Dale53
posted this
09 March 2008
During a five year period, I shot 75,000 rounds of .45 ACP. I had a friend that I shared moulds with. He had a 4 cavity H&G #68 mould and that remains my favorite .45 ACP bullet to this day.
I later bought two Saeco #68 moulds (185 gr SWC with beveled base). This bullet cuts cleaner holes in paper than the #68 H&G and seems to shoot as well.
I had an opportunity to buy an H&G #130 4 cavity mould. I grabbed it. It is the sweetest mould to cast with that I have used (sixty or seventy moulds at last count). It is a short, stubby, 195 gr bullet (with my alloy). It shoots as well as the best.
So, I can recommend, without reservation, the #68 H&G bullet as being the best .45 ACP bullet ever (it was designed quite carefully to function well in autos).
The Saeco #68 or #69 should shoot as well but may NOT function as well in autos (bullet nose strike is in a slightly different area due to slight design differences).
The #130 is considered one of the most accurate .45 target bullets of all time but does not have the reputation of functioning quite as well in a wide variety of autos that the H&G #68 does.
If I were buying today, I would definitely try the Lee six cavity 452-200-SWC or if you prefer a heavier bullet, the Lee Truncated cone 452-230-TC looks VERY good.
H&G moulds are now produced by Ballisti-Cast and are VERY expensive but VERY good. Saeco moulds are expensive but good. Lee is the price champ, by far, but requires careful use to get long life from them. Lee's aluminum moulds are MUCH lighter than the iron or steel moulds and for an old fart like me, much appreciated (I have a six or eight cavity H&G .38 WC mould that I can hardly use these days due to its VERY heavy weight).
My three 1911's function perfectly (and ALWAYS) with any of the above bullets (except I haven't tried the Lee - they weren't an option when I acquired my moulds) but they were built by a real pistolsmith and I suspect that they would function with full wadcutters as they are THAT good.
These days, I still shoot a lot of .45 ACP's but they are shot mostly in my two S&W 625-8's and one Taurus Tracker (and they work wonderfully well in these revolvers).
Just some thoughts from a “certified old fart".
Dale53