.45 ACP 185gr. HP

So I realized two things the other day. First I totally forgot that I started this reloading blog, and second I noticed that I have been neglecting this beautiful piece of machinery next to me also known as the Dillon RL550B. So what better to do then put the shot shell production on hold and get back on the Dillon.

 The fist question to ask myself is what should I reload? So I rummaged through the bottom of my bench to figure out what cases are all ready to go. Apparently last time I came back from the range I didn't put ANY of my empty cases in my tumbler. But the good thing was that all my .45ACP brass was cleaned from the time before and ready to get put under the press.



Equipment being used:


- Dillon RL550b
- Winchester .45ACP brass
- CCI large pistol primers
- AA #5 powder
- Hornady 185gr. Jacketed HP




Now that I have all of my brass sorted out its time to decide how much punch I want behind the 185gr. HP. Consulting the always reputable Lyman Reloading Handbook I see that suggested starting grains was 7.4 (9.2 being the max) . Since all I do is target shoot at shorter ranges in the area I figured that I would not need much more than that to get the job done. So I bumped it up a bit and went to 7.8gr. No point in throwing away extra powder. I loaded around 150 rounds for now. I'll have to hit the range before my trip to Austin in two weeks.

Federal 2-3/4 #8 Target Load

Over the summer a few of my friends and myself made use of our spare time on the weekends(pending weather) to go to the trap range and blast the day away. Over the last few months we have accumulated quite the stock of shot shell cases. After sorting through the many boxes of empty shells its time to hit the bench!

When I first started loading shotgun shells I would use Winchester SuperX cases. But the problem I was having was that the plastic was too soft and would not keep its form once set through a final crimp. The only way to keep that from happening was to set the final crimp deeper but that would cause the top of the shell to mushroom out. Next on the list was try the Remington Gun Club cases I had. The Remington cases are a much higher grade plastic. Yet again I ran into a problem. The cases are so stiff that they woul get stuck on the re-sizing bit. Also the old primers do not fully eject when running through the first cycle of the machine. Finally I found it! The perfect case to reload! Federal Top Gun shells. The plastic is firm enough to hold its shape after the final crimp yet still soft enough to run through the re-sizer and not get hung up.


Equipment being used:

-M.E.C Jr. 600

-Federal 2-3/4 (Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Shells)
-CCI 209 Primers
-Hercules Red Dot Powder
-Lawrence #8 Magnum Lead Shot
-Clay Buster 1 oz. Wads

 Using 1oz. of lead shot with 18grs. of Hercules Red Dot should give these loads a rating around 1200 F.P.S. I usually lighten up on my target loads. I can normally make a box of 25 of these in around 15min. Its a little tedious not having a progressive shot shell re-loader especially since I shoot shotgun a lot more often then rifle or pistol. Maybe in the future I will upgrade. But as for now its a good way to kill clay time. As for the final product. These things shot amazing and were very efficient. Very little cleaning needed after putting 250 through my Beretta. Now the search begins to find more shot at a reasonable price. Both of my local shops where I buy all my supplies from are currently out of stock of both #8 and #7 1/2. If I were to buy it online its usually $10 more + shipping(which is an arm and a leg on a 25lb bag).