bullet mold for a 45 Colt Ruger Redhawk?

[catboat]

I just picked up a used stainless Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt, with a 5.5" barrel. I want to shoot cast bullets in it. The throats measure on the tight side at ~ .449-.450" (not .452"). I will have the throats opened up to .452" or so.

I am asking the board if anyone shooting a 45 Colt can make a recommendation for a bullet mold. I was leaning toward the RCBS SWC 270 grain plain base (Scovell sp? design). I have a 45 acp 1911a1 Springfield-and have two 200 grain SWC molds from that outfit that will serve as my light loads (Lyman and SAECO).

Anyone know what the "as cast" diameter of the RCBS 45-270 swc, using straight wheel weights?

Other 45 colt molds on the list for consideration:
RCBS 255 grain SWC
Lyman 250 grain SWC plain base
Lyman 250 grain gas check (Thompson design).

Not looking for 300+ grain bombers. Intended purpose is paper punching, steel can ventilation, knocking rocks out of gravel pit walls, and perhaps a whitetail deer at woods ranges.

Any real life feedback of what has, and hasn't worked for you with a 45 Colt?Reports of "as cast" diameters of you bullets would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[beagle]

The .45 Colt from my experience with a Ruger is not picky at all when it comes to bullets. My favorite is the 454190 Lyman.

Others are the various RCBS offerings and the 45-270 is probably a good choice if you want one that heavy. If you want to push a GC...the Lyman 452490.

Of course old Elmer's 452424 is good as well.

Many, many choices and they're all good/beagle

[zxcvbob]

Lee 230 grain truncated cone is good. (should be good in .45ACP too) I use the "tumble lube" version and roll crimp into the top little grease goove.

[DGV]

Both of the above mentioned bullets I have molds for. The RCBS 45-255 is my favorite. It casts a boolit that weighs 260 grains.( WW +2% tin) The best part is that the boolits fall from this mold right at .454. The .45 -270 weight with WW+ 2% tin is just uner 278 grains, but drops them at about .4535. The best I can measure. Both are great molds. I only wish RCBS would make a 4 cavity. 2 cavity is just too slow.

[fredj338]

I shoot that mold in my RBH. It will cast a 280gr bullet from straight ww & run almost 0.454". I had Erik @ HPMS HP one cav & it throws a nice LSWCHP from 250gr-270gr depending on the pin chosen. The 268gr expands quite nicely cast 25-1.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/452-268-1K.jpg

[Catshooter]

The only way to know the as-cast diameter of any given mould is to cast, then measure. Sorry, but that's the un-varnished truth. And a pain in the neck it is, too.

Diameter is also dependant on the alloy used. I have a 454424 that casts .453 with 25 parts pb to 75 parts wheel weights. With pure lead only it drops .458.

The .45 Colt is very versitle, esp in the Ruger, and often works well from 200 to 350 grains, if it shoots at all. Have fun!


Cat

[Tim357]

Lyman 452424 or equivalent. Used that one a lot when I had my Ruger Blackhawk. 10.0 gr Unique was a damfine general purpose load.

[Heavy lead]

RCBS270SAA all the way. Mine casts .454, it's a fine mould. I've tried two new Lyman .452424, both only would cast an egg shaped boolit .448 x .450, worthless. I like the .454190 (the new ones cast .455 for me) for light duty. I have one of Swede Nelson's .454424 group buys that closes on Monday on order, and I have every expectation to make this 5 cavity mould my go to 45 mould. I also shoot a lot of the Lee 310 grain round flat. My alloy I use is 50/50 pure/ww with some tin added.

[R.C. Hatter]

I have used Lyman #454190 and #454424 with good success in Rugers over the years.
The #454190 closely resembles the factory bullets in their loads, and may give a bit more accuracy.

[geargnasher]

I just picked up a used stainless Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt, with a 5.5" barrel. I want to shoot cast bullets in it. The throats measure on the tight side at ~ .449-.450" (not .452"). I will have the throats opened up to .452" or so. What's the bore and groove?

I am asking the board if anyone shooting a 45 Colt can make a recommendation for a bullet mold. I was leaning toward the RCBS SWC 270 grain plain base (Scovell sp? design). I have a 45 acp 1911a1 Springfield-and have two 200 grain SWC molds from that outfit that will serve as my light loads (Lyman and SAECO).
Those should be fine for plinking.
Anyone know what the "as cast" diameter of the RCBS 45-270 swc, using straight wheel weights? I don't have that mould and I always add some tin, plus there are just too many variances to predict.

