new to me blackhawk 45 - what gr boolit?

[rdwarrior]

Hey all,
I am soon to receive a new to me 45 colt ruger new model blackhawk (7 1/2 in barrel). I have not shot or reloaded 45 colt in about 45 years. What weight booolit should I be looking for. I dont want to go too heavy. I realize I am opening a can of worms with this question, but what the heck - lets go for it.
rdwarrior

[ReloaderFred]

I shoot mainly 200 gr. RNFP bullets in my various .45 Colt revolvers and rifles, but I'm using them for SASS matches, and just shooting steel targets. With the 200 gr. bullets, I get more bullets per pound of alloy, and no target has yet complained about being hit with a lighter bullet.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[rdwarrior]

Thanks Reloader

I should add, i did a search on the 45 colt in this forum looking for a consensus of recommendations, but was unable to find any. Didnt want y'all to think I was asking just for the sake of asking without looking around first for this info.

Type of shooting - some target practice and hunting in SC. I normally target practice with what I shoot for a hunting load if that helps.

[Tracy]

255-270, either a Keith bullet or RF. For the budget choice, I really like the Lee 255RF.

[Wheelguns 1961]

There are alot of good choices for the 45 colt. I imagine most of your hunting will be for whitetail deer. Anything from 250-300gns will do. Some of my favorites are the noe 454-280 wfn and the mp 452-278 wfn with the small hollowpoint pin. This bullet in my alloy weighs 262gns.

[johniv]

What are you going to do with it? Hunt? Just play?

[rdwarrior]

What are you going to do with it? Hunt? Just play?

see post #3

[DHDeal]

No consensus on bullet weight or powder for that matter...

I tend to go with a heavier bullet for any of my revolvers and haven't regretted it for accuracy. The lightest I use right now is a 280 grain Accurate Molds bullet. As soon as MP has some more of their 452 Colt Carbine mold, I'll go lighter (250-260).

If you load it warm, recoil is appreciable, but milder loads give a nice slow push. Many opinions you'll get...

[Outpost75]

These Accurate bullets all work in the Ruger .45 Colt with 7.5 grains of Bullseye:

Attachment 254801Attachment 254802Attachment 254803

Larry's test data:

Attachment 254804Attachment 254805Attachment 254806

Note actual bullet weight on shown on the data sheets, because I use softer 1:30 tin-lead alloy from Roto Metals and sent bullets to Larry for test. My bullets run heavier than the nominal drawing designator which is based on COWW. Velocities from Larry's 10-inch Contender solid barrel are 70-100 fps faster than a 7-1/2" revolver having typical cylinder gap of about 0.005-0.006." Realistic revolver velocity you can expect is about 960 fps with the 252-grain 45-240H1, 950 fps with the 269-grain 45-262H, and 850 fps with the 295 grain 45-290H bullet, when cast in soft alloy which actually rivet a bit, and are all real smashers with astounding game penetration!

With the heavier bullets pressures modestly exceed .45 Colt SAAMI MAP, but do not exceed .45 ACP levels, so these loads are entirely useable in the smaller frame New Model Vaqueros.

These loads will do anything you desire in a packing pistol. Heavier loads are unnecessary!

[contender1]

Lots of good info above. However,, I'd consider starting with a bullet in the 250's grn weight class. Practice with it,, and hunt with it. Find a good quality SWC design, and a load YOUR gun likes, & never fear. (I own several 45 Colt caliber handguns. I took my El Dorado to Colorado on an elk hunt this year.)

[txbirdman]

I like the 255 gr Lee RFN with 9 gr of Unique in my old Vaquero. I tried the RCBS 270 gr for awhile but the heavier bullet didn’t shoot to my sights.

[Brassduck]

I recommend lyman 454424 (255grain) over 8gr Unique, plenty of power and easy on your hands. Good Luck !!!!

