What's with the .45 Colt

[Wally]

I have relaoded with cast bullets for years and developed countless accurate loads in all the favorite calibers....38 Special, .357 Mag, .41 Mag, .44 Spl/Mag, .45 ACP even 9mm, 40 S & W, & the .30 M-1 carbine (in a pistol), but the gosh darn .45 Colt---I have never found a satisfactory load no matter what bullet, powder, sizer, etc, etc. that is consistent and gives me the accuarcy that I enjoy routinely enjoy in the other calibers. I treid more with this caliber than any of the others. Quite amazing that my Ruger Superblachawk is like a target gun using .44 Special WC's ..it sports the same length barrel, yet the bullet has to skip a bit to get to the chamber throats....

My gun is a a Ruger Blackhawk with a 7.5" barrel..it slugs out to .451" and the chambers are .451" as well---I size bullets to .452" but have used them as large as .454" and bigger--makes no difference. It also does not lead up on me. Using the ACP cylinder, I do pretty well with a Lee 230 TC-TL with 5.0 grains of Bullseye--sizing to .452"..is this caliber just no capable of providing accuarcy? This gun has been rebarreled and the cylinders were replaced by Ruger---the original cylinders cylinder measured .455~.456". Maybe this caliber is designated as an area fire weapon only...

[DanWalker]

Have you tried 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 250 grain keith?
It's my accuracy load for all my 45's and my friends as well.
My blackhawk will put these into 1"to 1 1/2" groups at 25 yards all day long, if I'm up to the task.

[yondering]

It's not the caliber, it's the gun. It might help a bit to open up the cylinder throats to .452" or .453", and size the boolits to .452". Right now, anything sized over .451" is gettting sized down by the cylinder throats.

[StarMetal]

My three screw Blackhawk with the acp cylinder shoot as good as darn tuned up 1911. I was really shocked because that bullet travels a long way in that cylinder before entering the barrel. The 45 Colt cylinder shoots decent.

Now my S&W Model 25 is amazingly accurate.

Joe

[Rocky Raab]

Wally, unless I missed it you didn't give an idea how it's shooting, just that you aren't happy.

So it might be the gun really is spraying them - or you're just too picky!

It might do wonders to open the cylinders a thousandth or two, as yonderling suggested. Or maybe just lower your standards a whisker, LOL!

[targetshootr]

This gun has been rebarreled and the cylinders were replaced by Ruger---the original cylinders cylinder measured .455~.456"

Never heard of big throats on a 45 Ruger. Too small is the norm. And .451 is way too small to be accurate.

[Gee_Wizz01]

Never heard of big throats on a 45 Ruger. Too small is the norm. And .451 is way too small to be accurate.

My mid-70's made Blackhawk has over-sized ,.455 and shoots OK, it just leads really bad. I think the over sized cylinder throats in Rugers was quite common in the 70's. It is extremely accurate with jacketed bullets, but that is sacreligious in a .45 Colt. My Uberti Cattleman is a tack driver with just about anything that I stuff into the cylinder.

G

[Dale53]

My Bisley Vaquero was rather accurate with soft bullets (30/1 lead/tin) and black powder. I use the Lyman 452664 with Emmert's lube. However, I measured the throats and they were marginally too small. So, I ran a throating reamer in the throats and made them all .4525". I size my bullets to .452". That's as good as I can do. The accuracy IS better (went from 1.5"-2.0" to less than 1.0" although it was NOT terrible.

Dale53

[curator]

My Rugers (Blackhawk, Vaquero, Super Blackhawk) all have had considerable "thread-chokes" where the barrel screwed into the frame. Once I firelapped (thank you Veral Smith) this out and cleaned up the forcing cones they shot great! Best results with .45 Colt: groove diameter .452, chamber throat: .4525, bullet diameter;.453 to .454. .45 colt is an accurate cartridge in a wheel gun if you get it set up properly and shoot quality boolits.

