I have been reloading .45s for about 3 years now. I have been using 230 grain lead bullets out of a 1911. I have noticed a pretty big swing in the power of the reloads as the temperature changes. I often try to make pretty light loads for practice. I have been using bullseye powder with a load around 4.5 grains. These function great most of the time. If I take them out when the temps get cold around -10 or so. They will not cycle the slide. Since I live in Alaska if I want to shoot I need a powder that is less susceptible to temp. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for a good powder for .45 lead loads that don’t pressure swing as the temp drops.
Well I guess at -10 all bets are off…:eek:
But I have had good results with Bullseye myself. I think it is a little dirty but it works well. I have no idea if using something like magnum primers would help ignition in those low temps, not sure if anyone has done any testing, but I would be game to give it a try personally.
I have recently been using a lot of HP-38 (same as W-231), I have had pretty good results with it also. Only thing I could say is to maybe buy a pound of something different and run a batch and give it a test in the extremes you have.