lower recoil loads

[stetsoncoltoutdoors]

I am just getting into reloading and have a question. is it possible to load a lower recoil load for .45 acp??? want to do speed shooting and thought lower recoil loads would help me get on target quicker. is this even possible??? I havent really learned all my advantages or disadvantages to reloading yet just how to do it. and i've only reloaded 150 rounds of .45 right now so im still learning. any help would be nice thanks

[BrownBear]

I am just getting into reloading and have a question. is it possible to load a lower recoil load for .45 acp??? want to do speed shooting and thought lower recoil loads would help me get on target quicker. is this even possible??? I havent really learned all my advantages or disadvantages to reloading yet just how to do it. and i've only reloaded 150 rounds of .45 right now so im still learning. any help would be nice thanks

It's possible, but likely would require a change in springs if you wanted to go real low. That would mean you'd have to switch it back for shooting more powerful loads though, or risk damaging the frame and/or slide. I've seen it done, but I'm a revolver guy rather than a semi, so I've never done it myself. Theoretically you could keep going down in loads till the action failed to cycle with the full strength spring, then bump the loads back up a little for reliability, too. I'm in water too deep for my experience to speculate further.

Anyone else?

[Lost Sheep]

More thoughts

I am just getting into reloading and have a question. is it possible to load a lower recoil load for .45 acp??? want to do speed shooting and thought lower recoil loads would help me get on target quicker. is this even possible??? I havent really learned all my advantages or disadvantages to reloading yet just how to do it. and i've only reloaded 150 rounds of .45 right now so im still learning. any help would be nice thanks

Stetsoncoltoutdoors,

short answer, lighter recoil spring or shorten a standard (buy a spare) strength spring.

Check this thread.

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...ad.php?t=47383
or
forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=47383

The original post describes what I think you will get if you load too lightly. Here is part of my first response to his question about stovepipe jams.

When shooting one of my 1911 .45s I had stovepipes from handloads I was able to cure the problem by holding the gun tighter (I have a tendency to "limp wrist" whem shooting at bullseye targets. I acknowledge, the loads were a bit light.

Held loosley, I had stovepipes or failure to eject, sometimes rechambering the spent round. Sometimes the spent round would eject, but I found the slide closed on an empty chamber, failing to strip a fresh round from the magazine.

Held tightly, almost all rounds ejected well.

A lighter recoil spring would cure the problem for your handloads, probably, but remember to change to the standard spring when shooting full loads. The gun will work, but batter itself to death with too light a spring.

What happens is that the recoil does not have enough energy to send the slide all the way back, resulting in a less than energetic ejection or a failure to eject. If the slide does not come back far enough to strip a round from the magazine, you might wind up with an empty chamber.

I think you should use a very fast burning powder, to make sure the mouth of the cartridge seals against the chamber walls (this is something I just learned recently). Also, smokeless powder requires pressure to burn properly. Too low of pressure and the powder just burns. Under several thousand PSI, the powder burns explosively fast. What I am saying is that if there is not enough pressure to make the powder burn fast, the bullet may not exit the barrel (and the next shot tends to blow up the gun). And the difference between too little and just enough is a sharp cliff. You will have to get advice from someone more schooled in light loads and interior ballistics to stay safe and get your desired loads. I would be interested in what you find. Of course, I will be watcing this thread.

Lost Sheep

[akcampr]

target load

I am using 3.8 grains of clays with a 185 gr swc. I have been using this at the indoor range. It works in my 1911 just fine with a factory spring.