45 colt boolit choice

[gavlan]

Hi guy's, I have a Rem 1858 nma with the Kirst conversion in it and have about 3 or 4 molds that will cast suitable boolits but the heaviest one I have is the 454374 at 230gn's , also the H&G #68 NOE clone and others.
The question is would it be better to get the RCBS 45-250-fn because I have heard the 45 colt likes boolits in the 250+ range ?.
I would rather save my money if there wouldn't be much of a difference from what I have on hand already.
Your thoughts are always very welcome and appreciated.

[gpidaho]

gavlan: My choice for my 1858 Remington conversion is the Accurate 45-259EB as it has a large lube groove for my bee's wax and olive oil lube. The 255gr. bullet is to the 45 Colt what the 158gr. bullet is to the 357. I do shoot some 230gr and even 200gr. in the conversion but the 259 is my favorite. Gp

[Johnch]

I have 2 Ruger's in 45 Colt
I found the Lee 300 gr Gc bullet is hard to beat , larger meplate

You don't have to use Ruger only loads
I have taken several deer past 50 yards and one about 100 yards

My first load I tried was not much over the starting load and the gun and that load group about 3" at 100 yard
That load has taken 2 deer so far
LOL Someone with better eyes might get better groups

Just work up a safe load for your gun
As IMO as even a moderate load will go end to end in any whitetail deer

John

[Johnch]

IMO I would try a starting load ( for a NON Ruger load ) of 2400 and work up if needed
No need to pound you or the gun

Hitting the right spot dose a good job

John

[gpidaho]

gavlan: On the conversion cylinders for black powder guns, I feel more comfortable staying close to black powder pressures. They say that the cylinders will take a bit more but I don't like to push my luck. I have Blackhawks for the heavy loads. Gp

[Walks]

I used a 230gr TC for Cowboy Action Shooting for almost 30years. I've used everything from 190gr cast SWC to 310gr GC FP.

I prefer the 230gr TC for light loads and a 250gr SWC for full power loads in a COLT SAA.
The .45 Smith & Wesson (Schofield) case is also good for light loads.
I think finding a load that shoots to Point of Aim at the distance you require may be more important then finding a too hot load to wreck your Revolver.
Stick to COLT SAA level loads.

Target load; 225-230grs over 5.0grs Clays.
COLT SAA level load; 250-255grs over 9.0grs Unique.

[gavlan]

I used a 230gr TC for Cowboy Action Shooting for almost 30years. I've used everything from 190gr cast SWC to 310gr GC FP.

I prefer the 230gr TC for light loads and a 250gr SWC for full power loads in a COLT SAA.
The .45 Smith & Wesson (Schofield) case is also good for light loads.
I think finding a load that shoots to Point of Aim at the distance you require may be more important then finding a too hot load to wreck your Revolver.
Stick to COLT SAA level loads.

Target load; 225-230grs over 5.0grs Clays.
COLT SAA level load; 250-255grs over 9.0grs Unique.

Absolutely agree, I intend to stay well within the pressures & speeds that the BP revolver conversion can handle , no hot rods here.
I'm going to order some Schofield brass and maybe just buy some heavier boolits first off to try , no point buying another mold if I decide I like the 230's better than 250/55's
Thanks gents for the info and your insights, keep them coming because although I have been casting and hand loading for years this is a new caliber for this old fart.
I'm all ears when there is wisdom to be reaped from people for free ( good or bad ...lol).

walks , I don't have clays but I have plenty of others to try..

[Beagle333]

255's at BP pressures (original Colt loads). I find the conversions to be aggravating to reload, but tons of fun to shoot and the very light cleanup afterward is a plus.

[Ed_Shot]

The 200~230 gr. boolits that I use for 45 ACP are very accurate in my Blackhawk 45 LC. Lyman's 452374, 452630, 452460, Accurate 45-200E and the NOE 45-210 RF are winners. For those with no crimp grove I use a 45 ACP taper crimp die. I like 5~6 gr. of Promo/Red Dot for punching paper.

Brain cramp: I got a 45 LC taper crimp die for the purpose.

[ericandelaine1975]

Absolutely agree, I intend to stay well within the pressures & speeds that the BP revolver conversion can handle , no hot rods here.
I'm going to order some Schofield brass and maybe just buy some heavier boolits first off to try , no point buying another mold if I decide I like the 230's better than 250/55's
Thanks gents for the info and your insights, keep them coming because although I have been casting and hand loading for years this is a new caliber for this old fart.
I'm all ears when there is wisdom to be reaped from people for free ( good or bad ...lol).

walks , I don't have clays but I have plenty of others to try..

