I just bought an Oly .45acp upper with three 10 round mags off the EE here.  It looks like new inside and out.  

Since I cast my own bullets and reload, it's important to me to be able to use my cast bullet reloads.  If I couldn't, it's costs too much to shoot it.

So, I decided to try out different types of cast bullets to see what works and what doesn't.  Here are the loads I tried last night at the club.  All used different charges of Unique.  Left to right:

154gr semiwadcutter
185gr semiwadcutter
250gr semiwadcutter (.45 Long Colt bullet)
225gr lead round nose



All were loaded with Unique powder and all but the 154gr performed well.  I didn't expect much out of the 154gr, but I had 30 of them to try, so I loaded them up anyway.  I had two misfeed out of the 30.

Every other misfeed could be associated to one mag.  When I pulled them apart to clean today, I noticed that one of them had a 15 round mag spring installed in a 10 round mag.  It had too much pressure pushing up, slowing the bolt, causing some ejection problems.

The penetration of the LC bullets was impressive!  Complete penetration through a 6"x6" hardwood block with plenty of power to spare.  

The .45acp definately recoils more than a .223 AR, but it's not abusive or uncontrollable whatsoever.  I can't comment much on long distance accuracy of the loads since it was midnight and I had to use the 50ft undoor range.  At that distance, they were all shooting one hole groups.

Now, I just need to find more .45acp Uzi mags to convert.  Three just isn't enough!  

I have used 200 grain semi-wadcutters with good results.  I have also fired a few 230 grain roundnose.  

I have some 275 grain truncated cone cast bullets, but that may be a little too much of a good thing!

I am using a Cavalry Arms MkII lower, with Hahn mag block and grease gun magazines.  I am amazed at how well it works feeding cartridges loaded with non standard bullets.

glad to hear youre having fun with your OA 45.

i have one too, but havent shot it much due to the difficulty of loading the 10 round uzi mag.  i think i will take it out and use some HPs in the sten mag and see how it works.

I took it to the range again today to play some more.  I had some 185gr Zero brand JHP's that I got in a trade, so I loaded those up.  It really liked those and printed some very small groups.  I was just shooting offhand, so I didn't measure anything, but they were small.  It's shooting minute-of-milkjug offhand with 8gr of Unique with the 185gr JHP's at 100 yards.  I'm happy.

grendelbane-Tell me more about the MKII lower.  I'd like to use Grease Gun mags in mine.  I don't mind investing the money into a dedicated lower since this upper is definately a keeper.

Now, after I sell off some AK stuff I have, I think I need to pick up either a 9mm or .40 upper.  I had a Colt LE 9mm during the ban (got my Chief to sign for it for "training" purposes ) but it was the most unreliable gun I've ever owned.  It wouldn't feed anything but FMJ, and that was only if the bolt was absolutely dripping wet with oil.  I'll get either a RRA or Oly upper and use the mag adapter for STEN mags.  That seems to be the cheapest way to go now.

Cavalry Arms MKII lowers have a magazine well which is long enough for a conentional .223 magazine, but also wide enough up front to accept the grease gun magazine.  I am using the Hahn mag block, which I got from Brownell's.

MKII lowers require a heavier buffer when used with an Oly .45 upper.  I bought my 8 ounce buffer from Slash, who posts here regularly.

The big disadvantage to this setup is the magazine release is a paddle, instead of the normal AR15 mag release.  

For some people, the other big disadvantage is that you can't use a telescoping stock.  

There are a couple of threads in the Cavalry Arms section about the use of grease gun magazines.  

I am well pleased with mine, and everyone who shoots it wants one of their own.

I read up on the Cav Arms lower.  For now anyway, I think I'm going to stick with what I have and look for more Uzi mags to convert.  My friend out of state says he sees .45 Uzi mags at the gunshow he goes to, so I told him to pick me up three of four of them.  Between the price of the lower, lower parts kit, heavy buffer, Hahn mag block, then buying M3 mags at around $30 each, I can buy several Uzi mags to convert cheaper, or at least the same price.

Now I just need to find a good used .40 or 9mm upper to play with.  At least I'll be able to use STEN mags at $5 each for that one!  I already have the mag block on the way.

