Please help me start reloading for 45 colt for my SAAs

[Stopsign32v]

I have a LEE classic single stage press. I have a bag of 45 colt new brass and 1000 Winchester WLP large pistol primers. Other than that, I'm clueless.

Please don't write me off as a lost cause because I am a fast learner. However I have never reloaded but eager to learn.

I will be loading black powder (probably Goex) and would like to load as close to original specs as possible for that "feel like you were there".

I didn't know how hard it would be to find bullets for loading. I found a ton of casts for them but I don't believe I want to cast my own bullets. I'm unsure what powder to get because I see people talk about FFFg and also loading FFg. If it matters I will also be loading 10ga and 12ga brass shotgun loads.

I guess my main question is what equipment will I need and where can I find bullets? I read a 4" drop tube is a good option for pistol rounds but I also read it isn't needed.

[Cowboy_Dan]

.45 Colt was my first caliber to reload as well. You will need a set of dies and a good scale. A powder measure is nice, but you could make scoops out of just about anything. For black powder, I think you'll want soft boolits, rather than the excessively hard comercial cast boolits, but I've been wrong before. A good loading manual is also a must, in your case a black powder manual. Read it before you reload a single cartridge.

As far as powder goes, fffg is traditional for pistols, but you could probably get away with ffg in a pinch. Caveat on that last statement is I only use black in my muzzle loader, so take it with a grain of salt.

[Bzcraig]

This is no way an insincere response but rather the best I can give you. Before you spend any money, spend a lot more time reading and researching about reloading. Buy at least two, or better yet, as many as you can afford, reloading books. Reloading is so much more than having some brass, finding a boolit, sticking it in a press, adding some powder, loading in a gun and pulling the trigger. I spent a year consuming everything I could at this website, which is the best btw, and others before I began to acquire any equipment.

[AtomHeartMother]

I shoot 45 colt in a Howell conversion Remington new model army. I can definitely appreciate your interest in black powder. I have 10 cap ball revolvers-love shooting them. That being said my new model army gets the most affection with smokeless loads. I still get the experience of firing an old style pistol but the convenience and ease of reloading smokeless 45 colt is wonderful. You may want to consider starting there and then once you get some experience try some black powder loads. I cast my own 230 grain boolits under a light load of 800x powder...great fun and at the end of the day no lengthy clean up.

[smokeywolf]

Bzcraig is giving you the best advice you could get. Buy at least 2 books and read them. This will save you money in the long run and might even save you from injury and a sizable hospital bill.

My father started me pulling on a press handle by the time I was 3 years old. After all these years I still love sticking my nose in an old dog-eared reloading or ballistics book.

Welcome to a wonderful hobby.

[Djones]

This is a good start to cover the basics.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/abcs...=2671910229485

[StrawHat]

Lot's of folks suggest you start reading but no one has mentioned any reloading books specific to black powder. Truth is, I can not think of one either. There are a few fora that have info on black powder reloading, some better than others.

Fact is, reloading with BLACK POWDER is not really that hard. Some simple rules need to be followed.

You are striving for 100% loading density, you want the base of the bullet to be at the top of the powder or even to slightly crush the powder.

You want to use a black powder compatible lubricant on the boolit.

You will need mild primer of some sort to start the powder.

A good set of dies and a press of some sort round out the equation.

That is the basics. More can be learned by reading on fora like this one and others.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/ind...q76&board=19.0

http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/in...c41&board=18.0

There are others but those two will get you some information.

Kevin

[cajun shooter]

If you are shooting or wanting to shoot in SASS matches then you need some extra advise from what you have been told so far. I started shooting SASS matches about 8 years ago with the 45 Colt. If you follow some simple rules it's very easy to get stated.
They have several books that you may read to get you a good start. The book that is on the Cast Boolits Forum in the sticky section that is named "FROM INGOT TO TARGET" by Glen Fryxell and Ron Applegate is a great start for the casting part.
They have a man by the name of SAM FADALA that has written many books, about 4 or more on the loading and shooting of BP guns. Look on Amazon for those. You also have the excellent books by Mike Venturino of which I would start with the Shooting Six Guns Of The Old West followed by the Shooting Lever Guns of the Old West.
I have shot nothing but BP guns in SASS since 2007 and now I shoot the 44wcf firearms. I'll go into that later.
You don't want to shoot 3F powder as it will give more recoil and muzzle flash than the better suited 2F powder. Stick with the new Olde Eynsford or KIK powders. They maybe purchased from Jerrys Powder INC in Arkansas.
To start out with the 45 Colt, I would recommend you use 45 Schofield cases for loading and shooting until you have a good feel for the sport. I'm not a fan of what is referred to as the mouse fart loads but when starting out, you need to get your feet wet first. The 45 Schofield case will hold about 27 grains as compared to the 35 or more of the Colt case. More control and using less powder.
If you do get into the sport of SASS then I can help you out with the shotgun loading a little later.
You need to purchase some Ballistol for cleaning your guns along with some EEzox oil to prevent rusting.
They have several people who have never fired the first round of BP but they will tell you all about how it will rust your gun as soon as it's fired. All a bunch of old wives tales. You don't need to crash course this new to you sport, so go easy and start with the reading. Everything you know about shooting that other powder and then cleaning afterwards is completely different.
I will be more than happy to help in any way I can if you contact me via a PM. Take Care David

[w5pv]

Couple of things I learned the hard way to do with new brass,resize,check the trim length and go from there

[Ken in Iowa]

Welcome to Cast Boolits Stopsign. I see that you are broadening your horizons.

