I've been told by several people that shooting reloads in a semi-automatic (.45) is not a good thing to do. I'm considering reloading .45s, what is the concern?

The biggest concern that I can think of is using reloads in a life threatening situation. Unless you have tested them for many hundreds of rounds and can be sure of their reliability, I personally would stick to factory ammo for self defense.

Some will worry about warranty issues but then whats the fun in shooting at all ?

So I would say for target, competition, hunting, plinking, or just plain having fun , reload away ! Just find a load that works good with your gun. Ask lots of questions if you're having trouble. Load properly and safely and you shouldn't have any problems.

+1 on the reliability concern.

Now, if you only use your .45 for target shooting reliability is not much of a problem. But there are other concerns about reloaded ammo that every shooter -- of autos or revolvers - should be aware of.

• Case fatigue - usually shows up as a crack at the case mouth.
• Improper crimping - too tight/loose can cause reliablity or pressure issues.
• Excessive powder charge - double charged case
• Squib loads - no powder
• Contaminated primers - misfires
• Legal complications

Case fatigue from reloading a given case too many times can result in the case splitting during firing. Normally it's a split from the case mouth down the case. In auto cartridges, it can rupture the case head in pistols that don't fully support the case. This can blow the magazine out the bottom of the pistol or cause other damage. Commercial reloaders use "air gauging" to check for cracked cases before reloading.

The crimp holding the bullet can be wrong. Too loose and the bullet moves around or can be set deeper into the case. In autos, this can cause excessive pressure during firing. Too tight and autos won't headspace correctly (misfire). Too tight can also increase pressures to dangerous levels. A light charge and heavy crimp can cause a bullet stuck in the bore.

Powder Charge The most dangerous problem can be a reloader who doesn't double or triple check his loads. Accidentall double-charging a case can lead to a Ka-Boom! of the revolver and serious injuries. Using the wrong powder or charge can also be dangerous.

Squib Loads - A sloppy moment results in no powder in the case. When this happens, the primer is usually strong enough to lodge the bullet in the bore. In autos, the next round may not chamber if you're lucky. Otherwise, just as in wheelguns, the next functional round will encounter a bore obstruction and could Ka-Boom! the gun.

Contaminated primers If the reloader handles the primers poorly they can contaminate them with oils from the fingers. Not only oils like case-lubricants, WD-40 and such, but simply skin oils if loading on a warm day. Primers on a work/reloading bench expose to aerosol sprays may absorb some oil from the air too. The result can be a slow ignition (hangfire) or complete failure (misfire).

Legal Complications
Massad Ayoob has written articles why using reloads for self defense is not a good idea. In short, the problem is really twofold. If the shoot seems somewhat good, but the thug dies from a nominally surviveable wound, the DA could examine your ammo closely and use it against you in court.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll show you that the defendant wasn't satisified with ordinary bullets, but that he loaded his own, deadlier ammunition expressly to ensure killing his victim.

The other issue comes down to descrepancies. In the aftermath of a shooting, even with your lawyer present, you may claim that the thug was about 'x' feet away from you when you fired. If suspicious, the DA can have a forensic test done at 'x' feet to see if powder burns match the ammo you were using at that distance. If your box of Federal 125gr Nyclad you were using still has a few rounds left, that will be used in testing.

But what do you do with reloads? It's an unknown powder, primer, crimp and perhaps bullet. Even if you kept notes or noted the load on the box, there will be a question as to whether the ammo tested is really the same as what you used. If you said 8-ft away and they test using factory ammo, the lack of flash-retardant in your canister powder may lead them to erronously conclude you were only 2-3 ft away.

As a further caution... if you do keep notes regarding your reloads, it is best to...
(a) use a 3-ring binder so only the relevant page is introduced in court.
(b) Be mindful of your comments. Notes like "killer load" or "Bad-a**" don't play well to juries.
(c) List the source of your loads (e.g. Speer #10; Lyman #28)

Regards,

I use my reloads for training and targets....Speer Gold Dot 230 Gr JHP for personal defense. I did spend a considerable amount of time carefully working up my training loads and inspecting the brass I had before loading it, and would recommend all handloaders do the same for their safety and well being.

Almost all of the top shooters in the US use reloads if you can call it that
some of them have equipment borders on a factory.
take the top 100 and ask around.
ABL