[Dale53]

I believe a lot of inaccuracy with cast bullets is the use of commercial bullets which are often too hard. Cast bullets using WW's +2% tin work very well up to above 1000 fps. If I am shooting full charge magnum loads (above 1200 fps) I prefer a harder alloy (about 16 bhn). When you cast your own bullets, you can tailor the bullet alloy to the use.

Dale53

[StrawHat]

Wally,

What are you looking for in a load? I mean what powder, velocity and group size are you happy with?

In 45 Colt I like black powder and a 255 grain keith boolit but that is not ideal for everyone. It is a great load, accurate and gives good penetration.

[badgeredd]

Never heard of big throats on a 45 Ruger. Too small is the norm. And .451 is way too small to be accurate.

My Bisley is a late 70s model with .455 cylinder throats and a .4515 barrel. Like Dale53, I've found better accuracy with a softer alloy. Since I also have a Colt and a Vaquero, Ive loaded all of my ammo at 900 fps. If I want a "magnum" load, I water drop 50/50 pure/WWs for the Rugers and use a faster load with the Keith type at 1150-1200 fps in the Bisley. The Vaquero likes the 454291 better. I haven't yet found a uniformly accurate load for all three guns, but found that the Bisley does better with stout loads while the Vaquero does decently with about anything. I'm happy with a 2" or so group at 25 yds. which is usually better than I can shoot the guns consistently.

Edd

[Cherokee]

I would have the cylinder throats opened to .4525, then try using 452 like I use. I get good accuracy.

[Wally]

Wally,

What are you looking for in a load? I mean what powder, velocity and group size are you happy with?

In 45 Colt I like black powder and a 255 grain keith boolit but that is not ideal for everyone. It is a great load, accurate and gives good penetration.

Looking for a load in the 800~900 FPS range that will allow me to consitently hit my 12" plate at 75 yards as I can with the other calibers... I don't expect it to be a target gun by any means. I have used Black Powder with other guns...it is just too messy for my liking.

[Wally]

Wally,

What are you looking for in a load? I mean what powder, velocity and group size are you happy with?

In 45 Colt I like black powder and a 255 grain keith boolit but that is not ideal for everyone. It is a great load, accurate and gives good penetration.


I believe a lot of inaccuracy with cast bullets is the use of commercial bullets which are often too hard. Cast bullets using WW's +2% tin work very well up to above 1000 fps. If I am shooting full charge magnum loads (above 1200 fps) I prefer a harder alloy (about 16 bhn). When you cast your own bullets, you can tailor the bullet alloy to the use.

Dale53

I use bullets that I cast from straight WW metal

[cajun shooter]

Wally, If you would quit wearing that black tie outfit to shoot BP maybe you enjoy it more. Later David

[Groo]

Groo here
Get some Hornity lead 45colt bullets or any with s hollow base.
load to about 775 to 8oo fps. shoot at about 10 yds.
If they will not shoot it is the gun

[Wally]

My Rugers (Blackhawk, Vaquero, Super Blackhawk) all have had considerable "thread-chokes" where the barrel screwed into the frame. Once I firelapped (thank you Veral Smith) this out and cleaned up the forcing cones they shot great! Best results with .45 Colt: groove diameter .452, chamber throat: .4525, bullet diameter;.453 to .454. .45 colt is an accurate cartridge in a wheel gun if you get it set up properly and shoot quality boolits.

That may well be the case, but I have other Rugers that suffer from this and they are accurate---they will lead up (the .45 does not). However it would seem that this worked for you and that woudl be my next step to solve the problem. I get more "flyers" in the .45 Colt than with any other pistol, so that may well be the problem.

[Cherokee]

Wally - with that additional info, I stay with what I said above. I can hit 50 and 75 yd 12" steel rounds with my Blackhawks, Redhawk and lever action rifles. Blackhawk is 451 bl and 4525 throats with 452 bullets cast from wheel weights & tin. I don't have any thread chokes.

[Wally]

Wally, unless I missed it you didn't give an idea how it's shooting, just that you aren't happy.

