What is your favorite 45 Colt load? It can be BP or smokeless and of course the projectile must be lead.
R.
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What is your favorite 45 Colt load? It can be BP or smokeless and of course the projectile must be lead.
R.
Mine is 18gr of 2400 w/255gr 452423kt style boolit for a "business" load.
7.5 universal same boolit, sometimes a 452190 for an easy load. Mix brass, any primer I can get, Win, Wolf, Rem, CCI, etc. These are for a Ruger Blackhawk and the 2400 is a bit stiff.
Lately I am shooting a 250 gr RF PB bullet with 6 gr of WST. This load shoots to POA with my colt clone from Cimeron and recoils about like 6 gr of red dot does. I am using this load because I got a great deal on an 8 pound bottle of this powder and need to use it or buy something else. So far I have found good loads for 38Spl, 45 acp, 45 colt and I am experimenting with 9mm right now.
Good morning
17 grains 2400 with a Lee 265 PBFN of 50/50 (WW-Lead) in my Ruger 7.5 barrel.
18 grains 2400 same boolit in my Rossi Rifle 20 " (Old Interarms import)
Same Boolit & 8 grains Unique in either one....
Have a couple that I'm using for right now
8.5gr Unique, Lee 200gr RFN @ ~815fps(powder puff for noobs)
7.0gr TiteGroup, 454190 or 454424 @ 950fps(nice '+P' load, IMO)
If I try to push them any faster at this point, accuracy goes to pot. The throats in my 5.5" Blackhawk are still small and haven't had a chance to send it to cylindersmith. Want to keep it handy during deer seasons while stomping around in the woods. After the first of the year, I'm planning on sending the cylinder off for doctoring.
6.5 grains of Red Dot and either a 454424 or a 320 grain hammer boolit.
18.5 grains of 2400 under a hammer is what gets loaded when i'm in the bear woods.
My carry load for my S&W 4" .45 Colt Mountain gun and my Blackhawks and original Vaqueros is the Lee 250 RNFP of WCWW lubed with 2 light layers of LLA over 8.0 grains of Win 231. My heavy (for my needs) load for my Rugers is the RCBS 275 CAA of ACWW (285 grains) with the same lube over 13.0 of HS-6. This load is particularly accurate out of my scoped 7.5" Blackhawk. I've tried it in the Smith, but is more than I like in that light gun. That having been said, however, I would carry it with that load if I needed a backup gun for bear or large hogs.
:arrow: I find that 8 to 8.5 grs. of Unique under either Lyman #454424 or #454190 lit off by CCI Lg. Pistol primers are very satisfactory for my 4 5/8" O.M. Ruger Blackhawk. The boolits are WW+ a bit of tin and weigh about 255 grs.
Dave Scovill's RCBS 45-270-SAA sized 0.456" over 13 gr. of Blue Dot. - general utility load
RCBS 45-300-FN sized 0.456" over 21 gr. of H110 for max load - really kicks too hard for general use. i use only for hunting or bear defense.
working up a RCBS 45-330-U load with 2400 but not "there" yet.
have fun
Brian
RCBS 45-270-SSA (275 as shot) .452 with 11.5gr #5 in a Ruger Bisley 7.5" 1075-1105fps
1 1/4" @25yds (on a good day)
I've used 8.5 to 9.5 grains of Unique behind NEI 255, Saeco 255 SWC. for the past 25 years.
I use 20 grains of H110 behind a 300 grain SAECO for use in my Rossi/Winchester 92.
Jim
As I recall the equivalent to the original factory load was 6 gr. of Red Dot with about any 250 gr. slug. I have used this load for about as far back as I remember. The velocity is around 900 fps and is good for anything I want to use it on.Robert
I only have one: 8 grains of Unique with a 250 grain cast bullet. I am using the Lee 252 Gr. Semi wad cutter with great results.
So far my best load is 10 gr. Unique with a 300 gr. gc flatpoint, other load is 24 gr. H-110 over 255gr. Keith...both of these are in a ruger blackhawk!
Since most of my time is spent killing steel plates I don't need any ringtailed fire belchers.
