Unberti 1885 High Wall .45 Colt

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09-27-2018, 01:35 AM
fn1889m

Unberti 1885 High Wall .45 Colt

I purchased another 1885 high wall, a Uberti .45 Colt. My shots were not consistently close enough together to sight in the rifle this weekend. I was shooting at 100 yards, because the 50 yard range was taken. I am out of practice and my eyes are older. So it’s probably me and not the rifle.

It has 1:16 twist, and a heavy 30 inch barrel. The specs are for .452 lead. I was using 9.0 and 9.5 gn of Unique with 255 gn LSWC. Extraction was OK. The cases seem to seal well in the chamber. But I was wondering if I should slow it down by reducing the load. Or maybe find a slower burning powder to take advantage of the barrel. I’m going back to the 50 yard range soon, and work my way up on distance.

I put on a taller front sight, which helped my sight picture. The original front sight was too short for the rear sight for 100 yds. Will eventually strip the stock and refinish with an oil finish.

Any thoughts on the right load for this rifle would be helpful. I know it’s 100 yard cartridge in a 500 yard rifle. But with my eyes, 100 yards can be hard to see.

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09-27-2018, 04:33 AM
BlackpowderSweden

1:16 is pretty fast twist for a .45 cal, you could easily shoot heavy bullets in that one!
09-27-2018, 05:04 AM
john.k

1 in 16 is standard pistol twist.....a rifle would be much better off with something around 1/26 .or even a bit slower as 320 gr is about as heavy as anyone would go in a short pistol case.
09-27-2018, 05:19 AM
BlackpowderSweden

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 227897

Someting like this would be fun in a singleshot 45Colt :D
09-27-2018, 11:29 AM
1Hawkeye

Try a .454" diameter 255gr with 7.5 grs or 8.0 grs of unique.
09-28-2018, 12:52 AM
fn1889m

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Hawkeye

Try a .454" diameter 255gr with 7.5 grs or 8.0 grs of unique.

Did that at 9.5. A friend suggested jacketed bullets and a slower powder.

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09-28-2018, 11:11 AM
marlinman93

Don't sell the cartridge short! The .45 Colt can reach out there a very long distance if your gun is accurate, and you have a good long range tang sight. I watched my friend hit 1000 yd. dingers with his Uberti 1873 Win. clone in .45 Colt using a 250 gr. bullet loaded at around 1000 fps.
And at closer distances like 400-650 yds. it's consistent at strikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW76B4Nzlsk
09-30-2018, 05:12 PM
GARD72977

I would agree with the .454 diameter. Especially in a long barrel. I would shoot the largest do a that will chamber in a lead bullet

I have been wanting a 45lc or 38/40 in an 1885. Well I want a lot of things.....

I bet this ends up being a accurrate gun when you find the load. I don't have any first hand experience with long barrel 45of but you may find a slower poewder than unique gives better accurracy. Longer barrel is do not always like pistol powders.
09-30-2018, 08:11 PM
Good Cheer

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 228121

From Accurate for .45 Colt in a single shot rifle.
09-30-2018, 11:28 PM
bigted

Sounds positively grand. I would like to have a HI WALL chambered in 45 Colt. I have seen LOW WALLS so chambered but really like the Hi Wall chambered in 45 Colt thing. Love to see photo's.

I have a 45-70 short barrel for my Encore Hunter that is a bit much ... i have dreamed of lining it back to 45 Colt. I think this should be a natural.

Post some pictures of the hi wall, would like to see it.
10-02-2018, 03:04 AM
fn1889m

I have no .454 lead left. I will try 300 gn Nosler SP with H110, ruger only load. Photos below. I sold a SW M66 no-dash to pay for this. Sorry for poor cell phone photos.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bd79fabcaf.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...645c952a10.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e2905056ca.jpg

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10-02-2018, 02:08 PM
bigted

Thank you very much. I have never seen a hi wall chambered in 45 Colt. That is a KEEPER. I betcha she will shoot very well when you get er flushed out.
10-03-2018, 03:20 AM
fn1889m

Unberti 1885 High Wall .45 Colt

I traded a good M-14, forged receiver, clone for a Browning 45-70 BPCR. Reloading black powder cartridges is more involved than I expected, as much as I see the rifle as a beautiful tool. The Uberti 45 colt has a similar barrel profile. I am hoping to use it as a way to break myself into single shot target shooting with .45. I also traded into a Winchester 45 colt model 92.

I reach that point in my life where single action revolvers and single shot rifles are more interesting than AR’s and semi-autos. I also want to upgrade my reloading equipment in anticipation of semi retirement. I’d rather have a few fine guns in a few classic calibers then a whole bunch of stuff that I don’t appreciate as much, especially now that I have to be more selective. I shoot at a 10, 25, 100 yard range. Not much practical use for .308 there. Time is shorter. Quality matters more. Money is tighter. Consolidating.

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10-03-2018, 11:49 AM
marlinman93

Sounds like a progression of interests that many have gone through. Starting out with modern guns that pour lots of lead downrange, and ending with cool single shot rifles that give us more enjoyment with their slow, methodical loading and shooting process. I think I was in my late 30's when I woke up and realized that a nice single shot rifle was much more fun. That was about 30 years ago, and wish I'd discovered it much sooner!
10-03-2018, 01:47 PM
Boz330

Quote:

Originally Posted by marlinman93

Sounds like a progression of interests that many have gone through. Starting out with modern guns that pour lots of lead downrange, and ending with cool single shot rifles that give us more enjoyment with their slow, methodical loading and shooting process. I think I was in my late 30's when I woke up and realized that a nice single shot rifle was much more fun. That was about 30 years ago, and wish I'd discovered it much sooner!

Don't we all.
WW296 with a 300gr bullet worked well in a buddy's 45LC. Sometimes things line up fast and other times you have to search to find that perfect load, but then that is half the fun.

Bob
10-11-2018, 07:33 AM
missionary5155

Good morning
Another option is 4227.... and 2400 in the 45 Colt. Use those two loading heavier cast. Had a 45 Colt Rossi out Tuesday afternoon with a ranch dog type happily loaded over 17 grains of 4227. That is a nice load for most any soft skin corn cruncher type critter from any angle. You can move up the scale from there if you want more horsepower for tougher beasties.
2400 is as accurate and does the same as 4227.
10-15-2018, 07:09 PM
shafer44

one of my friends has this rifle, shoots 260gr fn with unique and is able to hit metal gongs at 600yds and even at 800 yds using MVA tang sight
10-27-2018, 02:12 AM
fn1889m

Quote:

Originally Posted by shafer44

one of my friends has this rifle, shoots 260gr fn with unique and is able to hit metal gongs at 600yds and even at 800 yds using MVA tang sight

How many gn of Unique?

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