Best advice i can give is try the grain bullet you want. Most of the time you can find a powder charge the gun likes. If not then change your bullet weight. I personally use W231 and bullseye. There's plenty of other powders to choose from. I use to use unique. For what my pistol liked it was a little to messy for me is why i went to W231. Mine likes 7.5gr of 231 behind a 230gr fmj. All i do is plink with it. Hardly any recoil and its a joy to shoot. Good luck and be safe.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[gavlan]

,,,, fella's.
I just ordered some schofield brass and a set of Colt / Schofield RCBS cowboy dies , I have an older RCBS 3 die set for 45 colt but wasn't sure if ALL would work with the shorter Schofield brass so I wanted to get all that covered afore I started reloading this "NEW" animal in my zoo...

Out for now, thx.

P,S I live near an airforce base ( civilian here.) and there is an air show today so i'm going to get my lawn chairs out and the wife and I are going to watch the free show,,,, Darn there's some loud buggers up there flying around ,,,, love it.

[Walks]

I actually use a set of old RCBS 45ACP dies with a .45COLT Carbide sizer to load .45S&W Schofield. The old ACP is labeled for Auto Rim too, so it roll crimps too. Works great too. I use a C-H taper crimp die for bullets without a crimp groove.

I have .45S&W (Schofield) brass from the 1st production run. It has a larger rim then the .45COLT.

I believe they now make .45S&W brass with the same rim size as .45COLT, if not, you'll need a shell holder for the .44-40, I love this short cartridge. It positively leaps out of my UBERTI #3 on ejection. The .45COLT cases sometimes slip under the extractor.

[curator]

gavlan:

A consideration in selecting a boolit to shoot in a Remington NMA clone "cartridge conversion" is the rifling twist rate. Until fairly recently these revolvers were rifled with a 1 in 30" twist rate. This was fine for round ball but inadequate for conical boolits longer than .50 inches. Recently, newer Rem-NMAs are showing up with a better (for conicals) rifling twist of 1 in 18". For the slow twist, a flat-nose heavy but short boolit will work fine where a "pointy" lighter boolit may not.

[pls1911]

RCBS-270-SAA
It's a heavy SWC and has been accurate in Rugers and Marlins.

[bob208]

I use the rcbs cav. mold it is a tc shape and weighs 225 gr. 8 gr. unique. works well in my uberti 58 nma.

[gavlan]

I use the rcbs cav. mold it is a tc shape and weighs 225 gr. 8 gr. unique. works well in my uberti 58 nma.

how deep do you seat that TC boolit, what's your overall cartridge length? ,
I don't have any TC designs, closest I have are SWC's,
just curious that's all.
man I wish my Unique supply was bigger than it is , I barely have enough left for a full range trip and my local GS are out,,,

[bob208]

the mold number is rcbs .45-225 cav pn 8208. bullet is .660 long from base of bullet to crimp grove .300. flat on nose is.270. over all in r-p cases 1.620. it shoots good in my ruger Blackhawk, uberti colt clone and Remington 58 nma conversion. I use 8 gr. unique.
the bullet was made to feed in rifles in .45 colt.

I have been looking at this bullet and thinking of trying it in .45 acp.

[gavlan]

the mold number is rcbs .45-225 cav pn 8208. bullet is .660 long from base of bullet to crimp grove .300. flat on nose is.270. over all in r-p cases 1.620. it shoots good in my ruger Blackhawk, uberti colt clone and Remington 58 nma conversion. I use 8 gr. unique.
the bullet was made to feed in rifles in .45 colt.

I have been looking at this bullet and thinking of trying it in .45 acp.

Thanks for the info bob, I see you seat it a tad longer than the recommended 1.600" and i'm guessing it doesn't interfere with the cylinder rotation any cos your shooting it.
I may measure my conversion cylinder and see how long it is , just for curiosities sake though I have no immediate plans to load it " long " .
May check that mold out though sounds interesting,,,, still looking .

[gavlan]

" I have been looking at this bullet and thinking of trying it in .45 acp."
Don't see why it shouldn't do fine in ACP, I generally go with my H&G 68 clone though, if it ain't broke ,,,, yadda yadda yadda ,,,.