I would say your thinking is valid and that a slower burn rate could make better use of the longer barrel. The difference may or may not be noticeable. and load info is available for the slower Aliant powders. My favorite is Green dot for the 45s, I have fired Green dot and Unique loads back to back in the same handgun and the difference was striking to me. If you have the powders on hand why not make some up with several powders and field test them in both handgun and carbine. I could give you a good feel for how burn rate effects recoil and point of aim.
Powder for a 45acp carbine
A buddy of mine has a 45 carbine and wanted me to reload for him,While I have loaded for the 45 previous ,Just not in a rifle, I normally used either Bulleye or W231 with a 230 gr cast RN for pistol, Would something a little slower say Unique be a better option in a 16" barrel ,I'll still be using a cast 230 gr . Not going for max speeds just a good functioning load.
Tim
Tim
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
I have an Enfield rifle I rebarreled to .45 ACP. I am loading 230 gr. FMJ bullets with Power Pistol powder and using .45 Super specs. Very happy with the results.
Agree, Power Pistol would be a good powder. If I had a carbine in 45, I'd also try Blue Dot. Very accurate in all my 45 pistols and burns a little slower.
My Sig likes 8.5gr with magnum primers and 200gr hard cast bullet. My hunting, dangerous game load is 10gr which is still under max.
My Sig likes 8.5gr with magnum primers and 200gr hard cast bullet. My hunting, dangerous game load is 10gr which is still under max.
One thing about the .45 - the case doesn't have enugh room to get "rifle" results from many of the slower powders - can't put a lot in. DO NOT exceed manual loads, with whatever powders you try. Though I imagine our friend Clark will provide some that are just short of loading with C-4 and say it works for him...
I fully agree and it was not my plan to try to go for high vel . I figure I had a few lbs of Unique and it would be a good match with the longer barrel as I never really liked how it burned in the pistol.One thing about the .45 - the case doesn't have enugh room to get "rifle" results from many of the slower powders - can't put a lot in. DO NOT exceed manual loads, with whatever powders you try. Though I imagine our friend Clark will provide some that are just short of loading with C-4 and say it works for him...
I would expect Unique at maximum handbook levels to work fairly well. Should be able to work up to 7, maybe 7.2 grains with 230 grain, 8 to (with care) 8.5 grains with 185s.I fully agree and it was not my plan to try to go for high vel . I figure I had a few lbs of Unique and it would be a good match with the longer barrel as I never really liked how it burned in the pistol.
One thing about the .45 - the case doesn't have enugh room to get "rifle" results from many of the slower powders - can't put a lot in. DO NOT exceed manual loads, with whatever powders you try. Though I imagine our friend Clark will provide some that are just short of loading with C-4 and say it works for him...
You didn't serve with SOG in Vietnam, did you, Clyde??
Just took a peek at the Alliant Powder Datasheet for .45 ACP. Slowest appropriate powders are Blue Dot & also Longshot. Both are at the slowest burning end of the powder spectrum & may provide better characteristics for making your cast bullets scoot down a longer barrel.
My favorite powders for .45 have always been 231 & more recently Titegroup - both are at the faster end of the burn rate list. I tried Longshot for some full-power loads & they seemed to perform best from a 5" barrel. This wasn't what I was looking for, since I wanted the particular load for a compact .45
My favorite powders for .45 have always been 231 & more recently Titegroup - both are at the faster end of the burn rate list. I tried Longshot for some full-power loads & they seemed to perform best from a 5" barrel. This wasn't what I was looking for, since I wanted the particular load for a compact .45
4.5gr Bullseye under a 230gr cast lead round nose .45 is our pistol load. It works just dandy out of the Hi-Point carbine. Accuracy 75-150yds is more than acceptable.
A .45 starts to drop off and lumber earthbound around 150. It's about out of energy if you milk it past that although you may lob them onto the paper.
A .45 carbine is a great intermediate urban combat gun that has a valid place in the 50-100yd range.
Son bought the hi-Point for S&G and the price but it quickly earned our respect and a permanent ranking in the arsenal of our "go to" guns.
No need to tailor a round just for it. It mates with our .45 pistols with no need to change ammo or carry something different.
A .45 starts to drop off and lumber earthbound around 150. It's about out of energy if you milk it past that although you may lob them onto the paper.
A .45 carbine is a great intermediate urban combat gun that has a valid place in the 50-100yd range.
Son bought the hi-Point for S&G and the price but it quickly earned our respect and a permanent ranking in the arsenal of our "go to" guns.
No need to tailor a round just for it. It mates with our .45 pistols with no need to change ammo or carry something different.
Thanks db , Thats the same carbine(hi point) he has. I was surprised of the accuracy of it at that price point shooting generic 230 gr ball ammo.
THe HUGE Volume of the bore in a .45 carbine works against you for a big velocity gain. That small volume of powder can only make so much gas and it runs out of extra PUSH as the bullet moves way down the carbine bore and greatly increases the volume of bore behind it.
A good load of Unique may be as good as any. Blue Dot may be worth a try, but it seems to just throw a lot of unburned powder out of the muzzle in many loads.
A good load of Unique may be as good as any. Blue Dot may be worth a try, but it seems to just throw a lot of unburned powder out of the muzzle in many loads.
No, didn't. But was an Ordnance weinie and knew another Ordnance lad who had gone the ammo route (instead of maintenance) who, after the pull out, talked a bit about his involvement with the preparation of some super hot loads to be inserted in VC/NVA supply lines.You didn't serve with SOG in Vietnam, did you, Clyde??
I have never had good results with Blue Dot in the .46, but the only .45 I have is my 1911A1. Wouldn't be surprised if it might work better with a longer barrel. Couldn't hurt to try.THe HUGE Volume of the bore in a .45 carbine works against you for a big velocity gain. That small volume of powder can only make so much gas and it runs out of extra PUSH as the bullet moves way down the carbine bore and greatly increases the volume of bore behind it.
A good load of Unique may be as good as any. Blue Dot may be worth a try, but it seems to just throw a lot of unburned powder out of the muzzle in many loads.
Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, and Unique are all excellent choices for .45 ACP loads in my experience. The target shown below was fired @ 35 ft. and used 5.0 grains of Green dot behind a 185 gr. LSWC bullet, this is a very accurate and consistent load out of my Rock Island 1911.My favorite is Green dot for the 45s,
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Gunboards Forums
A forum community dedicated to all firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about optics, makes, models, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
