A big pile of .45 acp ammo

1513 Views 32 Replies 16 Participants Last post by scott1970, 4 mo ago

scott1970

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

My loading style has always been piecemeal. I'll cast a bunch and then powder coat and load it as needed. It's always worked well for me.

The second week of this past December, I ran out of .45 ammo and found I had none cast on standby. So, I had an idea. I decided to chip away at doing a bigger batch from start to finish. I did this based primarily on the weather. If it was unseasonably warm, I'd cast. If it was cold and dry, I'd powder coat. If it was raining or whatever, I'd load.

I finished up this morning with seven full .30 cal cans of 200 gr. SWC .45 acp. I kept my primer trays to see what the number would be when I finished. Turns out, I cast, coated, sized and loaded 5,000 rounds. The ACW will be happy.

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gotfish

· #2 · 4 mo ago

And then there’s that moment when you realize your powder measure wasn’t dispensing any powder. Ughh.

Just kidding…congrats. That’s a lot of work!

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scott1970

Discussion Starter · #3 · 4 mo ago

It went by a lot faster than I would have expected. I chipped away at it here and there, and it piled up on me real quick.

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CHS71

· #4 · 4 mo ago

Nice!

LEDetailing

· #5 · 4 mo ago

Wow, nice work.
How long will the 5k last you?

scott1970

Discussion Starter · #6 · 4 mo ago

LEDetailing said:
Wow, nice work.
How long will the 5k last you?

I really don't know. I received the ACW in middle June and have put almost 3,000 rounds through it. But I'm prone to drift heavily into other calibers on occasion depending on what mood strikes. Today's range trip was 10mm, and the .45s stayed home.

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FranklinBullitt

· #7 · 4 mo ago

scott1970 said:
My loading style has always been piecemeal. I'll cast a bunch and then powder coat and load it as needed. It's always worked well for me.

The second week of this past December, I ran out of .45 ammo and found I had none cast on standby. So, I had an idea. I decided to chip away at doing a bigger batch from start to finish. I did this based primarily on the weather. If it was unseasonably warm, I'd cast. If it was cold and dry, I'd powder coat. If it was raining or whatever, I'd load.

I finished up this morning with seven full .30 cal cans of 200 gr. SWC .45 acp. I kept my primer trays to see what the number would be when I finished. Turns out, I cast, coated, sized and loaded 5,000 rounds. The ACW will be happy.

Ammo, you can never have too much

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Anchorsaweigh

· #8 · 4 mo ago

Saw I was running low on .45 ammo. Weather sucked, wasn't a good range day, so I got in the truck and 30 minutes later I was home...😁

Shelf Shelving Publication Flooring Font

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scott1970

Discussion Starter · #9 · 4 mo ago

Seeing @Anchorsaweigh 's fantastic stack of .45 ammo got me wondering how much it cost in today's market, because I have zero clue about current ammo prices outside of a box of Federal HST .45 acp. And that got me wondering how much money I have tied up in the 5,000 rounds I put together. So, in the words of Jethro Bodine, I ciphered it out.

All the brass was free from police qualifications over the years. I used to have an assistant chief who would let me take it home for years. He retired, and the good times stopped.

All the lead was free, because I got really friendly with a number of tire stores back when I worked the road.

I have just a hair under $100 in the 5K primers.

I have about $96 in the powder.

I doubt I have a buck fifty in the powder coat.

So, five thousand rounds of quality .45 acp ammo cost me just under $200.

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1911 Teacher

· #10 · 4 mo ago

How is your arm feeling after pulling the handle that many times? Glad to see that you had a Dillon progressive.

Dub

· #11 · 4 mo ago

scott1970 said:
My loading style has always been piecemeal. I'll cast a bunch and then powder coat and load it as needed. It's always worked well for me.

The second week of this past December, I ran out of .45 ammo and found I had none cast on standby. So, I had an idea. I decided to chip away at doing a bigger batch from start to finish. I did this based primarily on the weather. If it was unseasonably warm, I'd cast. If it was cold and dry, I'd powder coat. If it was raining or whatever, I'd load.

I finished up this morning with seven full .30 cal cans of 200 gr. SWC .45 acp. I kept my primer trays to see what the number would be when I finished. Turns out, I cast, coated, sized and loaded 5,000 rounds. The ACW will be happy.

Badass !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well done, sir.

Reactions: 1

scott1970

Discussion Starter · #12 · 4 mo ago

1911 Teacher said:
How is your arm feeling after pulling the handle that many times? Glad to see that you had a Dillon progressive.

