Caliber to cut my teeth on...

[indyvinnie]

So, I am just about ready to take the plunge into reloading. I have taken the intro to reloading class offered at Profire (a couple of years ago), and I have been reading up on the information here and in a couple of manuals. I think that I have one question before I really get started. Given the options of starting with 5.56, 9mm, or .45 ACP would you recommend one caliber over the others for a newbie to cut his teeth on and, if so, why?

If it helps any, these are the calibers for my three favorite firearms...Colt AR, Sig P229, and Springer 1911. Also, I plan on using a RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme press.

Thanks for any feedback or suggestions.

 

[rvb]

I'd suggest starting w/ any pistol cartridge. a lot less to worry about in terms of headspace, trim length, etc than a rifle cartridge...

-rvb

 

[AllenM]

I agree pistol is easier then rifle and 45 is easier for me because I have clumsy fingers and 9 is harder to hold on to

 

[bradmedic04]

50 A.E.

 

[Sniper 79]

I would recommend the .45 acp. It is a low pressure round and some powders used are very forgiving. Easy to load because it is larger. It has also been around a very long time and load data is abundant.

Straight walled pistol calibers are easier than bottle neck rifle calibers in general. Good luck, take your time, and enjoy hand loading.

 

[gregkl]

Since you took the class, you have already loaded .40, correct? That is what I loaded up when I took it. I have only loaded 9mm and .45 Auto. I find that all three load the same.

I do better with 9, but that is probably due to using FMJ instead of lead. And I didn't have any problems reloading the lead .45. I just didn't care for shooting it.

 

[88E30M50]

45 acp is one of my favorite rounds to load for all of the above mentioned reasons. The only downside is that it is pretty wide so the visual difference in spotting a bad load is not as apparent as in a 9 or .40.

 

[jcwit]

In the OP's case, 45 ACP without a doubt.

 

[Leadeye]

45 ACP is the easiest of that lot, find some cast lead bullets for cheap shooting.

 

[bmbutch]

I started with 9mm mainly because I couldn't find "reasonably" priced 147gr subsonics to play with. Started .45 shortly thereafter, & now .300 BLK

As others have stated .45 would be my recommendation, low pressure, bigger case/bullet makes hand feeding easier.

 

[indyvinnie]

Thanks for the great feedback. .45 ACP sounds like a good starting point.

 

[SSGSAD]

.45, is the way to go ..... Pay attention to how full the case is.... avoid double charge .....

 

[Grelber]

I would recommend the .45 acp. It is a low pressure round

As others have stated .45 would be my recommendation, low pressure, bigger case/bullet makes hand feeding easier.

I've never understood the "low pressure" way of looking at things.

The 45 has a lot of cartridge wall area compared to a 9 for example, Force = Pressure * Area, so I'm not seeing that the 45 has any more safety margin than 9's or 40's as far as pressure goes. In other words 45 loads are low pressure loads but they need to be to maintain the same safety margin as smaller case higher pressure loads, or so it seems to this ying yang.

Anyway, as others have said, straight wall pistol is a good way to start I think. I would also reccomend starting at the lighter bullet weight end of the range to make keeping kosher on powder fill a bit more tolerant.

 

[Sniper 79]

I've never understood the "low pressure" way of looking at things.

The 45 has a lot of cartridge wall area compared to a 9 for example, Force = Pressure * Area, so I'm not seeing that the 45 has any more safety margin than 9's or 40's as far as pressure goes. In other words 45 loads are low pressure loads but they need to be to maintain the same safety margin as smaller case higher pressure loads, or so it seems to this ying yang.

Anyway, as others have said, straight wall pistol is a good way to start I think. I would also reccomend starting at the lighter bullet weight end of the range to make keeping kosher on powder fill a bit more tolerant.

Look at the pressure ratings in your hand loading cook book. The .45 acp is pretty low compared to .40 or 9. Yes you still have to be safe especially with faster end of powder scale.

 

[VERT]

45 acp for the Springer. I will help you out. Order some Bayou Bullets online. Get the 200 gr. LSWC. Google H&G #68 to see wht the bullet looks like. Load these to 1.25" length. Lots of powder choices will work for this load. I am using Bullseye but Win 231 would work as well.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Just remember .45 comes in small primer and large primer brass. Trying to cram a large primer in a small brass doesn't work...

 

[indyvinnie]

Just remember .45 comes in small primer and large primer brass. Trying to cram a large primer in a small brass doesn't work...

Thanks BlueI's. That is excellent feedback. I have a few hundred pieces of Winchester white box brass sitting around waiting to be loaded up. I will verify the primer pocket before priming.

45 acp for the Springer. I will help you out. Order some Bayou Bullets online. Get the 200 gr. LSWC. Google H&G #68 to see wht the bullet looks like. Load these to 1.25" length. Lots of powder choices will work for this load. I am using Bullseye but Win 231 would work as well.

Thanks Vert. I will look into the Bayou Bullets.

 

[Grelber]

Look at the pressure ratings in your hand loading cook book. The .45 acp is pretty low compared to .40 or 9.

Agreed. My thought is that they must be run at low pressure as they would blow up if you tried to run them at pressures that the smaller wall area cartridges can handle safely.

In other words I do not think there is any increase in safety margin with a 45 over a 9 or 40 for example.

This could be wrong.

45 acp for the Springer. I will help you out. Order some Bayou Bullets online. Get the 200 gr. LSWC.

Or the 230 RN. I bought a case of each & both work ok, but I have the occasional ftf with the LWSC (1 of 100 kind of thing).

 

[shibumiseeker]

.45 or 9mm. Even though I no longer shoot 9mm, I lean towards it in my recommendation to start given your question because it is somewhat harder to screw it up (not by leaps and bounds over a .45, but still...). Overcharges, while possible, are less likely than with most other pistol cases, and many 9mm guns are built to handle +P rounds and even the occasional +P+.


But really, you've taken Profire's class and if you are careful, you can start with pretty much anything.

 

[rvb]

Agreed. My thought is that they must be run at low pressure as they would blow up if you tried to run them at pressures that the smaller wall area cartridges can handle safely.

I agree w/ grelber's line of thinking. the safety margin on a .45 isn't really any different than a 9mm. Just because the working pressure is lower doesn't necessarily mean the margin of safety is greater. Especially when you consider the amount of surface area of the case many .45s leave unsupported, suddenly it becomes clear why the .45 pressure has to be lower to be safe.

Looking at a single data sample from hodgdon and doing some rough math, the total force at max psi applied rearward against the case head is only 10% lower in the .45 vs 9mm, even though the max psi is 45% lower. That in itself doesn't really mean anything, but apply that same principal to the case wall in an unsupported part of the chamber and I think that shows why the pressure has to be lower....

That's why I didn't say which caliber, I just recommended starting w/ pistol...



-rvb