My favorite is a 200 grain RNFP and 6.0 grains of trail boss.
21 grains of WC 820 (lot 47320) starline case, wlp gold and 310 Keith has worked for me for twenty years on lots of things.
Business load is 24 grains H110, mag primer, NEI 310 grain Keith water dropped boolit.
Plinking load is 8.5 grains unique, Lee 255 RNFP.
Redhawk and Blackhawk only with the H110 load.
I just started loading .45 colt. Right now i'm doing 8grn of unique, and a 255grn cast bullet.
Does anyone have any good BP loads? I tried loading 35grns as someone suggested, but they left no room for the bullet...
Ironcowboy,
If you are using your loads for CAS matches, you might load a little lower with the 255 grain boolit -- say around 7.3 grains of Unique. I believe the suggestion someone made of loading 35 grains of powder must have been for BLACK POWDER, as a load like that with Unique would blow a gun up.
A pure lead Lyman 454190 sitting on top of a case full of Goex 3fg.
Ok. Yea i'm not going to blow my self up. :) I was talking about black powder. Any recommendations what i should use to measure black powder? And anyone know of a good load? The measurer i use in my flint lock does not go down below 50grns...
A 45 ACP case will yield about 25 grains of black powder. Try some empty cases. Fill them then pour onto your scale.
The Lee dippers are what I use. Yes, they are plastic, but they have been rated safe for BP, even Lee says this. I have one of those Saturn brass and aluminum funnels for getting the powder into the case. As far as load data, it is a no-brainer just compress the load lightly and use a soft cast boolit with BP lube.
For lighter, plinking loads: 6.5 grains WW231 and a 250 grain rnfp bullet.
Medium: 255 gr swc over 14 grains Blue Dot
Heavy: 335 grain WLNGC bullet over 22.0 grains WW296/H110 for 1200 fps.
9 grains Unique, Lyman 454190 boolit.
Since I have only used my 45 LC for shooting steel targets, I use 5.7 grains of trail Boss and 200 grains RNFP. Crono's out at about 721 FPS. For longer range (Rifle) I have cranked it out to 7.2 grains of Trail Boss. Tack driver at 150 yards and paper targets.
8, 9, or 10 gr Universal under a 250, 280, or 300 gr lead anything.
Lyman 454424 with either 9.0 grn. Universal (1000fps) or 21 grn. 2400 (1225fps).
Now if I can just kill a dad-gum deer with either load......
What ever shoots under 2" at 50 yards...........
Mostly Hot loads.
ironcowboy;
The proper load for Black Powder is a "case full" (a case full being enough to compress 1/16" when seating the bullet). It is extremely important to use a good black powder lube. I use the Lyman 452644 RF bullet cast 30/1 lead/tin and sized .452" in my Ruger Bisley Vaquero and BlackHawk. The actual amount will depend on the capacity of the case that you are using.
Use 2F if you prefer somewhat lighter recoil and somewhat less velocity. Use 3F if you want maximum performance. Swiss powder is considerably more powerful than Goex but also exhibits more recoil. Swiss 3F will give you close to 1000 fps in a long barreled .45 Colt revolver.
I use Federal LP primers with excellent results.
My most used smokeless load is 8.5 grs of Unique behind either the Lyman 452664 OR the Lyman 454424 cast of WW's+2% tin and sized .452". This is about the velocity of a factory load with a much better shaped bullet.
Dale53
452 RNFP lubed with SPG, 20/1 alloy over 28 grains 3F (I use a filled .45 ACP case) top the BP once in the 45 Colt case with cream of wheat up to the top of the case . Seat the bullet - the seating action will compress the COW nicely (and also the BP of course), giving a perfect round, with a roll crimp. The COW lets me produce a reduced load, keep the case full (no air space), and the COW also acts like a wad to protect the bullet base.
Works perfeclty, nice easy recoil in an SAA, accurate. Works really well in a Henry also.
ckskirmisher;
That looks like a good prescription for Cowboy use. Have you tried the Cowboy Special cases? I have a few hundred of those but haven't yet tried them with black powder. They should give about the same results as you have with the .45 Colt case without using a filler (which will greatly increase production if a progressive press is used).
