not all. I did try N110 this time, having found a recipe garnered from Handloads.com., and believe it is not as violent as H110, particularly when approaching the top. Even so, it's fun. At 66 it's both fun and a bit tiring, but I ain't stoppin'.