So it might be the gun really is spraying them - or you're just too picky!

It might do wonders to open the cylinders a thousandth or two, as yonderling suggested. Or maybe just lower your standards a whisker, LOL!

Looking to get the same accuracy level that i get with the other calibers mentioned---ideally woudl like to be able to hit a 12" disk at 50~75 yards six out of six shots as I can do with the other calibers mentioned ..on a good day, that is!

[Wally]

Have you tried 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 250 grain keith?
It's my accuracy load for all my 45's and my friends as well.
My blackhawk will put these into 1"to 1 1/2" groups at 25 yards all day long, if I'm up to the task.

I did use 6.0 grains of Red Dot with that bullet both with and w/o a filler...lets' jsut say that it's performance was not good at all. Using a Chronograph I had the worst spreads that I ever had with any gun and load. Using 7,0 grains of HP-38 with a filler is the best load that I have used so far, but it still is not as accurate as I'd like.

[Wally]

My mid-70's made Blackhawk has over-sized ,.455 and shoots OK, it just leads really bad. I think the over sized cylinder throats in Rugers was quite common in the 70's. It is extremely accurate with jacketed bullets, but that is sacreligious in a .45 Colt. My Uberti Cattleman is a tack driver with just about anything that I stuff into the cylinder.

G

I bought mine in 1980. The orginal cylinders throats were @ .455~.456". The ejector screw head snapped off and I returned to Ruger. They replaced the barrel & the cylinders. The replacement cylinders are @ .451~.452"--trying to push a sizer .452" bullet through them takes some effort. The barrel is at .451". The old barrel/cylinder would lead up but the new ones do not.

[TAWILDCATT]

how about 9 gr unique behind a 255 cast WW.my 9.5 gives 980 fps cronyed.

[Larry Gibson]

how about 9 gr unique behind a 255 cast WW.my 9.5 gives 980 fps cronyed.


Wally

That is always my best powder for standard 250-260 gr Keith bullets; 8 - 9 gr of Unique.

BTW; what particular mould?

Also have you tried the 200 gr RF "cowboy" bullets or any of the 190 -205 gr SWC .45 ACP bullets? Both of those over over 7.5 gr of Bullseye shoot very well in my Uberti .45 Colt and M92.

Larry Gibson

[Wally]

Larry,

I used 8.0 grains of Unique earlier thsi month with teh RCBS 250 RNF & 255 Kieth bullets--the accuracy was not very good, but better than with Red Dot or Bullseye powders. Years ago I tried the RCBS 200 grain RF bullet and the accuracy was horrible. Also tried a Lee 230 TC-TL which was also terrible.

[Wally]

how about 9 gr unique behind a 255 cast WW.my 9.5 gives 980 fps cronyed.

I used 8.0 grains of Unique with a filler---

with the RCBS 250 RNG I got 918 avg FPS--with a 80 FPS spread

with the RCBS 255 grain Kieth---854 Avg FPS and a 132.7 FPS spread

Using the Lee 230 TC-TL and 9.0 grains of Unique the Avg velocity was 983 FPS with a 199 FPS spread (terrible)

[fredj338]

I can do that w/ my 45colt RBH using the RCBS 270grLSWC o/ 8-9gr of Unique. I size to 0.452" & my cyl. throats measure 0.452".

[felix]

Go to a faster powder, Wally! Those spreads are too much for anything over 50 feet or so. GreenDot, Bullseye, etc., should do much better. ... felix

[TAWILDCATT]

wait a minute what is the problem the accuracy or the spread of velocity??to a certain extent spread does not show any thing.either you cant shoot or the gun is poor.I have an old ruger 7 1/2 and it shoots fine for me.dont know how tight a group but it hits what I aim at.:coffeecom

[Larry Gibson]

Wally

Does that revolver shoot jacketed bullets to your liking?

Larry Gibson

[Wally]

I have used Bullseye ...

