Nosler Custom Competition Bullets-.45 ACP

everydaycarry · 01-06-2010, 18:45

I am purchasing a G30 tomorrow, so i've been acquiring components to start reloading .45 ACP.

I got a great deal on a 250 Round pack of Nosler Custom competition 185 grain HP , but i can't find any reloading data for them.

Nosler's website doesn't seen to have data for any pistol loads.

I would really love to find a load using Titegroup as i load a ton of .40's with this powder and always have it on hand, but I am willing to buy other powder if need be.

Anybody have experience with these bullets that could lead me in the right direction to get a load recipe?

Thanks

Jumper · 01-06-2010, 19:02

There's nothing special about the bullets. If anything there made to a higher quality but that's it. Better consistency translates to better potential accuracy. Use powder data for copper jacketed 185gr bullets.

dougader · 01-07-2010, 22:55

I have about 3 Nosler manuals. The 5th Edition is sitting right here. What powder do you want to use?

They show data with the 185 grain jhp with Bullseye, AA#2, Green Dot, W231, HP38, SR7625 and AA#5. Nothing real cutting edge here. You could get decent data for 185 grain bullets from Speer, Hornady, Sierra or Lyman and use it just as well IMO.

I also think the Nosler books are a bit better for rifle data. The pistol data seems way old school to me and very conservative for the most part.

RLDS45S · 01-07-2010, 23:36

They are a great value for handgun bullets. They are a match grade bullet. Good enough for the Marine Corps.

ede · 01-08-2010, 04:39

never used noslers but i never could get good results with 185s in a glock. i use 200s and 4.4 gr. of titegroup.

cookselk · 01-08-2010, 08:27

I use the Nosler 185 with Unique loading to a velocity of about 800 FPS. It is a very mild load and very accurate. The first group from sandbags at 25 yards put all 10 rounds into 2.5 inches with 8 going into just 1.5"!!!! I had decent results with 231 as well. The only downside with Unique is that it doesn't meter through a measure as well as other powders. I visually inspect each cartridge looking for powder variation. This usually seems to run about .2 grs.

CCV · 01-08-2010, 16:33

Try 5.3 Grains of TiteGroup under that 185 grain Nosler JHP.

MrVvrroomm · 01-08-2010, 19:49

Nosler bullets work very well for me. I've been able to find some smokin' deals on them locally over the past several months.

DEADLYACCURATE · 01-08-2010, 20:56

5.4Gr of TG

everydaycarry · 01-08-2010, 21:30

Thank you everybody for the tips and load hints.

I got the G30 yesterday, so I went to my father's place tonight to load a test batch. He has just about every bullet and powder manufacturer's loading manuals, so i compared notes on all of them.

I ended up going with the 5.4 gr. of Titegroup under the Nosler 185's for my first test run. This seems to agree with the suggestions you all have given.

I'm going shooting tomorrow afternoon, so i'll be sure to let you know how they turn out.

I've always had GREAT accuracy and consistency with the Nosler Sporting handgun bullets in .40 caliber, so I am hoping these will be similar.

everydaycarry · 01-12-2010, 18:26

To give a follow up:

I got the G30 last Thursday and went shooting Saturday and Sunday.

WOW! the G30 is quite accurate. At 20 feet in an indoor range, the reloads mentioned above had groups between 1.5" to 2" over 4 groups of 5 shots each.

I also shot some Golden Saber 230's that a friend had and they shot about the same.

I'm very impressed with the gun and loads. It's quite the soft shooter even with the Golden Sabers. Probably the softest shooting .45 i've shot to date, even compared to some 1911's.

Thanks again for the advice on loads.