Load Specifications
Load data in caliber .45 ACP with .452 | 250gr | Speer LSWC bullet and 35 powders. The key underlying parameters are shown in the table above.
Important Notice: DO NOT go below Minimum Charge or above Maximum Charge. Since we have no control over the equipment and components used, any responsibility and liability for the results achieved is rejected.
Only powders/loads that match the current filter criteria are displayed: max pressure of a load ≤ 90% of max. standardized pressure, fill rate ≥ 60% and propellant combustion ≥ 80%. Use the sliders above the tables to adjust these thresholds.
Charge: Powder weight in grains. Start with the minimum load and work up carefully.
FR (Fill Rate): Case fill as a percentage. Values above 100% mean compressed loads.
MaxP / %: Maximum chamber pressure in bar and as a percentage of the standardized maximum for this caliber.
V(0): Muzzle velocity in feet per second (fps) at the standardized barrel length.
z (Powder Burn): Estimated propellant combustion percentage at bullet exit.
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Max Load - Barrel Length: 5"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate No. 2*² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,911 psi | 84% | 781 fps | 91.7% |
| Accurate Solo 1250² | <<locked>> | 68% | 15,331 psi | 81% | 781 fps | 99% |
| Alliant BE-86² | <<locked>> | 68% | 15,200 psi | 81% | 787 fps | 99.9% |
| Alliant Green Dot² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,331 psi | 87% | 778 fps | 100% |
| Alliant Herco* | <<locked>> | 84% | 15,621 psi | 83% | 823 fps | 94.9% |
| Alliant RED DOT² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,679 psi | 83% | 751 fps | 100% |
| Alliant UNIQUE² | <<locked>> | 72% | 16,592 psi | 88% | 840 fps | 95.6% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 100² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,708 psi | 83% | 758 fps | 100% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 102 Pistol | <<locked>> | 84% | 15,505 psi | 82% | 787 fps | 100% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 103 Pistol² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,867 psi | 84% | 794 fps | 100% |
| Hodgdon CFE Pistol² | <<locked>> | 68% | 16,389 psi | 87% | 810 fps | 99.2% |
| Hodgdon Clays² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,114 psi | 85% | 702 fps | 100% |
| Hodgdon TrailBossᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 9,152 psi | 49% | 627 fps | 100% |
| Hodgdon Universal² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,490 psi | 82% | 801 fps | 99.4% |
| Lovex S020² | <<locked>> | 64% | 14,866 psi | 79% | 794 fps | 96.3% |
| Maxam CSB 1² | <<locked>> | 72% | 15,838 psi | 84% | 787 fps | 99.2% |
| Maxam CSB 2² | <<locked>> | 76% | 16,998 psi | 90% | 843 fps | 100% |
| Maxam CSB 3² | <<locked>> | 68% | 16,868 psi | 89% | 794 fps | 100% |
| Maxam CSB 4² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,984 psi | 90% | 784 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 12² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,201 psi | 86% | 820 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 7,484 psi | 40% | 600 fps | 96.5% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 20² | <<locked>> | 76% | 16,578 psi | 88% | 853 fps | 97.7% |
| SNPE Vectan A0*² | <<locked>> | 72% | 16,302 psi | 86% | 794 fps | 94.7% |
| SNPE Vectan A1² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,940 psi | 90% | 794 fps | 99.9% |
| SNPE Vectan BA 9² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,201 psi | 86% | 784 fps | 98% |
| SNPE Vectan BA9 1/2² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,505 psi | 82% | 787 fps | 98.8% |
| Somchem MP200*² | <<locked>> | 64% | 15,331 psi | 81% | 801 fps | 92.9% |
| Somchem MS200² | <<locked>> | 68% | 16,099 psi | 85% | 804 fps | 95.9% |
| Vihtavuori 3N37*² | <<locked>> | 76% | 16,592 psi | 88% | 850 fps | 88.4% |
| Vihtavuori N320² | <<locked>> | 64% | 16,433 psi | 87% | 791 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star | <<locked>> | 96% | 16,549 psi | 88% | 758 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N330² | <<locked>> | 68% | 16,795 psi | 89% | 840 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N340*² | <<locked>> | 68% | 15,229 psi | 81% | 794 fps | 94.6% |
| Vihtavuori N350* | <<locked>> | 80% | 16,317 psi | 87% | 840 fps | 88.4% |
| Winchester AutoComp ² | <<locked>> | 72% | 16,418 psi | 87% | 814 fps | 98.8% |
Start Load - Barrel Length: 5"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate No. 2*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,953 psi | 74% | 745 fps | 89.6% |
| Accurate Solo 1250² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,734 psi | 62% | 709 fps | 96.4% |