6.0 to be exact---

250 RCBS RNF----815 avg velocity with a 60 FPS spread

255 RCBS Kieth---790 avg velocity with a 68 fps spread

Std Deviations were wonderful @ 17 & 22 FPS respectively....

BUt..the accuracy was horrible...past 25 yards I could rarely hit the 12" plate
.................................................. ..............................

6.0 of Red Dot with te RCBS 250 RNF---

780 avg fps---but a spread of 140 fps--with a std dev of a pitiful 79 fps...

[felix]

Stay with that BE load until you get the accuracy up by changing diameters, hardness, seating friction, et.al. ... felix

[Wally]

Felix---

It is worth investigating further---I woudl guess that tweaking the charge a bit may be the answer. BTW I always use a poly filler when loading the .45 Colt.

[Wally]

Wally

Does that revolver shoot jacketed bullets to your liking?

Larry Gibson

I have never used jackets bullets in this caliber---I did use the Speer 250 SWC swaged bullets and the accuarcy was absolutely horrible---so bad that I pulled the bullets, as they weren't worth shooting. However they were .452" in diamter and that is when the cylinder throats were at .455~.456"...

[Wally]

wait a minute what is the problem the accuracy or the spread of velocity??to a certain extent spread does not show any thing.either you cant shoot or the gun is poor.I have an old ruger 7 1/2 and it shoots fine for me.dont know how tight a group but it hits what I aim at.:coffeecom

The problem is accuracy--to be specific the lack of accuracy

With my Ruger Superblackhawk using .44 Special brass, on a good day, I can hit a 6" plate at 75 yards using WC bullets (Lee 208)...I would like to do the same with the .45 Colt even at half that distance.

[Frank]

This thead is a joke. Imagine Wally's got his target at 75 yds while all the advice people have targets at 25 yds. "Yeah, Wally, looky here!, my BP load put's it in the moonshiner w/8 grns of bull, why that's 2" or less at 25 yds better than I can shoot!" Wally's the idiot for not discovering what they discovered.

What Wally's pointing out is there is a difference between 25 yds and longer ranges.
25 yds means nothing. You can shoot a 1/2 group at 25 yds and be all off the paper at 50 yds.

[Wally]

Frank...

Yes, that is exactly true... I have a range that allows me to shoot steel plates at out to 250 yards. For pistols I shoot at 75 yards at plates ranging from 3.5" to 12" in diameter. I have little interest in shooting at 25 yards anymore.

[Dale53]

Frank;
It's nice to know that most of us are idiots here.


Dale53

[bigboredad]

hey Wally I have a miod 70's blackhawk that i bought a couple of years ago and did not notice the barrel was pitted{note to self use a bore light when inspecting the bore} but it loves the lee 340 grain that is meant for the .45.70 i also like to shoot long so far at 50 I'm too lazy to walk another 25 lately i can cover all shots with the palm of my hand it i cast straight ww and air cool them it doesn't matter what powder I use I've tried unique universal h110/296 and lil gun my gun just loves that bullet

[Wally]

bigboredad

I had heard that the .45 Colt Blackhawk seems to prefer heavier bullets. My results show that the lightest bullets are by far the worst preformers.

[yondering]

bigboredad

I had heard that the .45 Colt Blackhawk seems to prefer heavier bullets. My results show that the lightest bullets are by far the worst preformers.

Try the Lee 255 RF. I don't like the 200gr RF either, but the 255 has been more accurate in my guns than any of the keith style boolits. The recommendation above for the Lee 340gr is also good, although a very similar (and much better) boolit is the Lyman 457122 (??) 330gr HP. I size this down to .452 and have found it to be my most accurate 45 Colt boolit.

Make sure you're casting them hard too. All my 45 Colts have shot poorly with soft cast boolits; to be honest, the hard 255-SWC commercial boolits by Aardvark have shot as well as anything I've cast myself in a similar weight.

With Unique, try bumping up the charge a little bit to 10 grains. Maybe that's more oomph than you want, but I find it burns better and is more accurate when it builds a little more pressure.

