Low pressure loads

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JHZR2

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I have the opportunity to shoot a real, original M1917. I'd like to shoot as low pressure loads as possible. I don't reload so I'm looking for commercial product. Any recommendations on how to find/compare offerings in 45ACP?

Thanks!
 
This is a .45 LC ?

For me , this is no problem . I reload . Just have to be sure there is enough powder to propel the bullet out the barrel .

But , a question . In a full size revolver , .45 LC is pretty mild with loads that duplicate the original BP loads . Why do you wish to go slower than that ?

Also , I have a Lee mold for 200 grain RNFP bullets . I load that with 8 grains of Unique for a mild load . In both wheel gun and lever gun .
 
Trail Boss with a 185 or 200 grain lead bullet would be a good place to start. Hodgdon's have load data. Trail Boss burns pretty clean, too.
 
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
This is a .45 LC ?

For me , this is no problem . I reload . Just have to be sure there is enough powder to propel the bullet out the barrel .

But , a question . In a full size revolver , .45 LC is pretty mild with loads that duplicate the original BP loads . Why do you wish to go slower than that ?

Also , I have a Lee mold for 200 grain RNFP bullets . I load that with 8 grains of Unique for a mild load . In both wheel gun and lever gun .


No, this is an M1917 designed to fire 45ACP.

Why go slower? It's a 100 year old item that Imwant to be easy on.
 
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Did you guys miss the part where he said .45 ACP and that he doesn't reload?


Oh, well in that case an ILSAC 5W30.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Based on this article, Buffalo Bore would be maybe the only commercial ammo that comes in a reduced load.

https://americanhandgunner.com/low-recoil-45-acp-loads-revisited/

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=137

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=140



Thanks! So, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but those seem to be reduced recoil, standard pressure. What ai think I'm interested in is reduced pressure. I don't have a penetration or expansion target for a bullet. Just get it out with spin so it can hit a target at 25 yards without keyholing.

I figure the less pressure (even if it equates to lower speed), the less strain on a 100 year old item.

I guess recoil is jarring on the frame, but it seems to me, perhaps incorrectly, that lower pressure will reduce stresses on the cylinder and barrel.
 
JHZR2,
I get you.

Velocity/Recoil are exchange of momentum. Pressure is the forces and times applied to the componentry to get there.

Can have a short high pressure event, or a long slow push, for different outcomes.

e.g.
http://www.adi-powders.com.au/handloaders/pdfs/130117_Handloaders_guide_6th_edition_WEB.pdf

check out the .45 ACP and the Copper Units of Pressure (historically the compression of a soft copper disk to measure chamber pressure).

Vast differences, that velocity and recoil can't describe backwards.
 
A couple of thoughts:

First, both models (S&W and Colt) of these firearms are older, they’re well made, and strong. Not like the Starr 1858 revolver that I got for Christmas...which I treasure, but will never fire. The M1917 might be an antique in our view, but it’s a modern firearm in construction and materials.

Next, .45ACP is a fairly low pressure load to begin with.

Finally, very low pressure loads can actually increase strain on the gun, that’s why there is a minimum powder charge in all of the reloading manuals. Any commercial load will be above the minimum and below the maximum.

That said, because of your desire to minimize the strain on the gun, I would go with the Buffalo Bore - same pressure as the 230gr ball, but with a 185gr bullet, which will reduce the recoil impulse. Since you don’t reload, that’s about the best you can do... But I wouldn’t sweat shooting an M1917. Both the Colt and the S&W are well-made, and will be just fine with regular .45ACP for which they were designed and placed in military service.
 
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Originally Posted By: Astro14
Finally, very low pressure loads can actually increase strain on the gun, that’s why there is a minimum powder charge in all of the reloading manuals. Any commercial load will be above the minimum and below the maximum.


Astro, that's not "low pressure" per se, there's a phenomenon that when the charge density gets too low, particularly with double base powders, can cause a massive and catastrophic spike in pressure due to irregular combustion
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Finally, very low pressure loads can actually increase strain on the gun, that’s why there is a minimum powder charge in all of the reloading manuals. Any commercial load will be above the minimum and below the maximum.


Astro, that's not "low pressure" per se, there's a phenomenon that when the charge density gets too low, particularly with double base powders, can cause a massive and catastrophic spike in pressure due to irregular combustion


Yeah, you’re right, good point - I didn’t say that right...low-powder loads can actually be high pressure because the bullet doesn’t accelerate down the barrel...

So, regular loads might be at, or near, the lowest point in the pressure curve for a given ammo?
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Did you guys miss the part where he said .45 ACP and that he doesn't reload?


Oh, well in that case an ILSAC 5W30.


crackmeup2.gif


You might try some Freedom Munitions target loads. They are reasonably priced and in my experience their target stuff, particularly the reman loads, are pretty tame. A 230 gr ball from them will likely be clocking about 750 fps... mild for a 45 but should still be enough to function well.
 
Yeah, sorry I don't get the low pressure thing. Sure I'd prolly stay away from "hot" loads in a worn gun. But if it's in decent mechanical shape, run what it was meant to run.

There is nothing wrong with the design or the steel used to make it. What's the concern?

If it's showing stress cracks and stuff, should not be shot at all. If it's in good shape, just shoot commercial loads and be happy
smile.gif
 
No concerns. Just want to be gentle on it, thought it was the "right" thing to do.

Too low of pressure and the impulse behind being "worse" makes a lot of sense.
 
Low pressure loads are very nice to practice with. Handloading is easy to learn. 200 Gr SWC and 4.7 gr. of Titegroup!
 
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Ultimately I'd like to hand load. Only so many hours in the day.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
No concerns. Just want to be gentle on it, thought it was the "right" thing to do.

Too low of pressure and the impulse behind being "worse" makes a lot of sense.


It's a "bit" like detonation in an IC engine.

With a case full of powder, the primer starts the fire at one end, and through a combination of chemistry and powder flake shape (that last one itself is fascinating), the rate of burn is controlled.

With light charges of powder, ignition is not so precise...if the powder has settled along the bottom of the case, or due to last activity with the firearm settled at the primer end or projectile end, the primer flash can be exposed to a large initial surface area...initial combustion point and volume can be very different. (Back in the Shooter's Online Forum days, one of the more experienced guys was showing that he could get hundreds of fps difference by pointing the muzzle up or down before firing a light load.

It's why a lot of pistol powders are manufactured so bulky
Here's the Lee powder scoop charts
https://leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/Dippers.pdf
See the difference between rifle powder (say AR2208, sold as Varget and Red Dot).
It's also why light loads have often included a kapoc of pillow stuffing wad to hold the powder near the primer.

Double base powders appear the most sensitive, as they are plastics made incorporating nitroglycerine in the nitrocellulose matrix (single base are nitrocellulose, controlled by degree of nitration, fillers, and grain shape)...there's evidence that the nitroglycerin can volatise out under some conditions, and go "bang"
 
Remembered the name of it at Lunch Time...I remember having conversations with Ken Howell over it on Shooter's Online. Couldn't remember the name of it for the thread.

It's the Secondary Explosion Effect.

Here's a bloke who writes reloading manuals in Oz.

http://www.sportingshooter.com.au/ask-uncle-nick/secondary-explosion-effect-a-reality

Sorry for the hijack...you'll never see it unless you handload, and do something not prescribed in the reloading manual.
 
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