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Hi guys,
what boolit do you like or have had luck with in .45 colt rifle? Boolit shape is one better than the next for feeding? I will have the rifle shortly right now I load for a Ruger in .45LC and a Cimmarron Thunderer . the molds I have now are the Lee 200 gr. truncated cone and a lee 230 tl round nose. both these work good in my revolvers and my 1911's.I realize rifles mileage may be different. Happy 4th to everyone!
I use 200 gr cast in my Uberti M73 and SSAs in 45 Colt. Mostly I use the Lee 452-200-RF as it feeds flawlessly in the M73. Having the Lee 6 cavity mould also makes quantity/quality casting easing and quick. I also have shot quite a few of the Lee 452-190-SWCs I use in my 45 ACPs. I use range lead alloy with sufficient lead/tin added to give about a 95/2.5/2.5 mix. The RF bullets drop at .454 and are "sized" and lubed (BAC) in a .454 H&I die in a Lyman 450. The SWCs are sized .452 and Lubed with BAC. I also have shot quite a few H&G 205 gr SWCs, commercial cast and my own. The commercial cast with hard wax lube are TL'd with LLA before loading.
I clean the cases and inspect them as I FL size them on a single stage press with a non- carbide RCBS sizer. That leaves the original taper to the case. A slight roll crimp is used in the crimp groove or into the front drive band if the bullet has no crimp groove. The bullets are seated first then crimped in a separate stage as I finish load them on a Dillon SDB.
I load them over 7.3 gr Bullseye for 1150 - 1200 fps out of the M73 and 950 - 980 fps out of the SSAs. I have pressure tested that load using a Contender barrel and the Oehler M43. The PSI runs right at the SAAMI MAP of 14,000 psi for the 45 Colt. Accuracy is excellent in the SSA revolvers and the M73. I also used this load in a Win M94 and Rossi M92 with equal success.
What are the advantages of leaving the original taper to the .45 Colt case? Case life? Feeding? Accuracy? I like carbide dies and had never considered that issue. I have .30 Carbine carbide sizing dies too.
Main advantage to leaving the taper on the case is that it is then sized less near the base and makes a more complete gas seal, thus avoiding the blowback of BP fouling into the chamber and action. Also cruds up the gun much less with smokeless if you use a faster-burning powder like Bullseye or TiteGroup.
If you want a heavier bullet with crimp groove, of proper nose length to feed in the 1873, and having adequate lubricant capacity to prevent fouling out with Goex powder, try Accurate 45-259EB, cast 1:30 with 30 grains of Goex 3Fg and SPG lube. Also very accurate with 6.5-7.0 of Bullseye.
Attachment 223304
The fouling part makes a lot of sense. Case life should be better I would think. I try to only neck size and that helps too.
I usually use Lee 160 grain for cowboy shooting. They have fed reliably in my 1873. Not super accurate but good enough for the size target used in cowboy. If I miss it is my fault not the boolit.