Other 45 colt molds on the list for consideration:
RCBS 255 grain SWC My revolvers all shoot better with rnfp designs than swcs.
Lyman 250 grain SWC plain base This, like most Lyman moulds, is likely to cast WAY undersize for .452" with WW.
Lyman 250 grain gas check (Thompson design).

I've run the gamut in .45 Colt and still haven't found a good mould in 250 gr rnfp range. Many either are undersized or don't cast well. I would suggest a Lyman 452664 if you don't mind having the driving bands enlarged, and cast slow because it has small blocks and overheats. It also has a bevel-base, which is not evident in Lyman's pictures/drawings, but this boolit shoots very well in my guns after I lapped it .002". Also the 454190 Lyman is super for the pistol, I would recommend it for the good flat-base, and mine drops boolits at .453" with my ww + 2% tin mix, perfect for sizing .452". Just no good for the rifles due to primer-sized flat point.

Not looking for 300+ grain bombers. Intended purpose is paper punching, steel can ventilation, knocking rocks out of gravel pit walls, and perhaps a whitetail deer at woods ranges.

Any real life feedback of what has, and hasn't worked for you with a 45 Colt?Reports of "as cast" diameters of you bullets would be appreciated.
The Lee 250grain 2-cavity is semi-ok, just my particular mould has alignment pin issues and the cull rate is over 50% . I think it would be much better in a 6-banger, the design and cast size is fine for .452" sizing.
Thanks in advance.

Hope this helps,

Gear

[azrednek]

My favorite for 45 Colt in my Ruger is the gas checked Saeco # 945. The Saeco # 458 is the same as the 945 with a flat base and nearly a carbon copy of the Lyman 45424. For casual plinking I'm really fond of the Saeco #453. I also use the 453, a 225gr full wad cutter in my S&W 45 Auto Rim and ACP in my Ruger's convertible cylinder also. It is incredibly accurate with mild to medium loads. Accuracy falls off though if I push it with hot loads. The Saeco 945 with a gas check has been the best so far with shot to shot accuracy. I've loaded the 945 with mild loads of 4.0 Bullseye up through the Ruger only loads with a healthy charge of 2400 and it clusters better than any others I've tried.

http://www.redding-reloading.com/PDFfiles/bulletchart.pdf

I also like the Lee 200gr with the flat round nose. The slugs from my Saeco moulds don't cycle smoothly through my 45 Colt Rossi rifle. The Lee boolits do ok in my and my friend's Rugers but not as accurate as the Saecos.

[Lloyd Smale]

I know you dont want this recomendation but here it is anyway. Ive actually had poor luck with cosistant accuracy and especially long range accuracy with most lighter 45 bullets. If i had to chose only one bullet to use in ruger blackhawks and especially the redhawk it would be the rcbs 300 swcgc. If recoil is a consern slow it down a bit. Ive killed a pile of game with that bullet at about 1100 fps and believe me it does the trick and recoil isnt much more then factory 44 mag stuff. It is probably the most consistantly accurate bullet in all of my 45s and 454s and it flys real well at long range. To me its a 45 bullet i couldnt live without. In my experience the lighter 45 especially the swcs can be a bugger to get an accuarte load with. It can be done but expect to spend some time on the bench.

[Whitespider]

My experience(s) with heavies (270-grs +) is limited so I can’t speak to them.
Like felix, I’m becoming fond of the Ideal/Lyman #454190. My mold is an older one, drops at 262-grains and .458/.459-inch diameter (WW + 2% tin), which is just fine because of the .455-inch throats in my Ruger. It shoots better than any SWC I’ve used, or at least it requires considerably less load work to get it shooting well. I believe this is, at least in part, because it seats deeper in the case than a SWC, leaving less unoccupied space with smokeless powders. I just started messin’ with it this summer and haven’t punched any holes in paper beyond 25-yards... yet; but, I have banged my 75-yard gong, shooting off-hand, with consistent regularity. My only complaint would be the small diameter “flat” on the nose, but if that were changed it wouldn’t be a 454190... Would it?