Just curious, does anybody have and information on bullet shapes? (semi-wad cutter, round nose w/ hollow base, round nose, round nose w/ flat point, etc...) I'm using a 1911 gov't for shooting USPSA, and making major power factor. My question is there a performance difference in them, or is it all just personal preference?
I would NOT run a Semi-Wadcutter for a 1911 in action pistol sports.
Round-Nose FMJ is typically the way to go. You can try some different loadings with hollow bases / less weight more powder etc and see what you gun likes, but please stay away from the LSWC projectiles, they are a little more finicky and tend to jam up a lot, the profile is not conducive to good feeding. Also, not all magazines work well with LSWC and need the feed lip geometry altered to achieve good function.
IN short, the 1911 was made to work with 230Gr FMJ, in my opinion it's not wise to deviate too far from that.
Use semi-wadcutter (SWC) bullets when you practice, as part of a carefully-planned training system.
If you shoot both SWC and round-nose (RN) bullets, you know that each makes a different type of hole in your target.
So, for instance, if you load a SWC-bullet cartridge under a RN-bullet shell into your magazine, you can immediately tell which was your first shot, and which your second.
This is particularly useful when you are practicing quick tactical reloads.
Load the gun's magazine with RNs, and the reload magazine with SWCs. Then fire a shot, immediately change magazines and recover, and fire a shot.
Now look at your target: Both RN and SWC hits should be pretty close together. But if they're not, you can easily tell which hole was made by the reload shot, and that gives you an indication of what corrective steps to take.
If you load your .45 cases with 230-grain RNs and 200-grain SWCs, both bullets load properly with the exact same setting of the seating die.
The best of these bullet shapes come from Hensley & Gibbs (H&G) molds, and some lead-bullet manufacturers still use them. Others have worked out very similar shapes, which work just as well and require no manipulation of the seating die.
I have always used six grains of 231, under both of these shapes. This load makes major-caliber with both bullets.
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