The arm is fine. I don't do marathon sessions when I load, it's usually three or four hundred at a sitting. Although I prefer shooting, I've always enjoyed the relaxing aspects of casting and loading. Powder coating is just a necessity, but it isn't too bad.

flechero

· #13 · 4 mo ago

That's a great stockpile to work from! I admire your plan, but my shelf only holds about 1500 rounds of .45acp and 2K each of 9mm & 38 Super.

scott1970 said:
I don't do marathon sessions when I load, it's usually three or four hundred at a sitting.

Same here- try to do a min of 200, but rarely over 500 at a time. Want to keep focused and seeing powder in station 2/3, since I am my "check die."

Merton

· #14 · 4 mo ago

This Winter the only thing I've loaded so far is several thousand .38 Special 148gr. WC loads and 500 XTP's in .357 Mag cases.

I need to do a batch like yours, but I need to decide if I'm going to cast them or buy them and I will probably do both. I've been slacking on the casting for the last 4 years or so, but I still dig my bullets out of the berm and save it all. I inherited well over half a ton of old wheelweights about 10 years ago and the alloy from it has been very good to me.

Merton

· #15 · 4 mo ago

I have found that books on tape are great while casting and you can get into a flow and suddenly you have hundreds of bullets in front of you!

However, when I don't have a book or music playing, I have on two occasions attracted a mule deer buck by tapping the sprue plates on my molds with a wooden dowel. The first time I just thought it was a coincidence, but it happened again shortly after and I realized that maybe my sprue plate was sounding like a rival buck? I don't really know and I think it may have been the same buck both times, but it was very interesting when it happened the second time.

I usually load in big batches, but I also do it somewhat "sporadically", as I don't like to force myself to do it when I'm not feeling like it. I am hundreds of thousands of rounds in, but I have yet to miss a charge or double a charge in a case, for example, and I have every intention of keeping that streak alive.

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Apollo99

· #16 · 4 mo ago

I do 1000 at a time in .45 Auto, 9mm, and .223. Every other caliber, I do as needed. I have powder, primers , bullets and prepped cases to do thousands in each caliber, but don't stockpile what I don't regularly shoot. I can respect the work Scott1970 has accomplished.

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Anchorsaweigh

· #17 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

Good on you guys who reload. I used to many years ago. But now, at 68, I find it easier to just buy it. I did enjoy doing it back then, but not any more. It's funny, because there are a few guys at my club that reload and when they see me heading to the range, they know there's going to be a couple hundred once-fired .45 casings. They're all over that like snot on your sleeve in the winter.

Reactions: 2

scott1970

Discussion Starter · #18 · 4 mo ago

Merton said:
I have found that books on tape are great while casting and you can get into a flow and suddenly you have hundreds of bullets in front of you!

However, when I don't have a book or music playing, I have on two occasions attracted a mule deer buck by tapping the sprue plates on my molds with a wooden dowel. The first time I just thought it was a coincidence, but it happened again shortly after and I realized that maybe my sprue plate was sounding like a rival buck? I don't really know and I think it may have been the same buck both times, but it was very interesting when it happened the second time.

I usually load in big batches, but I also do it somewhat "sporadically", as I don't like to force myself to do it when I'm not feeling like it. I am hundreds of thousands of rounds in, but I have yet to miss a charge or double a charge in a case, for example, and I have every intention of keeping that streak alive.

Put me in front of that pot of liquid lead with a good podcast playing and I can cast for eight hours straight and enjoy every minute of it.

The most I’ve ever dropped in a single session was close to 4,400 .40 cal bullets. The key to volume is running a matching pair of molds simultaneously and getting into that perfect rhythm with them. And if they happen to be a pair of six-banger aluminum molds.....you better have a big pile of clean ingots on standby.

Reactions: 1

Bondage007

· #19 · 4 mo ago

scott1970 said:
My loading style has always been piecemeal. I'll cast a bunch and then powder coat and load it as needed. It's always worked well for me.

The second week of this past December, I ran out of .45 ammo and found I had none cast on standby. So, I had an idea. I decided to chip away at doing a bigger batch from start to finish. I did this based primarily on the weather. If it was unseasonably warm, I'd cast. If it was cold and dry, I'd powder coat. If it was raining or whatever, I'd load.

I finished up this morning with seven full .30 cal cans of 200 gr. SWC .45 acp. I kept my primer trays to see what the number would be when I finished. Turns out, I cast, coated, sized and loaded 5,000 rounds. The ACW will be happy.

I'm drooling right now.... 👍👍👍😋

Reactions: 1

Bondage007

· #20 · 4 mo ago

Anchorsaweigh said:
Good on you guys who reload. I used to many years ago. But now, at 68, I find it easier to just buy it. I did enjoy doing it back then, but not any more. It's funny, because there are a few guys at my club that reload and when they see me heading to the range, they know there's going to be a couple hundred once-fired .45 casings. They're all over that like snot on your sleeve in the winter.

Haha...same here!

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