| Alliant BE-86² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,966 psi | 63% | 722 fps | 98.7% |
| Alliant Green Dot² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,272 psi | 76% | 738 fps | 100% |
| Alliant Herco*² | <<locked>> | 64% | 9,021 psi | 48% | 656 fps | 85.5% |
| Alliant RED DOT² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,199 psi | 75% | 725 fps | 100% |
| Alliant UNIQUE*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,618 psi | 62% | 728 fps | 90.1% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 100² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,692 psi | 73% | 725 fps | 99.9% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 102 Pistol² | <<locked>> | 60% | 7,484 psi | 40% | 607 fps | 97% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 103 Pistol² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,837 psi | 73% | 758 fps | 100% |
| Hodgdon CFE Pistol² | <<locked>> | 60% | 12,952 psi | 69% | 745 fps | 97.2% |
| Hodgdon Clays² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,620 psi | 78% | 679 fps | 100% |
| Hodgdon TrailBoss*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 3,771 psi | 20% | 436 fps | 89.9% |
| Hodgdon Universal² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,692 psi | 73% | 764 fps | 98.6% |
| Lovex S020*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,097 psi | 69% | 755 fps | 94.7% |
| Maxam CSB 1² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,240 psi | 60% | 692 fps | 95.9% |
| Maxam CSB 2² | <<locked>> | 60% | 10,298 psi | 55% | 712 fps | 99.2% |
| Maxam CSB 3² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,532 psi | 72% | 735 fps | 99.8% |
| Maxam CSB 4² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,823 psi | 79% | 748 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 12² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,170 psi | 75% | 787 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14*² | <<locked>> | 72% | 4,293 psi | 23% | 472 fps | 87.1% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 20*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 9,979 psi | 53% | 696 fps | 89.6% |
| SNPE Vectan A0*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,487 psi | 61% | 689 fps | 89.1% |
| SNPE Vectan A1² | <<locked>> | 60% | 15,098 psi | 80% | 761 fps | 99.5% |
| SNPE Vectan BA 9² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,446 psi | 77% | 748 fps | 96.9% |
| SNPE Vectan BA9 1/2² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,706 psi | 73% | 751 fps | 97.8% |
| Somchem MP200*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 13,677 psi | 73% | 764 fps | 91.1% |
| Somchem MS200*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 12,705 psi | 67% | 732 fps | 92.6% |
| Vihtavuori 3N37*² | <<locked>> | 72% | 14,431 psi | 77% | 807 fps | 85.9% |
| Vihtavuori N320² | <<locked>> | 60% | 14,243 psi | 76% | 755 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star² | <<locked>> | 60% | 6,222 psi | 33% | 551 fps | 99.9% |
| Vihtavuori N330² | <<locked>> | 60% | 12,937 psi | 69% | 768 fps | 98.9% |
| Vihtavuori N340*² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,879 psi | 63% | 722 fps | 90.9% |
| Vihtavuori N350*² | <<locked>> | 76% | 14,185 psi | 75% | 794 fps | 85.8% |
| Winchester AutoComp *² | <<locked>> | 60% | 11,327 psi | 60% | 709 fps | 94.9% |
* not dangerous but load has suboptimal powder burnt with possible characteristics such as extensive muzzle flash or inaccurate loads.
² fill rate low - you might want to consider using a filler to ensure proper ignition.
ᴾ possible press load - work up slowly to this load while watching for signs of excessive pressure.
This overview compares 5 powders for .45 ACP loaded with the .452 | 250gr | Speer LSWC. Alliant Herco delivers the highest muzzle velocity at 823 fps; across all powders the maximum-charge window runs from 600 fps to 823 fps. Hodgdon TrailBoss gives the best case fill at 100 %, and 5 of the 5 powders fall inside the usable 80–100 % fill window.
Relative to the caliber's maximum pressure (130 MPa), the top charges use 40–88 %, leaving at least 12 % headroom. Hodgdon TrailBoss, ReloadSwiss RS 14 reach 100 % fill or more at maximum charge, so these are compressed loads: they need a long drop tube to seat cleanly and react sensitively to the case capacity of your own brass lot. As outliers, Alliant Herco burn incompletely and react more sensitively to barrel length and temperature. Alliant Herco, Baschieri & Pellagri 102 Pistol, Hodgdon TrailBoss stay subsonic at start load. Always begin at the start load and work up in small increments while checking case and primer for pressure signs.