reloading .45 acp

[101943]

I am loading 7.5 gr of Unique for 185gr. cjhp and the powder completely fills the case, I have not encountered this with any other caliber except the .223. Does this seem right?

[Kirbydoc]

I haven't used that load but that is not a starting load. Make sure it is weighed correctly and DON'T START with that load either. Start with no more than 6.0 and work up to that if you need to. If you find accuracy at a lower level then use that.

[versifier]

Welcome to The Guide. As it's your first post and we have no idea how much loading experience you have, I agree with Kirbydoc that it's best to err on the side of caution without some more information. If you have not worked it up, that load is near MAX and not a wise starting point. If you have and you know that, that's good, but we cannot automatically assume that without asking, hence our caution, at least until we get to know you better.

But to answer your question, it is not a compressed load (even at Sierra's MAX with 7.7gr UNQ it is still not compressed), but at listed OAL yes it does fill the case above 80% (called "loading density"). It is not at all unusual to find a powder that will give you such a high loading density in handguns or in rifles, in fact it is preferred because there are less likely to be positional issues and resulting velocity variations from round to round as there can be sometimes with loads of less than 50% density. One reason I like UNQ is because it generally fills most pistol cases (from .380 to .45ACP's) more than halfway, which means you get a mess instead of a double charge if you make a mistake charging cases, an added safety factor especially if you are just beginning to work with a new round. With some powders you still have plenty of room to seat a bullet on a triple charge, but that generally KABOOMS a perfectly good pistol and isn't likely to be very healthy for shooter or bystanders either. Powders like Trail Boss were developed specifically for their very high loading densities. With super light charges of pistol powders in medium capacity cases for cast bullet rifle loads it is necessary to point the muzzle straight up to get the entire charge as close to the primer as possible before lowering it to aim and shoot. Sometimes with revolver loads, too. That's not often an issue with pistol loads in their smaller capacity cases, but it is not unknown with very light target loads and certain powders. Mostly it's just a safety issue requiring a little extra watchfulness to prevent double or triple charges.

I have personally found that I get the best function/accuracy with UNQ much closer to 6.0 with 185's in a variety of different .45ACP's by different manufacturers, but that's me. It does not mean that as long as you have worked it up safely your pistol won't shoot better groups with a bit hotter load than mine do. (And I have to add that I much prefer 230's with that round as I know from experience that especially with fixed sight pistols I am much more likely to get a load closer to POA than with lighter bullets.)

[BBerguson]

That is a max load by my Lyman 48th manual. Aside from that, check your scales, I'm loading 7 and 7.2 grains of unique in 45 acp and it is nowhere near filling the case. I wouldn't shoot any until you check that scale out.

BB

[versifier]

Really good point BB and I'm glad you picked up on it. We do not know how the charges were metered/measured. How full is full? After loading light charges of BEYE, even a moderate charge of UNQ does look to fill up a lot more of the case.