Here is a source for Boolits that are specifically tailored for BP. http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/BigLube.html

The owner is a frequent poster here and a good guy to do business with.

[DougGuy]

Size all your new brass before loading. It will give better neck tension after sizing.

[44man]

BP is easy and much good info has been said. About any good .45 boolit as long as it fits. I would only worry about being groove size or a little over.
Soft lead is fine for BP and you don't want too tight a fit in the brass with soft but there are no restrictions with boolit hardness either. Tension is not too important with BP.
The boolit MUST touch the powder is all and if you need to compress your load, do that before seating, Don't use the boolit to compress if it is soft. You can use wads over the powder for lighter loads as long as the boolit is on the wad, no gap.
However, I agree you need some books.
To clean the gun, remove the grips and cylinder and stick the whole gun in the laundry tub and wash it. Run very hot water through it all and dry, Spray with a good product like Barricade or Ballistol that will also lube the gun. Lube the cylinder pin, ratchet and front bushing with STP oil treatment and you will not wear the gun and it helps get more shots before binding up.
Glad to have you here and have fun.

[Char-Gar]

I have a LEE classic single stage press. I have a bag of 45 colt new brass and 1000 Winchester WLP large pistol primers. Other than that, I'm clueless.

Please don't write me off as a lost cause because I am a fast learner. However I have never reloaded but eager to learn.

I will be loading black powder (probably Goex) and would like to load as close to original specs as possible for that "feel like you were there".

I didn't know how hard it would be to find bullets for loading. I found a ton of casts for them but I don't believe I want to cast my own bullets. I'm unsure what powder to get because I see people talk about FFFg and also loading FFg. If it matters I will also be loading 10ga and 12ga brass shotgun loads.

I guess my main question is what equipment will I need and where can I find bullets? I read a 4" drop tube is a good option for pistol rounds but I also read it isn't needed.

Like others, my counsel to you is to buy some good reloading handbooks and read them cover to cover before asking questions on the internet. I say this for two reasons;

1. You are most likely to receive good and bad advice on the internet, and you need some basic information in order to judge which is which.

2. Along the same path, being dependent on gun boards for basic information is not a good think and that dependence will come back to bite you sooner or later.

[Stopsign32v]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Ken good to see a friendly familiar place here. I've fallen hard for the ol single actions. Used to would never give them a second look.

I looked at amazon for some books but came back empty handed. Ill check more tonight when I can get to a computer rather than a phone.

So JPS big lube bullets are good to go?? Also how do I gauge my pistol to see if I need 252 or 254 cast?

thanks a ton for the help, everyone here seems extremely nice.

[Char-Gar]

The Lyman handloading book is a good place to start.

[Foto Joe]

StrawHat hit the nail on the head, reloading Black Powder and reloading smokeless are NOT comparable. Black Powder can be both safer yet more hazardous than smokeless and rules regarding smokeless don't cross over to the Holy Black. Reloading books are a good idea but don't expect much if any information helpful to your endeavor.

Regarding fffg versus ffg, the original load was using a balloon head case which held approximately 40gr of ffg under a 250gr (I think) boolit. Given the modern brass we use you won't cram 40gr of ffg or even fffg into a case. For my version of mil-spec 45 Colt loads I compress 38gr of fffg under a 200-210gr boolit. I will tell you right now that these loads HURT!!! My typical load is around 25-30gr of fffg under the same boolit using cornmeal filler to take up the extra space.

On sizing I recommend not sizing 45 Colt brass. It will fire form to your chambers and reduce the typical blow back that 45 Colt produces. Since you won't have any air space in the brass then you have no worries about boolits "setting back" on you and a medium roll crimp will keep the projectiles where you want 'em. For my purposes I size all 45 Colt boolits (Black Powder & smokeless) to .454 to cut down on blow back.

[Stopsign32v]

What's the deal with "boolits" over bullets? Curiosity is killing me...

[Foto Joe]

Bullets are "store bought" and usually plated or jacketed. Boolits are custom cast from lead alloys or pure lead. For the most part when you see the term boolit it refers to a hand cast projectile usually produced by the person shooting it. Loading and shooting cast boolits is more of an art form than a science, especially when it comes to super sonic rounds and smokeless powder.

By the way, I don't know how you've got your forum settings but I did send you a PM regarding your 45 Colt loads.

[Char-Gar]

What's the deal with "boolits" over bullets? Curiosity is killing me...

This started some years back because some folks thought it was cute and other claim it was to fool the anti-gun search robots looking to insert wires into the brains of gun owners or some such other paranoid stuff.

I have never used the cute term, because I think it is...well...kinda stupid. A bullet is a bullet, is a bullet, whether lead alloy, gliding metal, bought or produced in my garage.

[Stopsign32v]

My son called them boolits when he was 3. It was cute