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Thread: 300+ grain 45 Colt bear loads? Help?

  1. #21
    Boolit Master stubert's Avatar
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    I dont' have a .45 colt, I do have a Redhawk 44 mag. It loves the Lee C430- 310 gr., 21.5 grains of 296 seated to 1.7 oal. I would be confident in that combo for bear, (I would rather have my guide gun!) You will be fine with that load from the Colt 45.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master
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    Here is the John Linebaugh article Dissolving the Myth. I can state with authority that the loads listed are plenty stout, and would likely drop a Cape Buffalo - though I hope to never find out.

    The Redhawk is a tank, and I suspect that you would really have to work at it to wear one out, even with the loads listed by John Linebaugh. While I personally think that the best handgun for bear protection is a medium-bore rifle, I wouldn't necessarily feel undergunned with your Redhawk and those loads.
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  3. #23
    Boolit Bub
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    Squaw Candy is just really ripe salmon, smoked, a bear can smell it 10 - 59 miles away, not to be taken with you hunting. We would trade with the natives our fresh caught for some candy on the way home. Mom wouldn't let the stuff in the house but its soooooooooo good and added a little fun to the drive home.

  4. #24
    Boolit Master
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    Sound Advise

    Quote Originally Posted by 44man View Post
    First you need to spell "BOOLIT!"
    The 300 Lee is a good boolit. The RH is a fine gun.
    Use WW metal, the clip on weights, not the stick on stuff. You can water drop from the mold or just air cool them. I water drop and let them sit a few days to harden.
    Get some H110 and put 21.5 to 22 gr in your load. If weather is moderate a Fed 150 primer works great and the WW LP primer works fine. I do not use a magnum primer in mine. use them if it gets VERY cold.
    Case tension on the boolit is important and Hornady dies work best for me. Use just enough crimp to fold the brass to the bottom of the crimp groove. Lee has small grooves so don't over do it.
    You need to determine the diameter of the boolits to fit your throats by slugging he throats but I would say .452" would work. Try a .452" Lee push through size die and if you need larger, the die is dirt easy to lap out and cheap.
    This load is accurate, will make it feel like a .44 mag and will go through any bear. Your velocity will be over 1150 and up to close to 1200 fps depending on barrel length.
    Use a soft lube like Felix, stay away from crayon hard lubes.
    You will find your own cast will be 100% better then bulk boolits like Magnus or Laser Cast and only LBT styles that you buy are as good.
    Making your own will get you down to a dime a shot. That's 10 bears for a buck!

  5. #25
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
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    John Linebaugh lives only a few miles from me and is a friend of mine. This man knows more about guns and more about making ammunition than most 20 guys on this forum.
    I've asked him what his favorite caliber is and figured he would say one of his own. Wrong. Its the 45 Colt.
    John swears by 24gr H110 with 310gr boolits, BUT only work up to it in a stout pistol. We didnt get the accuracy we were looking for in my brothers Ruger 45 310gr Lee RF until he reached 28gr. Surprisingly it works just fine, but its something to hang on to.
    I would NOT recommend this load. But its something to think about and it works good here.

  6. #26
    Boolit Mold
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    I appreciate the link.
    The first year I went up I carried an 870 Remington that I built for this with some very stout slugs. Trouble was I am fishing, with gear, in intermittent rain,etc.and I quit carrying it altogether. Carried only bear spray. For the past 10+ I carry spray and the .44.
    Just not feaseable to carry a long gun and think it will be ready if needed.
    I am comfortable that this is my best bet. I simply want to increase the firepower that the Mountain gun can't provide and the Redhawk can.

  7. #27
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by reloader28 View Post
    We didnt get the accuracy we were looking for in my brothers Ruger 45 310gr Lee RF until he reached 28gr. Surprisingly it works just fine, but its something to hang on to.
    I would NOT recommend this load. But its something to think about and it works good here.
    For this application, I need accuracy within 10 yards.
    Of equal or greater importance is being able to keep on target, shot after shot until it's down or you're empty.
    BTW do you know who makes that 310 mold? I was about to purchase a 300 gr Lee today and then read an old thread from 2007 in which Dan Walker of this forum says/said that the 2 boolit die and the 6 are not the same design.
    Last edited by quail1; 03-01-2013 at 04:58 AM.

  8. #28
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    Lee makes the 300 gr, C452-300-RF and Lyman makes the 452651 hammer of Thor at 325 gr. I also use the LBT 335 gr when I can afford them.
    Chances are for a 310 gr you need a mold from one of our custom makers here, they make super molds at a decent price.
    I use the older Vaquero and have killed deer to just over 100 yards with it but my eyes are getting worse. Any of the boolits I listed will go through a 16" tree and not stop.
    I had to put Pachmeyer grips on my Vaquero, thing was beating my knuckle!
    I have shot 1" groups with all 3 boolits at 75 yards from Creedmore position. My most accurate load is still 21.5 gr of 296 but the RH will prefer H110----DON'T ASK, I just don't know why.
    I got into an argument on a site about accuracy once so I grabbed 5 rounds and went down to shoot them from Creedmore. This is what I got at 50 yards.
    Yes a .45 is just great, I find nothing lacking, if you miss a bear it is you and if you don't stop it, it is still you.
    I would NOT go to 24 to 28 gr unless the gun has a five shot cylinder. It is just not needed either. Buy a .454 if you need it.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
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    My bad. I thought it was a Lee 310gr. It is the Lee 300gr that drops 310+gr from my mold.
    Last edited by reloader28; 03-01-2013 at 11:19 AM.