Quoted: I read up on the Cav Arms lower.  For now anyway, I think I'm going to stick with what I have and look for more Uzi mags to convert.  My friend out of state says he sees .45 Uzi mags at the gunshow he goes to, so I told him to pick me up three of four of them.  Between the price of the lower, lower parts kit, heavy buffer, Hahn mag block, then buying M3 mags at around $30 each, I can buy several Uzi mags to convert cheaper, or at least the same price. Now I just need to find a good used .40 or 9mm upper to play with.  At least I'll be able to use STEN mags at $5 each for that one!  I already have the mag block on the way.

good luck finding ANY 45 Uzi mags.  i think your friend was confusing the 9mm w/45.  i havent seen any 45 uzi mags anywhere.

Short .45 ACP rounds like 185gr bullets feed quite well from unmodified Sten mags. The 230gr OAL is a little too long but a short flat nose or HP round fits a Sten mag.

Here's a video of me shooting 185gr GDHPs from a Sten mag.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8es1gCrjkUQ

Are you sure you don't want a cav 15......

http://www.hunt101.com/img/423683.jpghttp://www.hunt101.com/img/423684.jpg
http://www.hunt101.com/img/423685.jpg

Quoted: Quoted: ......My friend out of state says he sees .45 Uzi mags at the gunshow he goes to, so I told him to pick me up three of four of them.... good luck finding ANY 45 Uzi mags.  i think your friend was confusing the 9mm w/45.  i havent seen any 45 uzi mags anywhere.

No, he knows the difference.  It's not very hard to tell them apart since the .45 Uzi mags clearly say "IMI Israel 45 acp" on the bottom.  He was looking for some since he recently bought an Oly .45 upper, too.  He felt that $70 each was too much for 15 round Uzi mags, so he's doing a 20% lower which is designed to take the GG mags instead.  The 20% lower cost him almost $300, plus the milling machine he's buying to complete it, plus the tooling, finishing costs, plus the GG mags themselves!  I think I'll just have him pick up those three Uzi mags for me and I'll have them converted.

Quoted: Short .45 ACP rounds like 185gr bullets feed quite well from unmodified Sten mags. The 230gr OAL is a little too long but a short flat nose or HP round fits a Sten mag. Here's a video of me shooting 185gr GDHPs from a Sten mag. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8es1gCrjkUQ

I watched your video.  If it weren't for the cost of the bullets to reload, I'd definately go that way.  But, I cast my own bullets and reload, so that's not an option.  If I had to pay for JHP bullets to reload, shooting my upper wouldn't be affordable anymore.  I like getting free wheelweights (as much as my truck will carry once a week), and casting my own 225gr Lyman LRN.  Using 7.0gr of Unique gives me an accurate round out of this upper.  

I got this upper for cheap shooting with the cost of .223 lately.  Using JHP bullets to reload doesn't make it cheap anymore.  

Quoted: Are you sure you don't want a cav 15......

No, I can't say I'm "sure" I don't want one, but there is one thing that bothers me a little about them.  Every place I look online for GG mags says their supply is limited and they don't have a source for any more of them.  With my luck, I'll get the CAV 15, then be in the same boat for mags as I am now with the Uzi's!  I just don't have much money to invest right now.  Honestly, I wasn't really looking for a .45acp upper.  I was planning on a 9mm for cheap shooting using STEN mags.  But when I saw this Oly .45acp upper with three mags here on the EE for $450 plus $10 shipping, I couldn't pass it up, especially since I cast and reload for the .45acp already.  

Now, I just need that 9mm upper and feed it some of my cast bullet reloads in that caliber, too!

Tangochaser- OK, you got me.  I'm going to order a cheap Lee mold for now.  They make a light .45LC RNFP with an extremely short OAL.  Since a Lee 2 cavity mold is only about $18 with handles, even if it doesn't work, I'm not out that much money.

I'll cast some up and see what happens with the STEN mags.  If they do work, I'll be ordering 20 or 30 of the mags and be happy.  We'll see.  When I finally get the mag block and the mold, I'll post the results.

Here's the 2nd batch of loads tested for function in the .45acp Olympic upper.



Left to right:
-Federal 230gr Hydra Shock factory load-functioned 100%.
-Zero brand 185gr JHP over 8.0gr of Unique.  Again, functions 100% and is surprisingly accurate out to 100 yards, too.
-250gr RNFP .45LC "cowboy" type bullet over 7.0gr of Unique.  This one had a few FTE's.  They all fed fine, but the spent brass would sometimes hang up.  I can't figure this out, but it's the only load that does this.  I don't know how the bullet type would effect ejection, unless the bolt is dragging on it and slowing down.  Somehow, this is the one load that is not reliable in the AR.
-Last is a commercial cast 230gr LRN.  This is a true RN design, unlike the Lyman LRN that is pictured in my original post in this thread.  Both this LRN and the Lyman design function 100%.