[Wally]

I have used it in the past but not with the new barrel and cylinder. As I recall it did not do well and I sold it and purchased theRCBS .45 Cal molds. Also tried the Lee 255 SWC as wel.l

It may well be that I have to use a larger charge of Unique and perhaps Bullseye. Would probably be best to try at 0.5 grain increments.

I cast mine from WW that I quench from the mold in a bucket of cold water.

[fredj338]

Felix---

It is worth investigating further---I woudl guess that tweaking the charge a bit may be the answer. BTW I always use a poly filler when loading the .45 Colt.

The poly filler may be causing you issues. Try loading w/o it. I have never used a filler, never. I've shot 1000s of rounds from several 45colts. Even my mousefart loads using ReDot will get show good accuracy to 50yds. I would not water quench either fo rvel. under 1000fps. Straight ww work fine.

[Wally]

I have done so--I always got the best results with it than without. However I should try using air cooled cast WW bullets. That might well make a difference as you suggest. Accuracy at 50 yards is all that I am looking for with this caliber.

[targetshootr]

Unless it a blistering load, ac ww should do it. Here's a 45 I pieced together myself from factory parts.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/DSCN0095.jpg

[Cherokee]

Wally - the loads I use for 50 & 75 yd steel shooting are air cooled and I don't get any leading. My RCBS 45-255 SWC does well for me, as does the RCBS 45-230CM.

[9.3X62AL]

Wally--

Those ES and SD figures seem awfully wide for the relatively fast powders you are using.

What is the outside dimension of your die set's expander spud? If you are loading .452" boolits into a case mouth expanded by a .447" spud--you are reducing the boolit diameter while seating and setting up a scenario for erratic combustion--inaccuracy--and leading.

The more I pursue this issue of undersized-for-application expander spuds, the more I reduce erratic downrange results.

[Frozone]

Never heard of big throats on a 45 Ruger. Too small is the norm. And .451 is way too small to be accurate.

My SRH in 454 has oversized throats in the .4555 range.
That will drop velocity but doesn't really hurt the accuracy.

What kills the accuracy in Rugers is the tight spot under the frame.
That same Redhawk of mine slugs at .4525 but had a .451 tight spot an inch or so in front of the forcing cone.

Fire lapping and a forcing cone change (11deg) fixed things. It shoots OK, but I really should send it back to Ruger and have the cylinder replaced with a tight one I can ream to correct size.

[bigboredad]

hey wally what frozone is saying about the tight spot may be your whole problem also pull a couple of boolits and che to make sure thay haven't got an extra squeeze from your dies if you haven't already done that. I have been air cooling my boolts for the ww and that seems to have helped a little but I would not think that is the cause for your problems

[Frank]

More power, heavy bullets. Get yourself some H110/W296 and some 300 grn bullets, jacketed or cast. Load'em to the top. If it doesn't shoot, send the cylinder out. Slug the throat and bore, both spots. If there's a constriction, call Ruger and ask for a delivery pick-up.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I own a Ruger NV SS with a 4 5/8” barrel. The chambers uniformly measure .451 and the barrel is just ever so slightly tighter. Unlike most people I have in no way modified my Ruger simply because right out of the box it was an awesome shooter. 1.5” groups at 25yards are normal. 250gr boolits have always been the most accurate for me, with the Lyman 454190 boolit being the most accurate in a verity of 45Colts including my Vaquero. 5.8gr of Trail Boss is an exceptionally accurate load. I have also had good results with 8.0gr of Unique. Bullseye is also another good powder. Oh, and do not forget Black Powder, contrary to what the “expurts” say, a 45Colt loaded with BP is very accurate.

Your gun being a Blackhawk can handle some serious 45 loads. AA#9 gave me excellent results in 45+P loads with boolits in the 250~300gr weight range. Good luck.

