CZ97B Bullet Choice for Handloading

[Camaro400]

Hello All,

Which projectiles are you having success with in your CZ 97B? I have always used 230gr HP Montana Golds in my other 45's. I have loaded those 230gr bullets at various lengths between 1.210-1.239 with inconsistent results. I do have the newer barrel from CZ (extended ramp). I have been reading that the CZ 97B has been iffy with HP.


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[Boris_LA]

Hello All,

Which projectiles are you having success with in your CZ 97B? I have always used 230gr HP Montana Golds in my other 45's. I have loaded those 230gr bullets at various lengths between 1.210-1.239 with inconsistent results. I do have the newer barrel from CZ (extended ramp). I have been reading that the CZ 97B has been iffy with HP.


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CZ 97B HP feed problem has been addresses in 2012. Newer barrels feed HP reliably.
I have great success with Zero JHP 185gr loaded to 1.210" OAL.

[Camaro400]

Thanks.


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[Earl Keese]

I load Acme 200gr coated LSWC for my 97.

[Camaro400]

I load Acme 200gr coated LSWC for my 97.

What is your OAL?


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[Chelanace]

I'm watching this post since I got a new 97BD a couple of days ago.


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[SPO1SHADOW]

I load Acme 200gr coated LSWC for my 97.

I load the 200 ACME SWC's too and the ACME 230 RN's out to 1.250 OAL. My gun doesn't choke on anything and runs HP's same as RN's with no problem. My gun is about 8 months old and reliability has not been an issue with any type of bullet profile.

[Earl Keese]

I load Acme 200gr coated LSWC for my 97.

I load the 200 ACME SWC's too and the ACME 230 RN's out to 1.250 OAL. My gun doesn't choke on anything and runs HP's same as RN's with no problem. My gun is about 8 months old and reliability has not been an issue with any type of bullet profile.

Yep, 1.250. SP01SHADOW suggested the load (4.5gr N310)and projectile after mine came back from CGW. I had already tried some (free) Hornady 230 jhp and some Acme 185 swc's. Hornady's sucked and the Acme 185's we're good, but my 97 loves the 200's. No feeding issues with any ammo that I've tried.

[nicky]

So for my best most accurate loads are with Zero 200gn. SWC or their 185gn. SWC HP with WST. Bullseye works very good too.

[krehmkej]

Sounds like the 97B will run any one of the many decent .45 auto target loads just fine.
My slide is on its way the CGW for a bushing and adjustable sight installation.
So hope to begin testing before summer's end.

[IDescribe]

My 97-BE also prefers 200gr SWC to 185gr and 175gr, but that includes only two brands: ACME Coated and Zero (swaged lead).

It prefers any of the four SWC I've tested to the ZERO 185gr JHP, which is by reputation one of the best .45 bullets around.  That's not a knock on the JHP.  It just says my 97 loves the SWC.

It shoots best groups with all four of those SWC bullets with the charge weight that brings the average muzzle velocity into the 750-760 feet/sec range, and all four bullets are capable of 4-inch groups (or less) at 50 yards. 

I load all four of these SWC between 1.235 and 1.240, and the ZERO JHP to 1.200.

Best bullet for me is the ZERO 200gr SWC, inching out the ACME 200gr SWC by a hair.

[Camaro400]

This is what I have determined based on all of your input and my testing. The cavity on the Montana Gold 230gr JHP is wider than other JHP. Because of the large cavity, the bullet is getting stuck at the bottom of the feed ramp (feed ramp entering into the cavity a bit) and is causing the failures. I am going to test some of the projectiles you have suggested and go from there.  I guess I will be shooting all of the MGs JHPs in my Glock 21 and 30. They eat up anything.


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[Morbid1X]

I'm glad you guys are having luck shooting swc's in 97's. I was wondering if they would eat that profile and it sounds like it will work. 1.250" is quit a bit longer than I am used to but I'll give it a shot. I like shooting them out of a 1911 and I was worried about having get to have different bullets when I like swc's

[IDescribe]

I should add that these SWC have very narrow OAL window.  Max OAL is 1.275, and the shortest I could go and still keep a hair of shoulder above the case mouth is 1.232.  Here's a pic from my loading woes a couple of years ago when the pistol was new; it shows the maximum, minimum, and an OAL I had trouble with:




As indicated by the pic, I had trouble at 1.263.  They wouldn't feed.   When I found what would work, with a little help from JamesLovesJammie, I was shooting for 1.24 and got 1.237 instead.  Anything around 1.24 should be fine.  That's with these bullets, though.  You load SWC by the shoulder -- about 1/16th over the case mouth.  In my case, before break in, it actually required a little less than 1/16th.  So don't go by OAL until you've identified the proper OAL from the proper shoulder height.  With a different profile, 1.240 might be WAY off.

For the record, those 1.263 bullets, I had loaded lots and lots of them without testing (bad practice, especially with a brand new pistol,do not do).  Some time later, after the pistol was well broken in, they got fired through the 97, and they fed fine.

[Boris_LA]

I have tested 200LSWC bullets with different OAL. 1.225" - 1.255" with .005" increments. All fed fine in my CZ 97B. My standard now for this bullet profile is just the middle of tested OAL at 1.240".