Brazos bullets coating question

I am new to loading non-jacketed projectiles, so please bear with me on this question. I have loaded for rifle for probably a decade now, all jacketed projectiles. I started loading .45 last year as I got into pistol.

I have loaded several runs of Magnus 811 projectiles, which have been just great for 25 yd. practice.

I recently ordered some Brazos .45 185 and 200 gr. SWCs.

Here is my first question: Is the gold colored coating on these the lubricant? Do I just load these up out of the bag, or do they need to be lubed?

Last question: Anyone have any load recommendations for the 185 and 200 Brazos SWCs using BE or WST powder?

Thank you for tolerating my questions.

Just load them, no lube needed.

Lots of suggestions here to get started:

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t1209-pet-loads-of-top-shooters-loads-from-the-past

Load as-is, no additional lube required. I like WST over BE, seems slightly less snappy. Start with 3.8 WST on the 200 and 4.0 WST for the 185 and see how it runs your gun. A lot will depend on other factors like how heavy you slide is (slide mount dot, also I run 9000SC dots which are heavy), recoil spring poundage (I run 10# springs because my pistol is tight and I run a 9000SC), factory gun or hand fit, taper crimp amount (I crimp down to .463", some go up to .469"). 

If you run a slide mount dot I usually recommend dropping to a 10# spring then increase the charge till it cycles reliably. Then if you can't get it to shoot accurately start adding more powder for more FPS. Most people lose points in 45 because they flinch or some other type of recoil anticipation, get it shooting as smoothly as possible then worry about the accuracy if it become an issue. JHP ammo can group down to 1" but if you can't keep it on target at 50 yards due to a flinch you'll be far better off with a smooth shooing lead load that may only be a 2 or 3" grouping load. Others may disagree but that's what's worked best for me.

Thank you for the replies. So, for the purpose of load recipes, one would treat the Brazos bullet like any non-jacketed lead projectile?

The link to the loads of top shooters thread is great and I saw that before. I have tried out a few of those loads.

I am shooting irons, not dot. But yes, I am sure I have recoil anticipation to a certain degree with the .45. I would love to run as soft a load as possible so I could focus more on hold and trigger during practice.

Yes, treat Hi-tek coated lead bullets the same as normal wax lubed lead bullets. The coating just acts as a lube and reduces/eliminates lead fouling.

Is it a factory/rack gun or a purpose built wadcutter pistol? I don't shoot irons often but you'll probably want to drop your recoil spring from the factory 16# spring to something in the 13-14# range. The idea is to allow a lower pressure load to cycle your gun. If you go too low accuracy and reliability can suffer, not to mention battering of the slide.

200 gr Brazos over 3.5-4.0 BE

It is a factory Range Officer. The only things I have changed out internally are the barrel bushing, the sear spring and the slide stop pin. I have no idea what spring is in it. Has to be whatever came from the factory.

Here's the thing, though. I want to use it to shoot EIC matches. So, I will need to be able to run Zero JHP 185s through it since you have to use a jacketed bullet for EIC matches. I am using the 185 JHP Zeros with 4.5 gr. of BE for 50 yd. practice. I started using lead projectiles at 25 yds to save some money and not blow through all my JHPs. I have been using the Magnus 811 SWC for 25 yds practice with 4.0 gr. of BE. 

I am all ears if you guys have any recommendations. Thank you.

Great answers already but I will echo the excellent load of 200 Brazos with 3.8 BE.  I've got a few thousand of that through my wad gun with slide mounted optic.  One thing that helped me was adjusting the shoulder of the bullet to be .920" measured from the base of the cartridge.

Pretty sure my LB NM functioned just fine with cast loads around 4.0 BE, or thereabouts, with the factory spring. Only had to use a lighter one after slide mounting a red dot.

Same for my SA A-1.

I have found the Brazos hi tek gold bullets to be a bit snappier than a similar lead bullet, which means maybe they have less friction inside the case?  
You might find .2 grains lesser charge will yield similar results compared to a lead bullet of the same weight.   I load WST and for a 185 would second the recommendation of 3.8-4.0  of WST.  Possibly even a bit lighter with the coated bullets.

I would think the reduced friction in the case would reduce the initial starting pressure, but I did read somewhere that the coated bullets yielded higher velocities for a given powder charge.  If you read it on the net it must be true, at least that's what "they"say".

STEVE SAMELAK wrote:I would think the reduced friction in the case would reduce the initial starting pressure, but I did read somewhere that the coated bullets yielded higher velocities for a given powder charge.  If you read it on the net it must be true, at least that's what "they"say".

Well I did actually test that theory with two different coated bullets, the Brazos and the Acme.   Both had more kick than a similar weight lead bullet.

I had a squib with one. Tap it out with a rod? More like ... actually, exactly like, beat on it with a hammer while resting the breech end on an 'anvil', the aluminum riser blocks my SS press is on.
My wild guess is the coating gets hot from friction, and then bonds the bullet to the bore when it cools off.
Could pose a tiny problem at a match if its typical. Hopefully not. With any luck I won't find out.

WesG wrote:I had a squib with one. Tap it out with a rod? More like ... actually, exactly like, beat on it with a hammer while resting the breech end on an 'anvil', the aluminum riser blocks my SS press is on.
My wild guess is the coating gets hot from friction, and then bonds the bullet to the bore when it cools off.
Could pose a tiny problem at a match if its typical. Hopefully not. With any luck I won't find out.

At least with that nice tight fit, you know they are probably accurate.   

And clean.
What surprised me was the nose wasn't flattened out to bore dia considering how hard I was wailing on it. So maybe I'm just getting weak in my old age.

I use Bayou bullets 185 grain Hi Tek coated bullets in my 45 with 3.7 grains of Bulleye and a .464- .465 taper crimp.  I have not compared them side by side with plain lead bullets.  The Bayous shoot well in my kart barreled Springfield milspec and I have shot about 3k of them with no problems, they seem to be accurate and no barrel leading.  I would imagine the Brazo's are similar.  It would be interesting to chrono them to see what the velocity is.

I've found 3.5-4.3 grains of bullseye to be the magic range for the 200's.  Some guns do better with lighter, some heavier.  My current gun loves 3.7 so I use it for both lines.  When I had a gun that like heavy loads, I'd use 4.3 at 50 and 3.7 at 25.  For some reason, the 180's are slightly less accurate in my guns.  I just stick with 200's and keep it simple.

I shoot a lot and cast my own bullets but I believe the Brazos 200 is the best bullet I’ve ever used. When things open up again and I can get back to competing, that’s what I’ll shoot. 3.7 BE is my favorite load with that bullet.
JKR