Mrlucky353
Well-Known Member
A trusted friend gave me a box of 45 acp reloads given to him by one of his friends. But I get uncomfortable shooting other people's reloads.
So I took one apart.
The bullet weighed 203 grains, so I'm guessing the owner was trying to make a 200 grain bullet.
The powder weighed 5.9 grains.
I found loading data for a 200 grain cast bullet using Hodgdon Universal powder with a starting charge of 5.8 grains.
The powder in the reloading looked much like Universal Clays powder in size and shape. However the color of the reload powder looked a tad more brownish than Universal Clays powder. (Even if they looked identical to the naked eye, there would still be no certainty that they are the same powder.)
But if they are the same powder, then the 5.9 grain powder charge would indicate that the reloader was being conservative in reloading these rounds.
So I took them to the range, put on all the protective gear I could find, and shot a few. No problems.
So I took one apart.
The bullet weighed 203 grains, so I'm guessing the owner was trying to make a 200 grain bullet.
The powder weighed 5.9 grains.
I found loading data for a 200 grain cast bullet using Hodgdon Universal powder with a starting charge of 5.8 grains.
The powder in the reloading looked much like Universal Clays powder in size and shape. However the color of the reload powder looked a tad more brownish than Universal Clays powder. (Even if they looked identical to the naked eye, there would still be no certainty that they are the same powder.)
But if they are the same powder, then the 5.9 grain powder charge would indicate that the reloader was being conservative in reloading these rounds.
So I took them to the range, put on all the protective gear I could find, and shot a few. No problems.