Before I pull the trigger, is this load safe?

[superior]

Hi guys and gals.... I just constructed one round of snake shot for my 45Colt RBH.
I sandwiched no.8 shot between 2 gas checks. The total weight of the checks + shot is 185 grains. It sits on 6 grains of bullseye. Im concerned that the lower check is seated awfully deeply in the case, and although the powder charge is a mild one for this revolver, I'm afraid to pull the trigger. The lower check rests about 2/3 of the way down the case, leaving very little space for the powder.
I only made one, and I would really appreciate some good advice before I touch it off ( if I do).:roll:

[subsonic]

With no pressure data or load book to guide you, you're just guessing.

Mike Venturino did an article where he listed a .45 Colt load with double gas checks. It was in Handloader April 2005 #234. The load was 163gr of #12 shot, 2 checks and 9gr of Unique. He mentions not to compress the bottom check heavily, just touch the powder with it to avoid excessive pressure.

Here's a decent link I found by googling:

http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=46751

[MtGun44]

If you are worried, set it aside and make up a duplicate with 4 gr and shoot it. If OK, do it
with 5 gr and see how you like that. If that goes well, try 5.5 gr and then the 6 gr. Working
up from below is ALWAYS a smart thing to do when you are out there in uncharted territory.

I would guess that 4 gr of BE in a .45 BH couldn't blow it up no matter what you put in front of
it., short of a .460 diam steel rod! ;-)
Bill

[August]

I don't know what an RBH is.

I think six grains of bullseye is a lot of very fast burning powder to put into a confined space.

If you owned a Rooooooger, I'd say, go ahead and pull the trigger. If you're talking about a Colt's wheel gun, I think I'd pass on the experiment.

[bradh]

RBH = Ruger Black Hawk

[Char-Gar]

Superior.. I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on that load. That is just what I would do, you have to decide for yourself if you want to pull the trigger.

[fisheadgib]

I would say it's safe. Especially in a Ruger. I've loaded a lot of shotshells for my 44's and I have a preference for the Speer shot capsules. Loaded with #9 shot, the capsules average 143gr's and the loading data that used to be printed on the box shows a charge of 5.6gr's of bullseye for a 44 special load and 7gr's for a 44mag load. I don't have Speer's data for the 45colt capsules but being a larger diameter I'm sure they would weigh slightly more and the pressures would be slightly lower. 6gr's sounds well within a safe range for your load. Incidently, I've played with a lot of different "home made" shotshells for pistols and I've never found anything that worked as well as the Speer capsules. The problem I always had was getting a uniform and consistent pattern and the capsules do this better than anything that I've tried.

[superior]

Well! Thanks for the replies...I feel safe touching it off overall, but I'm going to follow MTGUN44's advice first. All of my 45 shells are already loaded with warm 255 and 300 gr. loads, but as soon as I can shoot some off, I'll work up to my 6 gr. snake load, starting at 4. If the pattern is satisfactory at 10 feet, I'll keep a cylinder's worth on hand when working around the brush piles. Thanks again, y'all. For a while, I didn't think anyone wanted to touch my question with a ten foot pole.
Superior

[Char-Gar]

Superior.. Nobody wants the responsibility of saying..sure pull the trigger. They didn't load the ammo and has no control over how it is used.