.45 auto cast lead

[Briman]

I'm going to start casting bullets for my .45 auto. I noticed that mould makers make moulds for .451 and .452 and am wondering which I should get. Anyone have experience with casting for theis caliber? Could I just get the .452 and get a series of smaller sizing dies from .450-.452, or shoul dI get a .451 die and work my way up in diameter, buying a new mold if I need to? Not sure which is the most sensible approach. I'm considering a 200 gr SWC mould.

[driftrider]

I really can't help you on loading cast bullets, as I don't load them myself and really don't intend to.

As a friendly word of caution... If you have a pistol with polygonal rifling (Glock and H&K come to mind) then using cast bullets is a very bad idea. It will result in extreme leading at the throat of the bore and eventually a partial barrel obstruction with the obvious consequences.

Mike

[Briman]

I'll be shooting them in a 1911- cast bullets are a real good idea in these pistols especially if I'm going to shoot it alot.

I've been shooting commercial 9mm cast bullets through my Beretta 92, but the accuracy is poor and I get some leading- the bullets are undersized for the bore and aren't a very good design, so I'm going to melt down the rest of that lot of bullets and cast my own for that pistol too though its almost not worth my time if I can buy 9mm winchester white box loads for about $0.10 per round.


I'm also going to try making bullets for my '03 springfield and 8x57 mausers. I have about 350 lbs of wheel weights that I'm sitting on, itching to make bullets out of.

[Charley]

You can shoot either .451 or .452 in your 1911. As long as the cartridge chambers freely, there will be no problems. I cast bullets that I can't buy, so for the most part I don't cast bullets for the .45ACP. You might look at the same idea, save those wheelweights for you .30 calibers and 8mm. I would guess your 9mm commercial bullets are undersized, as you said, and too hard. Cast bullets should be throat diameter, or .001 to .002 over grove diameter.
The .45 ACP is very forgiving when it comes to cast bullets, pressures and velocities are low enough that problems don't usually occur. When pressures go up, as in the 9x19 or .357 Magnum, bullet fit to the bore and proper hardness are an absolute must for good results.