My shooting buddy has been running accuracy tests with smokeless using a Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertible. These revolvers (three of us who shoot locally have one) are turning out to be VERY versatile platforms.
Using target loads with the .45 Cowboy Special (using 185 gr SWC) he gets "X" ring accuracy. Using 255 gr bullets, in the .45 Colt case, he gets "X" ring accuracy, and using the .45 ACP cylinder using 185 gr bullets at target velocity (4.0 grs of Bullseye) he also gets "X" ring accuracy. Ronnie Rooster is a 2650 shooter, so his results are to be believed.
Our next test (I will run this if we get a warm day) will be to use the .45 Cowboy Special case full of black powder and a 200 gr Big Lube bullet to see how it shoots at 25 yards. Using the .45 Colt case and a full case of Black powder I get excellent accuracy at both 25 and 50 yards with the Lyman 452644. However, the recoil is relatively heavy, at nearly 1000 fps.
It should be a bit more fun to use the shorter cases and a lighter bullet if the Big Lube bullet will give decent accuracy. The Cowboy shooters accuracy requirements are quite a bit "looser" than mine, in general, so I will just have to see for myself (their targets are bigger and closer - so their needs are different). I am looking forward to the little experiment.
FWIW
Dale53
Dale53 -
Have heard of the 45 colt special, but from what I have read, in a revolver like an SAA, the distance for the jump from the bullet to the forcing cone is too far, and the throat diameter of the cylinder where the new cartridge OAL would put the bullet is too big - thus a loose fitting bullet in the chamber that most likely will not be centered routinely going into the forcing cone - and (again from only what I have read), the accuracy is lousy. Maybe a different story in a rifle - I haven't found anything about using it in that application, other than available carriers for toggle link rifles to use this new ammo.
Iron Cowboy,
Much good information in the above posts. If you are looking for a CAS oriented BP load, might I suggest the 230 grain RCBS RFN Cowboy mold boolit loaded in a 45 Schofield (45 S&W) case? This boolit has a generous grease groove for BP lube and gives a little less recoil than a standard 250 grain boolit. Because the powder column height is not all that tall, I do not bother settling the powder by drop tube, but I do choose a scoop type measure that fills the case and gives about 1/16 inch compression upon boolit seating. Shooting a Schofield round in the 45 Colt does mean that there is a bit more freebore, but at 25 yards or less it seems to have no ill effect on accuracy that I can tell. It is rather fun to make your own scoop for a given cartridge and load out of iron coat hanger wire and range brass. Just pop out the primer, cut the brass down to the desired volume and solder in the wire in the primer pocket and you have a scoop of exactly the volume you want.
Loading and shooting the old cartridges of the West is quite fun and it is sort of a nostalgic connection to our roots as well. It has become exclusively what I shoot in CAS now. Yes, it is true the clean up is a little more time consuming and an imperative after shooting BP, but it can be looked at as part of the fun as well!
cwskirmisher;
The .45 Cowboy Special shoots VERY well. See the report above. "X" ring on standard NRA targets is NOT inaccurate.
We have yet to try them with black powder but with smokeless they shoot VERY well.
FWIW
Dale53
Depends on how far away you are when you shoot into that X ring. At 25 yards, I'd call that accurate. At 25 feet, I'm not impressed, sorry.
When I use the "X" ring for a "case in point" I mean at the standard distances for the respective target. These were shot at both 25 yards and 50 feet on the standard targets for the distance. It is now too cold to shoot much outdoors so I thought that as long as the standard targets were used that could represent something important.
I perhaps should have been more clear in my comments. I DID mention that we don't shoot at Cowboy matches.
To me, it's not "X" ring unless you are at the proper distance.
Further trials at fifty and 100 yards will come when the weather moderates.
YMMV
Dale53
I see that Unique seems to be popular among 45 Colt shooters. Does anybody use Herco in their 45 Colts?
7.0 gr of alliant E3- 230gr Lee RN TL.
950 fps in a 5 1/2" blackhawk
Its my favorite load because I found an 8lb can of E3 at a super deal.