45 Colt Reduced or Cowboy Loads

[FlyfishermanMike]

I have some reduced 44 mag loads that my wife enjoys shooting and now want to do the same with 45 Colt. I have some Trail Boss loads to try but would like another option using Bullseye or Titegroup. I'm using the Lee 255-RF and 200-RF. Alliant wouldn't recommend a starting load. Shooting a 5.5" Ruger Blackhawk Bisley.

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[oldblinddog]

6.0 grs Bullseye, but 8.0 grs of Unique will work better.

[Outpost75]

Don't go below 5.5 grains of Bullseye in standard .45 Colt case.

[FlyfishermanMike]

Don't go below 5.5 grains of Bullseye in standard .45 Colt case.That's right where is was thinking to start.

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[Larry Gibson]

5 gr is a good start load under the 200 gr RF bullet. Should run 800+ fps out of your Ruger. Work up to 6.2 gr. For better Cowboy SASS loads you might consider using the 45 Schofield case or even better; the 45 Cowboy American case. Both are available from StarLine.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

5.5 gr of Red Dot under 250 RFN. Red Dot is fluffier than Bullseye so fills up more of the case. That's my standard load now for CAS.

[rintinglen]

I'm with the rattlesnake on this one, Red Dot is an extremely good choice for standard to midrange loads in the 44 Spl and the 45 Colt using 250-ish grain boolits. 5.6- 6.0 grains does good things.

[Calamity Jake]

Another RD user but at 4.5 with a 260 RF in a 45 colt case. Been using this load for ever 23 years for CASS.

[bedbugbilly]

I don't shoot CASS but I'll cast a vote for Red Dot as well. I've used real BP, Bulls Eye, Unique, Green Dot and Red Dot out of my Uberti 7 1/2" Cattleman and have had the best results with Red Dot. 6.0 grains of RD under a Lyman 454-190 boolit in a 45 Colt casing is what I stick to now - excellent results for me at 25 and 50 yards. For reduced loads? As Larry says, try some Scofield brass or the 45 cowboy brass from StarLine. Good luck and enjoy!

[Char-Gar]

"Reduced load", is a nebulous concept. Reduced to what, from what? A reduced 44 Magnum load can still be powerful load.

1. In the standard 45 Colt case, I would take Outpost's counsel to heart. That said, 6.0 to 6.5 grains of Bullseye is a factory equivalent load. That would be reduced from the full snort Ruger loads, but would still be a powerful round. My standard 45 Colt load is 6.2 grains of Bullseye under a 250 - 260 grain bullet.

2. The 45 Cowboy Special case is a great case for 45ACP cylinders, but if you are wanting first rate accuracy it won't deliver it in the longer 45 Colt chambers. There is quite a bit of free space the bullet will have to fly before it hits the throat. Cowboy shooting is close and fast and does not demand a high accurate load.

3. A 45 Colt SA with a 45 ACP cylinder installed offers all kinds of options for loading and would be better for accurate truly reduced loads.

[Ed_Shot]

I have success with Red Dot/Promo 6.0 under 200-250 gr. boolits in 45 LC

[FlyfishermanMike]

Hmm, looks like I should finally get some Red Dot.

Like I mentioned this is mainly for my wife, kids and new shooters that want to shoot a big, iconic cartridge. I don't shoot CASS so additional, special cases aren't worth the effort. I do have a 45 ACP cylinder and have loads for that.

Thanks!

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[Cherokee]

My SASS and plinking load for 45 Colt hits about 750 fps from 7.5" Ruger OM. That's 5.3 WST in RP cases and Win LP under my cast RCBS 45-230CM bullet. As for accuracy, here are the results from my Redhawk 7.5" the other day. If I wasn't 76 and had trouble holding steady, the groups would have been smaller.

207826

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Another advantage for Red Dot has been availability. When a lot of powders became difficult to find, Red Dot was not. Them shotgun shooters helped us out.

[FlyfishermanMike]

My SASS and plinking load for 45 Colt hits about 750 fps from 7.5" Ruger OM. That's 5.3 WST in RP cases and Win LP under my cast RCBS 45-230CM bullet.

I love WST in 45 ACP and have wanted to try it in 45 Colt.

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[fredj338]

Alliant Red Dot. I shot #s of it in CAS in 45colt. It does really well in the big 45colt case at modest vel.
BTW guys, w/o the distance, posting groups has little meaning.[smilie=f:

[shootinfox2]

Don’t forget Promo, bulk red dot and is cheaper.

[Walter Laich]

echoing the Red Dot loads: 5.5 gr under 200 is my rifle load.
I take it down a bit when shooting from you Ruger Vaqueros

[tmatt]

I need a recused load for my 45 L/C lever rifle. I'll be using 180 gr, RN Lead. Any suggestions?

