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Looking for some recipes for my XD 45.
I will be using the Hornady 230 Gr HP/XTP bullets that I received when I got the Hornady Loc N Load.

What is your choice of powder and primers.
Thanks in advance

For handgun I use nothing but Accurate powders. Hear is a link to there reloading data.
I hope this helps.


http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/Accu ... cation.pdf

I don't know if the XD pistols can handle power variations or not.... I shoot 1911s, where a quick swap of the recoil spring will accommodate different loads.

All I shoot is 230 grain pills.... hollowpoints for serious stuff or round nose for target work.

I use Hodgdon Longshot for the butt-kickin' hollowpoint loads, along with a 20 lb recoil spring. Hodgdon Universal Clays for the "Standard" loads with cast/plated roundnose bullets, with a 16.5 lb recoil spring, and Hodgdon International Clays for the "Mouse Fart" loads, along with a 14 lb spring. Check the Hodgdon website for the particulars.

Let me see what I have under the bench...
I seem to have Alliant Bullseye, Red Dot, American Select, Unique, Power Pistol, and Herco; Hodgdon Titegroup and Universal Clays; Winchester 231 and WSF; and some RamShot Zip. In the past I've used Alliant's Green Dot, Herco, and Blue Dot; Hodgdon Longshot and HP-38, Winchester Action Pistol and IMR 700X, 800X, and SR 4756.
The 45 ACP is pretty forgiving in powder choices, I just pick a loading that gives me something in the 800-850 fps range and try it. I most frequently use powders that double for my shotshell usage as they are also the least expensive unless I find a clearance sale or there is a rebate. I do quite large runs when I load, a 5 gallon bucket is generally a goal so cost and efficiency are large factors in my powder choice.
I have little loyalty to primers as long as they go "bang" and are not expensive. I have all the major brands and a number of lesser known ones. I work up loads every time I change powders and/or primers so I am not overly concerned in that regard. As I may run a couple thousand or more primers in an operation, doing a little testing with every lot is not a big deal in the big picture.

AA #5 is a powder recommended for the 45 ACP, use a lp primer. I think there are a lot of powders to fill this load. The problem will be if you want to shoot bullets other than 230 fmj.
Jim

I've been using Alliant Red Dot and Unique. Both seem to give me good results. I prefer to use Red Dot, since that's what I use for shotgun shells exclusively. I like having less different type of components on hand if possible.

Just got some tite group to do my first reloading for 45 acp I have winchester brass (new) hornady 230 grain fmj rn bullets federal 150 primers that I will be shooting out of a 3" colt defender. Has anyone worked up loads for tite group out of a 3" barrel?

I had a Springfield Ultra Compact which was a similar gun. The loads I found to work well with Titegroup ran in the area of 850 fps in a full sized 5" gun. I use that as a reference as that is what is used in the manuals. In my particular gun running speeds much slower began to affect feeding and ejecting so I kept them up there. Others may find much different results with slightly lower velocity being more pleasant to shoot.

Anybody used titegroup out of a 3" barrel?

That Ultra Compact had a 3" barrel and the loads using Titegroup listed in manuals as giving roughly 850 fps in a longer 5" barrel worked very well in the shorter 3" barrel of my gun. If I used powder weights much less than that mentioned, I began having problems feeding and ejecting rounds. I seldom give actual powder weights as it is not uncommon for me to mistype, transpose, or in other ways print out an incorrect weight which could create a problem for others. Look in a manual or the powder manufacturer's website and the info should be readily found.

Ok so barrel length should not have much affect on the loads?
I just wanted an idea of where performance would/should be for a starting load. I'm just looking for a load that will duplicate (within reason) factory 230 fmj loads. As I don't have a chrono Thanks

Barrel length can have a very large impact on velocities, the shorter the greater that impact can be. It can also depend ont he particular gun as some are "faster" or "slower" than others, even when compared to those from the same manufacturer. I had a rather large drop in velocity with my short barreled gun compared to factory or reload data but I didn't let it worry me any. I just kept the velocity at the point the gun operated properly and didn't mess with anything afterward.
Factory velocity for the 230 gr FMJ bullet is a nominal 850 fps in standard (non +P) loads as fired through a 5" barrel. There are no nominal factory rated velocities for shorter barreled guns as far as I know, except for very rare, probably non-existent, incidents the velocity will be notably lower when fired through shorter barrels. Find a load that does 850 fps in a manual as they also use a 5" barrel as a standard and you will be as close as you can get to "factory" velocity with a short barreled gun.
A warning though, many factory and manual velocities are determined with a Universal Receiver with a barrel with a minimum specification chamber and bore. This will often give higher velocities than standard guns can safely achieve and may not be representative of "real world" performance. The best bet is to buy an inexpensive chronograph or borrow one and fire a few of the normal factory loads you would use. Compare those velocities to that of your chosen load and see if you can replicate it without getting high pressure signs or running over the maximum charge. Then again, if whatever load you are using seems "good" just load and shoot that one.

Great info!

Thanks much for your sharing your knowledge

Thanks to Ugly Dogs advice and tutelage I worked up some loads that are hitting same point of impact as factory 230 FMJ's ended up being 4.7 Grains for me Now I really have to look at a progressive press

Go straight to a Dillon 550 and never look back.

With an additional toolheads (about $15 each), an additional powder die (about $10 each), and a "caliber conversion kit" (about $15), for each additional caliber, you can leave your dies adjusted and mounted in the toolhead... all you do is switch the toolhead and shellplate, move and recalibrate the powder dispenser, and you're loading a new caliber. About a 5-minute process.

"Retired Grunt" huh? I was an 11B myself..... Infantry NCO academy at Fort Benning after AIT at Fort Polk, then a year in 'Nam as a LRRP with the Big Red One.