[T-Bird]

I shoot 3" groups at 50 all day long from a sandbag rest, 2 power leupold on top, with my Bisley 7.5. I had the chamber throats reamed to .4525, the forcing cone cut to 11 degrees and a trigger job. The gun is around 10yrs old. I shoot 11grAA#5 under the RCBS SAA 270gr sized .452 for 900ish fps. Shoot straight, T-Bird

[mtgrs737]

I had The Cylindersmith ream and hone my throats to .453" and I size my Lyman 454190's to .453" ahead of a load of 8grs. of Unique or 7grs. of Red Dot for a sweet shootin 5 1/2" New Vaquero. I would check for a tight spot in the barrel but other than that it should shoot well as long as the throats are large enough to get the boolit into the barrel at .001" to .002" over groove dia.

[Wally]

Wally--

Those ES and SD figures seem awfully wide for the relatively fast powders you are using.

What is the outside dimension of your die set's expander spud? If you are loading .452" boolits into a case mouth expanded by a .447" spud--you are reducing the boolit diameter while seating and setting up a scenario for erratic combustion--inaccuracy--and leading.

The more I pursue this issue of undersized-for-application expander spuds, the more I reduce erratic downrange results.

I measured it and it is 0.450" so I don't think that is the problem

[Wally]

My SRH in 454 has oversized throats in the .4555 range.
That will drop velocity but doesn't really hurt the accuracy.

What kills the accuracy in Rugers is the tight spot under the frame.
That same Redhawk of mine slugs at .4525 but had a .451 tight spot an inch or so in front of the forcing cone.

Fire lapping and a forcing cone change (11deg) fixed things. It shoots OK, but I really should send it back to Ruger and have the cylinder replaced with a tight one I can ream to correct size.

I would guess that this is my problem and something that I have to work on. I have teh same problem with a Ruger SS Blackhawk in the .357 Magnum caliber, but it is very accurate. As the barrel leads up, I clean it after so many shots by passing a tight patch of cloth and aluminum flyscreen that easily cleans out the accumulated lead. As it is so accurate I do not want to mess with it.

[JRR]

Fire lapping or hand lapping is a good first place to start. There are often tight spots in the barrel where it is screwed into the frame.

Another thing to check is the case size at the pressure ring, after resizing, just above the extraction groove. Measure a fired case that has been re-sized and then measure the entrance to the chamber. If there is a big difference and the case is a loose fit, the bullet will be started off out of alignment with the bore.

You can get a RCBS plain steel sizing die, not carbide, that has a slight taper and will provide a much better fit in the chamber. Another fix is to just "neck size" the fired case, leaving the base a perfect fit in the chamber with perfect alignment.

Jeff

[Wally]

Jeff...

Ahh..you might have just given me the answer. The .45 Colt cases are very loose in the Ruger cylinder--much moreso than all other revolver calibers that I use.... I did notice this and what you've stated is something that I should have figured out on my own. I just resized 300 cases using the RCBS carbide sizer die and they require much more effort than even a .44 Magnum. What I should do is to resize the necks only (the first 0.50~.75" of the case neck and I bet that will solve the problem--- Will have to try this--I bet you are correct and that this will do the trick. Thank you..a most brilliant observation! I also may just get me a steel Sizer die as you suggest, but will neck szie with the RCBS carbide sizer die to see what happens first. With the steel tapered sizer die one can adjust how much it sizes the case for the best fit.

[JRR]

Thanks Wally for saying I'm brilliant. My 12 year old son thinks I am the dumbest guy he has ever experienced. I can't wait for him to start seeing me in the mirror!

I learned about the tapered chamber of the 45 Colt about 15-20 years ago in one of the hand-loading columns.

With my 45 Colt RCBS sizing die, I get .480" at the pressure ring. A fired case that has not been re-sized measures .482". I don't have a carbide die, but suspect that the measurement will be approx. .475 or less. A carbide die can only size the same dimension all the way from top to bottom. With the steel die, the bullet tension is excellent and the base is of proper size.

Don't forget case lube....