[35 Whelen]

You say you don't want a real heavy bullet, so I'd recommend something in the 250-255 gr. range. The old standby 454424 is a good one. I don't remember the velocity of this load without checking, but it's probably 825-850 fps-





The RCBS 45-255-SWC is a real sleeper, casting very accurate bullets. This load is a "Tier II" or 20-23K psi load. It was very accurate and I intended to use it for hunting but didn't.



My favorite hunting bullet is RCBS 45-270 SAA design. Mine actually drops at a little over 280 grs. This bullet too has proven very accurate for me-





The last load above is the one I used a few weeks ago on a meat buck. (Details here)

If you want to keep it simple, get either the Lyman 454424 or RCBS 45-255 mold and you're set. I tried lighter bullets but POI is too low compared to the ones I hunt with.

35W

[bigted]

I totally concure. 250 ish boolit in Lyman #2 mix. Running that at 800+ FPS ... easy to do with good ol Unique. This will do a thru n thru on any Deer you will ever encounter within your yardage limitations.

This boolit n load is easy to shoot and cheap to load making tons of practice easy to accomplish. They are very easy on the revolver as well.

Your 7.5 inch new model Blackhawk is a very good revolver for your stated task's. Fun revolver and going to be a hoot to figure out your best accuracy load. The adjustable sights make it easy to dial in the boolit and load you find is the most accurate.

RCBS, Lyman, Lee and Tom at Accurate Molds will have casting molds that are good quality and easy to afford as well as very good boolits one n all for your upcoming new to you addoption.

[Driver33]

I have taken deer with the rcbs 45-255 swc an the 45-270 saa an bothe have performed well for me . I'm shooting a large frame blackhawk in 45colt

[nicholst55]

You may want to check the diameter of the chamber throats, and slug the bore to check for thread constriction before you get started. This has been covered many times on this forum, so I won't repeat the procedures. Member Dougguy is the go-to source for opening up too-small chamber throats.

[jonp]

Since you said you didn't want too heavy I'm assuming target stuff. In mine, I use 200gr and various powders for light target loads usually Promo/Red Dot.

[DHDeal]

You say you don't want a real heavy bullet, so I'd recommend something in the 250-255 gr. range. The old standby 454424 is a good one. I don't remember the velocity of this load without checking, but it's probably 825-850 fps-





The RCBS 45-255-SWC is a real sleeper, casting very accurate bullets. This load is a "Tier II" or 20-23K psi load. It was very accurate and I intended to use it for hunting but didn't.



My favorite hunting bullet is RCBS 45-270 SAA design. Mine actually drops at a little over 280 grs. This bullet too has proven very accurate for me-





The last load above is the one I used a few weeks ago on a meat buck. (Details here)

If you want to keep it simple, get either the Lyman 454424 or RCBS 45-255 mold and you're set. I tried lighter bullets but POI is too low compared to the ones I hunt with.

35W

I am not much into Colt SAA or the clones, but that Uberti looks NICE! The few gunshops I stop in almost never have anything I would look at twice. Sure wish I could look one of the Uberti SA like yours over.

I am a huge fan of single actions with adjustable sights though. It comes down to the front sight, not aesthetics. My eyes aren't what they were....

[hc18flyer]

There are alot of good choices for the 45 colt. I imagine most of your hunting will be for whitetail deer. Anything from 250-300gns will do. Some of my favorites are the noe 454-280 wfn and the mp 452-278 wfn with the small hollowpoint pin. This bullet in my alloy weighs 262gns.

�� I agree. I have a large frame BH and both swc as well as rnfp molds. In the process of thinning the herd down. I think I will settle on my NOE 255 rnfp and my Mihec 280 grain rnfp with up options. My keep my RCBS 270 swc, just because!
hc18flyer

[osteodoc08]

45-270-SAA is my go to. Ignited by 13.5gr HS-6. If it can’t be done with this, you need a rifle.

For plinking I like the traditional 250-255gr RNFP with your choice of fast pistol powder. I generally use 231