Just loaded some test ammo.....

by Glen, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 18:58 (4262 days ago)

....for a S&W M1917 I traded for a while back. Is it just me, or does it seem weird to load .45 ACP ammo with a 200 grain cast SWC (Lyman 452460) sized .454"?

I do that.

by AaronB, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 20:07 (4262 days ago) @ Glen

Of course, I load mine for a 1955 Target, a.k.a. a model 25-5.

My Smith shoots the 200-grain SWCs pretty well. I'll warn you, though, your Smith 1917 may not have sufficient depth of rifling to shoot those plain-base cast bullets with much accuracy. My Modelo 1937 didn't like my cast bullets at all, and I tried several profiles in 200 and 230 grains.

-AaronB

This gun....

by Glen, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 20:50 (4262 days ago) @ AaronB

...has a barrel that started off as a .38/44 Heavy Duty and was re-bored to .45 caliber by Hamilton Bowen. I'm guessing that it will have deep enough grooves to shoot cast pretty well. We'll see....

WOULD THAT NOT BE A S&W M25-2, SIR ??

by Who....me...??, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 21:34 (4262 days ago) @ AaronB

I THINK...

W M25-2 ACP/ 25-5 45 Colt

by Rob Leahy ⌂ @, Prescott, Arizona, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 00:04 (4262 days ago) @ Who....me...??

;-) Thus sayeth the King of fat fingers:-D

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Whew! Another close one

by FOG, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 00:15 (4262 days ago) @ Who....me...??

Good thing no one mentioned the 25-007... :eyepopping:


:-D

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Yes, of course it's a 25-2.

by AaronB, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 07:30 (4262 days ago) @ Who....me...??

My mistake.

-AaronB

Bunch a gun nerds...

by Rob Leahy ⌂ @, Prescott, Arizona, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 09:47 (4261 days ago) @ AaronB

;-)

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Not sure what to expect

by FOG, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 22:47 (4262 days ago) @ Glen

I imagine the gun will shoot, particularly with the right combination, but I only shot it with hardball (and not much, at that).

Just for grins, I did look up that bullet, though, because I was thinking back on the reloading I did for a Model 25-2 about 15-20 years ago.

I'm sure you recall Grier bullets; I loaded quite a few of their 200-grain SWCs for that gun, and I found they shot a lot better if I seated them out a little ways, rather than seating them so the shoulder was flush with the case mouth.

Judging by the pics I found for the Lyman 452460, that might not work with that bullet since the front driving band is fairly short, but I thought I would still mention it.

Such seating is no good for autos, of course, but it can help with revolvers.

HTH :-)

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Not sure what to expect BUT ...

by Who....me...??, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 10:44 (4261 days ago) @ FOG

THE Lyman 452460 is by far the best shooting 200GR SWC 45ACP bullet I ever tested in my M25-2 6 1/2" pistol. It's best group from that pistol; 1/4" c-to-c at 25 yards. IT is also the best shooting 45ACP bullet in all the Ruger convertibles, the COLT SAA 45ACP and the S&W M625 4" 45.
The only bullet close to it is it's all-but-unknown big brother, the 230GR 45266.
The H&G68 and the SAECO 69 pale in comparison to the 452460 and i have no real idea as to why. Of equal quality they both should shoot as well...
And si it goes...

Funny you should mention....

by Glen, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 12:20 (4261 days ago) @ Who....me...??

...the 45266. I think I have a mould for that one out in the garage. I know at one point I DID have one, but I may have sold or traded it off at some point. I think I'll go rummage around and see what I can find.

BTW, my experience mirrors yours, the H&G #68 is a good bullet, but every head-to-head comparison I've done between it and the 452460 has been won by the 452460.

Funny you should mention....THE 45266 MOULD

by Who....me...??, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 14:00 (4261 days ago) @ Glen

IS this where Lloyd Smale bought his ??

Dunno....

by Glen, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 14:32 (4261 days ago) @ Who....me...??

...I went looking for mine and couldn't find it, so I must have sold it (but I have no idea to who).

When I was much younger...

by Brian A, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 07:41 (4262 days ago) @ Glen

One of my favorite loads for bowling pin matches was a 255 gr SWC loaded quite warm and shot out of a 1911 with extra heavy springs and a recoil buffer. It was probably not good for the longevity of the gun, though it never showed any signs of the stress and still shoots just fine 30 years later, but you could not have cleared pins with any more authority if you had used a baseball bat. We used to use a big piece of plate steel on our practice range as a backstop and it had contained thousands of rounds of 9 mm, 38 special, 380 acp and 45 acp without any noticeable ill effects. The first round of that hot SWC to hit it, bent it into a concave shape.

Oh happy day!

by Glen, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 19:14 (4261 days ago) @ Glen

I just miked some of my TC-HPs and found they drop from the blocks large enough to size them .454" for this gun! Cast of 25-1 alloy, they weigh 220 grains and can easily be driven 950 fps, and they expand to 3/4". And with the full-moon clips, the TC profile should be just the ticket for speed-loading. I love it when a plan comes together!

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That looks like a good one

by FOG, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 22:17 (4261 days ago) @ Glen

I was thinking some more about my 25-2 experience, and I remembered that gun had very sharp shoulders at the ends of the chambers (virtually 90°), I suppose to promote headspacing on the case mouth.

I didn't notice that so much on the 1917, but the 1955 would shave thin slices off fully-seated bullets. (The 25-2 would even do this with hardball.)

This occurred because the cartridges sort of sagged downward when using a full-moon clip, or they sat more or less parallel in the bottom of the chamber without one. Upon firing and exiting the chamber, the bullet had to literally scrape past that sharp edge to get to the barrel.

I believe that was why the 25-2 shot better with the bullets seated out a little ways. Doing so prevented this shaving problem from occurring.

The idea, of course, isn't much different from a Keith bullet ('true up the bullet in the chamber').

Matter of fact, that's where I got it. ;-)

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So, how much is 'a little ways'?

by FOG, Thursday, March 28, 2013, 22:57 (4261 days ago) @ Glen

Using your truncated-cone HP cast bullet as an example, about a third, maybe as much as half, of the front driving band.

It doesn't − or at least it didn't − take much.

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