[AlaskaMike]

Look at using Trail Boss. It's a much "fluffier" powder than any of the others listed earlier in this thread. I'm a little surprised it wasn't mentioned. It excels in situations like this where you have large case volume.

[Cherokee]

6.0 gr Trail Boss pushing a 230 cast bullet runs fine for me.

[reloader28]

I wont use trail boss because its so darn expensive. Costs almost twice as much

I'm definitely going to try Red dot though. I really like Green dot and HS-6

[1bluehorse]

I wont use trail boss because its so darn expensive. Costs almost twice as much

I'm definitely going to try Red dot though. I really like Green dot and HS-6


While it's true that Trail Boss powder is more expensive than most others it's no where near twice as expensive. A pound of Red Dot at 22.00 dollars a pound (16oz) vs Trail Boss at 16.00 per 9oz. about .40 an oz. more and at 6gr per load (each) TB = 2.4cents per round per bottle and RD= 1.9cents per round per bottle. Give or take a .01cents or two. I know it "seems" to be much more expensive but it's really not all that much, plus it excels for what the OP is looking for. But if a penny or so a round makes a big difference to someone then TB isn't probably their best choice.

[country gent]

Oh now cowboy loads, try the original 45 colt loading case full of 2f black powder card board wad and a 250 grn bullet. enough powder to fill air space with the wad then work up from there. Should start out around 700 fps and working up will slowly increase velocity :-D[smilie=1::-D

[David2011]

I’ve used 6.0 gr of Unique for CAS loads. No bonus points for extra recoil.

[reloader28]

While it's true that Trail Boss powder is more expensive than most others it's no where near twice as expensive. A pound of Red Dot at 22.00 dollars a pound (16oz) vs Trail Boss at 16.00 per 9oz. about .40 an oz. more and at 6gr per load (each) TB = 2.4cents per round per bottle and RD= 1.9cents per round per bottle. Give or take a .01cents or two. I know it "seems" to be much more expensive but it's really not all that much, plus it excels for what the OP is looking for. But if a penny or so a round makes a big difference to someone then TB isn't probably their best choice.


Shoot it if you want to. Your definitely getting it cheaper then me

[USSR]

Never understood the attraction for the donut powder. It's just a one trick pony. Anything it can do can be done by Bullseye, Red Dot and 700X, plus with these powders you can load them up to respectable velocities.

Don

[shootinfox2]

The trailboss “donut” powder was developed to fill large cases with reduced loads. Volume was increased to prevent double charges.

[USSR]

The trailboss “donut” powder was developed to fill large cases with reduced loads. Volume was increased to prevent double charges.

I know WHY it was created, I just don't know why guys buy it. I teach reloading, and having reloading habits that don't allow for double charging a case are taught. If you're in the habit of double charging cases you should perhaps take up another hobby. Just MHO.

Don

[Finn45Colt]

Another gain with Trail boss or VV N320, aka Tinstar, is less variety in muzzle velocity. Compared near fullfilled TB or Tinstar load to small amount fast powder(red dot or VV n310) being either near to primer or near to Boolit?

[PositiveCaster]

Never understood the attraction for the donut powder. It's just a one trick pony. Anything it can do can be done by Bullseye, Red Dot and 700X, plus with these powders you can load them up to respectable velocities...

Never understood why some folks criticize the safe loading practices of others. TB is safer for the average reloader, it reduces the chances for an overload, isn’t position sensitive, and makes money for the maker. Win-win. I guess some folks think everyone else is just like them. Here’s some secret knowledge - they’re not.



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[USSR]

Never understood why some folks criticize the safe loading practices of others. TB is safer for the average reloader, it reduces the chances for an overload...


Hmm, seems to me I was criticizing guys with unsafe reloading practices that allow for dropping double charges. Never realized that the average reloader used unsafe reloading practices. Would love to hear from all these reloaders who find themselves dropping double charges of powder in their cases. We could then have an online discussion about their unsafe practices that lead to this result.

Don

[onelight]

I like red dot for my light loads it works well in a lot of cartridges it has a lot of volume for its weight that makes it easier to see in large cases than more dense powders and it throws consistently with the press and measure I use it in .
If I felt more comfortable with trail boss I would use it , nothing wrong with that choice if it works for you.
Ain't it great we get to choose the powder we like.:razz:

[Littlewolf]

im the ODD duck i recon, i like IMR 4227 in my 45colt loads. i've for years used the 454190 but have recently begun to enjoy the lee 454-255RF due to 6 cavities over 1. in my old model vaquero i'm dropping 18gr charges for my buddy's 44 cap-n-ball conversion to 45colt i drop down to a 12gr charge. neither of which will retain a double charge if it so happens you forget where you are it will spill over and call you things (often dirty names).