Jeff

[Wally]

A factory loaded case measures .468" 1/2" from the rim...a resized case measures .474" when sized with my RCBS carbide sizer...the back of the Ruger's cylinder is .485" in diameter--so a resized case has .017" of slop in it (that's .43mm)...so your theory makes all the sense in the world..thanks again for the revelation--tell that son of yours how smart you are! I cannot wait to try out firing unsized fired cases that have been neck sized only---I have set my RCBS carbide sizer die to do just that...I'll have to decap seperately. Thanks ever so much again--glad I started this thread.

[Wally]

Last weekend I took my .45 Colt to my range. I set up a 12" steel plate at 75 yards and had with me 300 rounds of the 250 grain RCBS RNF bullet loaded with 6.5 grains of Red Dot. I carefully and slowly fired at the plate doing all in my power to hold it steady and to hit it... It was quite windy with a 10~20 MPH+ wind with gusts... I hit the plate quite often, but I found that every so often I'd hit a good 12" to the left of the plate. Also, some rounds had a softer report ..from previous use of the chronograph I knew the veloicity was 100~200 less than the average of 800 FPS...however these were not the cause of the flyers, one feet to the left of the plate. I have concluded it was me not the gun or the load. I am used to bullets traveling a bit faster (1,000~1,200 FPS)...so what I have concluded is that with the longer (in the barrel) time I am not holding the gun steady long enough. IOW shooters error...

With the fired brass, I plan on neck sizing and loading with 8.0 grains of Unique and seeing what the difference might be..I think I will be surprised that it will be more accurate--as long as I hold it steady a bit longer!

[C1PNR]

Um, just another idiot checking in.

I've been shooting my early 70's .45 Colt Blackhawk for years with 454424, 452423, and 452460 cast with accuracy tested and established initally at 25 yards.

Once I have the load established, why should I shoot any more paper? So now it's to the field, where the proof really is in the pudding.

Sometimes I've gone back to the 25 yard test bed to refine what I thought was a good field load that just didn't pan out.

BTW, I like the velocity of my loads to be closer to 900 to 1,050, or maybe just a little faster. The BH will handle it.

I've found that boolit fit really does matter.

[Wally]

Yes, I would guess that a slighty faster velocity would be preferable. I see no reason to go with loads past 900 FPS as this caliber not a .44 Magnum. I do enjoy shouting the .45 Colt with it's heavy, fat bullet. The bullets strikes look marvelous when they hit those steel plates. Same thing with a .45-70 at a few hundred yards.

[KCSO]

When i tune a Ruger I will usually have to open the cylinder throats to a uniform dimension and 45 Colts liike yours are usually undersized. I prefer .452 if I can get them all the same. in addition Rures have the roughest forcing cones and I ream (11 degree) and polish these to a mirror finish and then lap the barrel lightly from the breech to the muzzle. In the last 44-40 I did the accuracy went from 3 1/2" at 25 yards to just at 1".

[44man]

I use heavy boolits in my early Vaquero for deer hunting. The throats needed lapped out but I did nothing to the barrel. I use the Lee 300 gr and the Lyman 320 gr that comes out of the mold at 347 gr. I use 21.5 gr of 296 with a Fed 150 primer for both boolits. My alloy is water dropped WW's or a harder alloy. The harder shoots better.
I can NOT shoot open sights from bags so I shoot Creedmore to get the sights farther from my eyes.
One day I was sighting it at 75 yards to see where each boolit shot to. The Lee was a little left of the bull and the Lyman was a little right. I was a little shocked when I got to the target as both boolits printed an inch for 5 shots.
Then I got into an argument over accuracy so I grabbed 5 of each and went down to shoot these groups at 50 yards, Creedmore.
Yeah fellas, I was surprised too but the gun will do it.

[44man]

Notice the Pachmeyer grips? The gun kicks like a .475! :drinks:
I have killed a deer off hand at better then 100 yards and this one was shot at 76 yards.

[257 Shooter]

44 Man! That is some fine shooting!!!!

[Dale53]

44man;
That is some fine shooting, indeed!

