Giles .45 Shop Odessa, FL

**herman8r** · 11th February 2019, 19:25

Hi All,

Doing inventory on pistols and I remembered I had this Colt 45. It was worked on by Giles .45 Shop----a long time ago. Purchased from the family of the original owner.
I have the original box & targets from Giles (with notes).
Photos attached

If anyone has info on this I would really appreciate it.

Cheers,
HJR

**Rick McC.** · 11th February 2019, 21:15

I don’t know anything about them (which means nothing), but that’s really nice, and a shooter too!

**herman8r** · 11th February 2019, 22:43

I picked it up a while back and didn't really pay a lot of attention to what I had. Looking at the work up loads from the info on the targets---I noticed the mention of BE powder & also the H & G #68 wad cutters. I found a source for the bullets but not the powder. I do have some older load manuals that will have to get dusted off.
It is a very clean gun and I look forward to getting to know it.

**Jim Watson** · 12th February 2019, 09:55

I don't know any details, just that Mr Giles was one of the top bullseye pistolsmiths of the day.
A guy here had one like yours but sent it back to have the rib taken off for use with Major loads in IPSC. It got a low mount Giles rear sight, which I thought neat that he would have his own design instead of just installing a Bomar or Micro like everybody else in the business.

There are a lot of powders that will work. Vihtavuouri N310 is very popular in the Bullseye burn rate range. Just pick one that will give 700-750 fps in its normal operating range.

**Pyrenean** · 12th February 2019, 10:57

BE=Bullseye is difficult to find in my location. I find it easily online at brownells, grafs, powdervalley, natchezss, etc. The issue, of course, with online purchasing is the hazmat and shipping fees. I buy as much as I can when the merchants have special deals on those fees.

One thing I notice on that reloading sheet is that crimp of .463. That crimp is a lot smaller than I would dare. I aim for a .472- .473 crimp to preserve neck tension on the projectile and get concerned about crimping lower than .471.

Nice find on that pistol!

**Jim Watson** · 12th February 2019, 13:59

Originally Posted by Pyrenean

One thing I notice on that reloading sheet is that crimp of .463. That crimp is a lot smaller than I would dare. I aim for a .472- .473 crimp to preserve neck tension on the projectile and get concerned about crimping lower than .471.

Another old time gunsmith, R.L. Shockey, recommended a roll crimp into the front band of the SWC. That would give modern reloaders the vapors.

**herman8r** · 12th February 2019, 20:06

Thanks for the awesome info!
I do have Bullseye!

Just retired so now I will devote some time to some old favorites.
Been on sporting clay teams for 28 years so it's time for change.
Cheers

**herman8r** · 12th February 2019, 20:11

Good advice. As regards to a round nose ...what is the reccomend crimp?

**Pyrenean** · 12th February 2019, 21:20

I base my crimp on the diameter of the projectile and the average thickness of the case wall measured at the mouth of the case. I usually measure in three different locations and take the average although I think it is acceptable to use the projectile manufacturer's data. No two projectiles are exactly the same, nor are any two cases. You can find some data on this site for projectiles and, if I recall correctly, data on case thickness for different brands.

All that said, if I am loading a .452 cast projectile in, say Federal cases that have an average thickness of .010, I use a crimp of .452+.01+.01 = .472 as a starting point. I then load a dummy round, plunk test the dummy in barrel by dropping the dummy into the empty barrel and listening for the plunk noise. I then pull the round using a kinetic "puller" and examine the projectile for any signs of it being squeezed. If I see squeezing, I back off my crimp, build a new dummy and plunk test again.

That is way over simplified but also too picky for some loaders. Plenty of shooters at my range use a .469 crimp on everything and call it a day. I am picky because I overcrimped a round when I was first reloading and ended up with a bad projectile setback that resulted in my grips shattering. There were splinters and a nice powder tattoo on my supporting hand's thumb. Fortunately, my pistol, and I, survived.

You also should find the proper cartridge length for your round. Start with https://forum.m1911.org/showthread.p...474#post943474
and then work your way around the site and ask questions. There are a lot of folks here, more experienced than I, who are great mentors.