  10. #30
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    I load the LEE 340 RNFP made for a 45-70 sized to .452 from WW +5% pure water deopped over Lil'Gun powder.
    I started using the Hodgen load data for the 335 LFN. It goes from 17g/1052fps to 20g/1206fps. They also list H110 18g/1012fps to 21g/1151fps.

    I shoot these out of my 4" Redhawk in 45LC, they are a beast but shootable.

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by reloader28 View Post
    My bad. I thought it was a Lee 310gr. It is the Lee 300gr that drops 310+gr from my mold.
    That is fine, ignore the extra weight. My Lyman 325 gr actually casts at 347 gr but the same load is still best at 21.5 gr of 296. If I go under or over, groups open. Something magic about 21.5 gr.

  12. #32
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I read the piece by Linebaugh and it was interesting but I have one question. Is he saying that the loads he is using out of the blackhawk are safe for any new model blackhawk or only ones with his 5 hole custom?

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by jonp View Post
    I read the piece by Linebaugh and it was interesting but I have one question. Is he saying that the loads he is using out of the blackhawk are safe for any new model blackhawk or only ones with his 5 hole custom?
    I know the load data he's giving are not for the mid-frame sized New Model Flattop Blackhawk, which are the same size as the New Model Vaquero.

  14. #34
    Boolit Bub Hyphenated's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NVScouter View Post
    I load the LEE 340 RNFP made for a 45-70 sized to .452 from WW +5% pure water deopped over Lil'Gun powder.
    I started using the Hodgen load data for the 335 LFN. It goes from 17g/1052fps to 20g/1206fps. They also list H110 18g/1012fps to 21g/1151fps.

    I shoot these out of my 4" Redhawk in 45LC, they are a beast but shootable.
    I was gonna say...if you want a heavy boolit, this is the way to go.
    Hyphenated - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Verb...pertaining to the use and ownership of lever actions.
    More specifically .30-30, .32-40, .35/30-30, .38-55, .40-82, .45-70 etc.

  15. #35
    Boolit Bub Rooster59's Avatar
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    Well......I've got the 340 Lee mold. Now I need to find a pound of Lil Gun to test out the excellent advice.

  16. #36
    Boolit Buddy kir_kenix's Avatar
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    I know some heavier loads are being suggested, but a 300 grain .45 boolit at 1100 fps will kill any animal in North America (mastadons are extinct right). You might find that the 300 grain loads are funner to shoot, and will actually allow a follow up shot (maybe its possible to get off 2 shots, maybe its not). You should bring whatever you are most comfortable with. Afterall that is what you are really looking for, confidence and peace of mind. Whatever you bring, just make sure its stoked with appropriate bear medacine.

    Good luck, and have fun fishing.

  17. #37
    Boolit Master

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    I have shot the Lee C452-300 RF through my Vaquero at 1200 fps, what a hammer! I shot at an old steel cylinder and got back flattened out boolits 2" in diameter that looked like daisies. .41 Mag used to be my favorite big bore handgun but the 45 Colt has taken over.
    Common sense Gun Safety . . .

    Is taught at the Range!

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rooster59 View Post
    Well......I've got the 340 Lee mold. Now I need to find a pound of Lil Gun to test out the excellent advice.
    I would not use Lil Gun, it burns REAL hot not having much deterrent coating. It works in the .410 but can overheat a revolver to the extreme. The best is still H110 or 296.
    My old Vaquero shoots the 335 gr at 1160 fps and it is enough.
    There is no sense chasing velocity with the .45.
    The .45 is like the 45-70, old as sin but they work just fine as they are.
    None of these loads should be used in the smaller frame guns.

  19. #39
    Boolit Bub Rooster59's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 44man View Post
    I would not use Lil Gun, it burns REAL hot not having much deterrent coating. It works in the .410 but can overheat a revolver to the extreme. The best is still H110 or 296.
    My old Vaquero shoots the 335 gr at 1160 fps and it is enough.
    There is no sense chasing velocity with the .45.
    The .45 is like the 45-70, old as sin but they work just fine as they are.
    None of these loads should be used in the smaller frame guns.
    There seems to be a loyal following with all three of those powders, H110/296/Lil Gun with a lot of people. Each group seems to be very set on their powder of choice. I'm still on the fence and working through the decision process studying those who know better than me. I've had good luck with Unique with std level cast loads and 2400 heavy loads with jacketed (yes I said it) 250HP Nosler bullets. My preference is to move to all cast for all of my 45LC firearms.

    I was actually going to use the 340 or 300 in my Puma model 92 trapper. I've been watching a thread on another forum where RD has been using, I thought, Lil Gun but I had better recheck that. Maybe he was using H110 and I have it backwards. The thread was about the RD290 bullet which is lighter than the 340 obviously so some throttling back on the powder level is in order regardless of which I use.

    My 45LC wheel gun is a Taurus Gaucho so it only gets fed original level 45 loads. Nothing hotter than 7.6-8.0gr of Unique for it. It's only for fun anyway. The real punch is saved for my 16" barrel 92 clone.

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hyphenated View Post
    I was gonna say...if you want a heavy boolit, this is the way to go.
    I've shot that same boolit with 20 grs of H110. They shoot very good but be prepared to take the skin off your trigger finger knuckle from recoil. Every time I shoot these, I use a shooting glove or the skin comes off after the 4th shot.

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