I had to grin when I saw the Pachmayr grips. I adopted Pachmayr's when they first came out and I am still a BIG fan. I have them on nearly all of my revolvers.

The base of my shooting thumb is sensitive to recoil in anything exceeding a .38 Special. With the Pachmayr's, even my .375 JDJ TC Contender is a reasonable handgun to shoot.

Dale53

[Wally]

When i tune a Ruger I will usually have to open the cylinder throats to a uniform dimension and 45 Colts liike yours are usually undersized. I prefer .452 if I can get them all the same. in addition Rures have the roughest forcing cones and I ream (11 degree) and polish these to a mirror finish and then lap the barrel lightly from the breech to the muzzle. In the last 44-40 I did the accuracy went from 3 1/2" at 25 yards to just at 1".

I am lucky as Ruger replaced the barrel & the cylinders (I have a .45 ACP cylinder as well) in mine. The cylinder throats are .451~.452" and the barrel is .451". When I shoot it I never get any leading in it.

[44man]

Notice the tenderonies I shoot. Wonderful eating and we are over run with deer so they need thinned bad.
I wished some of you lived closer, come and get a deer. I will put you in a stand.

[Jumping Frog]

. . .over run with deer so they need thinned bad.
I wished some of you lived closer, come and get a deer. I will put you in a stand.
What part of the country are you talking about? :bigsmyl2:

[44man]

What part of the country are you talking about? :bigsmyl2:
I am from Ohio but had to move to WV after a layoff. I live in Bakerton, near Harpers Ferry.

[jack19512]

I am from Ohio but had to move to WV after a layoff. I live in Bakerton, near Harpers Ferry.







Ever hear of a place called Ravenswood?

[44man]

Ever hear of a place called Ravenswood?
Don't remember the name. Been here 23 years and stuff is fading. I lived in Cleveland, Elyria and North Ridgeville. I worked for UAL at Hopkins, transferred to Dulles. I retired after 42 years with them.

[jar-wv]

Ever hear of a place called Ravenswood?

Ravenswood is on the other side of the state from you 44man. Between Parkersburg and Charleston. I'm near Clarksburg.

Has anyone here lapped their own 45 Blackhawk throats? I have 2 Cylinders I need to do and am cotemplating trying it, but don't want to ruin anything.

jar

[44man]

Ravenswood is on the other side of the state from you 44man. Between Parkersburg and Charleston. I'm near Clarksburg.

Has anyone here lapped their own 45 Blackhawk throats? I have 2 Cylinders I need to do and am cotemplating trying it, but don't want to ruin anything.

jar
I lapped the first cylinder with a split rod wrapped in fine wet or dry paper. It took a long time because you need to make the paper a little longer as it cuts so it wraps larger. I went slow until my boolit would just squeeze through a throat with my thumb. Then went to the next.
Changed my gun from 6" at 25 to the groups I showed at 50.

[jack19512]

Ravenswood is on the other side of the state from you 44man. Between Parkersburg and Charleston. I'm near Clarksburg.







The reason I mentioned Ravenswood is because that is where I spent most of my youth. I was hoping 44 man might be close to there because I am familiar with the area. I might have dropped by to see what he thought about my Ruger 44 mag.

[44man]

The worst thing is that we all live so far apart.

[Butler Ford]

It's not the caliber, it's the gun. It might help a bit to open up the cylinder throats to .452" or .453", and size the boolits to .452". Right now, anything sized over .451" is gettting sized down by the cylinder throats.

With the information provided, this is my first impression as well


:bigsmyl2:


[smilie=w:

[Bear4570]

My 4 5/8" blackhawk was also .451 barrel and cylinder throats. Got moderate accuracy with 6.0 gr Red Dot and 250 Keith. Sent the cylinder off to the Cylindersmith and had him ream it to .4525 as I size my bullets to .452.

Cut my group sizes in half. Ended up having do all three of my blackhawks and got the same results with each one.

Another very accurate load that I use in my blackhawks is 18.5 2400 under a 250 Keith.

http://www.cylindersmith.com/