Gould boolit in 45 Colt

[dubber123]

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the Ideal/Lyman Gould 45-70 boolit when used in 45 Colt? A friend just picked one up, and it casts a 330 grain HP for the 45-70, and has an excellent reputation as a game boolit in that caliber. I cast with his yesterday, and it casts beautifully, but on the small side. I ran some through a .452" sizer, and they came out perfect with no odd distortion.

I am confident due to the boolit weight, that I can get 1,200 fps. from these when loaded in his 45 Colt Bisley. My question is, will these expand and perform at this velocity if cast of a suitable alloy? I believe they were recommended to be shot around 1,400 fps in the 45-70. We can borrow a block of gel to try them in, but I was just hoping someone had actually tried it on game.

Thanks for your input

[Artful]

Not on game but it grouped well out of my Ruger Blackhawk convertable.
- any HP at 1200 fp with correct alloy will do well on game especially if it start it's impact at .452 caliber.

You do know to lube at .458 then size down to .454 then to .452 - right

[dubber123]

Not on game but it grouped well out of my Ruger Blackhawk convertable.
- any HP at 1200 fp with correct alloy will do well on game especially if it start it's impact at .452 caliber.

You do know to lube at .458 then size down to .454 then to .452 - right

I would do just that to prevent distortion, but this mold cast very sharp and well filled out, but at only .455+, they might break .456" in a week or two. That's way too small to use in the Marlin lever he bought it for, and why we thought of giving it a go in the Blackhawk.

Thanks for the accuracy report, I cast enough to do a little load development, maybe this coming weekend.

[Char-Gar]

Cast the bullets soft (1-30) and fire away. I have not done it, but others have with good success.

[dubber123]

Well, got out early, so I did a little load work. I started at 21 grains of H-110, Starline brass and CCI mag primers. In 1/2 grain increments, I worked to 24 grains. Extraction throughout was pinkie finger easy, and fired cases readily rechambered. Velocity average was surprising at 1,301 fps. from the 5.5" barrel. Recoil wasn't too bad, but getting interesting. Next is running the same test with a softer alloy.

[DougGuy]

Be advised you are WELL IN EXCESS of the 30,000psi pressure ceiling for a Ruger SA revolver.

[dubber123]

Be advised you are WELL IN EXCESS of the 30,000psi pressure ceiling for a Ruger SA revolver.

Hard to tell without pressure testing, and I don't count guesses ��

[DougGuy]

No it is not hard to tell at all. Hodgdon reloading data gives 23.5gr H110 as max with a 335gr boolit seated to 1.680" for 28,000psi. I would venture to say that a heavier boolit and a half grain more H110 would easily push it beyond 30,000psi. What is your COA? Better yet, I wonder where the base of the boolit sits for the 335 GR. CPB LFN GC that Hodgdon uses for their data, compared to the Gould boolit? If the base of the Gould boolit is higher in the case, you would have less pressure. Otoh, if it is lower, pressure would certainly be much higher than 28,000psi.

[beagle]

I have shot the Gould bullet sized to .452" in a Ruger convertible and it does well but loads up pretty long to suit my tastes. An even better bullet is the RCBS 45-325-FNU bullet sized .452". You don't encounter the overall length problems you do with the Gould bullet. Also, using Lil Gun keeps the pressures below allowable limits. The starting load of 17.0 grains of Lil Gun shoots well for me and is all the bullet and velocity that I need./beagle

[dubber123]

No it is not hard to tell at all. Hodgdon reloading data gives 23.5gr H110 as max with a 335gr boolit seated to 1.680" for 28,000psi. I would venture to say that a heavier boolit and a half grain more H110 would easily push it beyond 30,000psi. What is your COA? Better yet, I wonder where the base of the boolit sits for the 335 GR. CPB LFN GC that Hodgdon uses for their data, compared to the Gould boolit? If the base of the Gould boolit is higher in the case, you would have less pressure. Otoh, if it is lower, pressure would certainly be much higher than 28,000psi.

These weigh 324 grains, so lighter than the Hodgdon data, which also falls short of the 30K limit. I don't know where these fall, but I trust the extraction effort more than most other indicators. These extract and reinsert very easily, giving me not a bit of a worry thus far.