Casted bullet for .45 Long Colt

[joeatact]

What is a good cast bullet for the .45 Long Colt? Can one use a 45acp also?

Can any 45 jacketed bullet be used also?

Thanks for the advise

Joe

[RayinNH]

Joe we need more information from you. Intended purpose, hunting or paper punching/plinking? Rifle or handgun?

Lots of good boolits available...Ray

[cbrick]

Welcome to CastBoolits joeatact,

Ray is correct, that's not much info to go on to be able to give you a worthwhile answer.

As for the jacketed bullets I really have no idea what they may be good for, do they still make them?

Rick

[joeatact]

Sorry for the lack of information. I just aquired a Ruger Blackhawk 45 convertible. Plan on using mainly 45acp but thought about loading the 45 long and dont know much about them.
Mainly to use for target shoting.

[stubshaft]

I have had good accuracy out of the Lee 452-252 and 452-255RF in both of those cartridges. The 252 gives me better overall accuracy but only comes in a 2 cavity mold (I usually cast with 3 of them at a time).

[jmsj]

joeatact,
I have great luck w/ the Lee 452-255-RF in 45 ACP and very decent results in 45 Colt. I tried the Lee 452-200-RF out this week in the same guns and did not get as good results. I still need to try some more load development for the 200 grainer.
Good luck, jmsj

[Cherokee]

RCBS 45-230CM mould casts a nice 230 gr rounded flat nose bullet that I use in both. I found that the 45 ACP cylinder throats on my old model Blackhawks are picky about the diameter of the bullet extending beyond the case mouth into the throat, test load some dummy rounds and try them before loading a bunch.

[runfiverun]

a good 225 rnfp is an excellent crossover for the two 45's.

[geargnasher]

Not using the same mould for .45 ACP in an automatic makes worlds of difference. Do a little investigation of what your ACP cylinder throats look like and make your decision based on that. If it shoots in that cylinder it will probably work OK in the Colt cylinder, although you might have to use widely different powders and charges to get the same POI with the same boolit in both cylinders.

Gear

[oscarflytyer]

Assuming you got one of the Lipsey 45 BH convertibles. I am casting.shooting the Lee 250. Fantastic results. I really can't get it to shoot anything poorly. PM/email me and I will be happy to share my loads/results.

[Bullet Caster]

Lee 255 grain RNFP here for the Colt and Lee 228 grain RN for the .45ACP. I used to have a Ruger SS convertible .45 Colt/.45 ACP and dumb me traded it for a Winchester 94 AE chambered in .45 Colt. Oh well, those were the days! BC

[Dale53]

I have a SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP Convertible. When first received, the cylinder throats were undersize and my handgun leaded when using cast bullets. The .45 ACP cylinder would not let me load a round that had ANY of the bullet size bullet extending from the case. Totally unsatisfactory.

However, this has a VERY happy ending. I borrowed a "made for the job" reamer kit (Manson kit complete with pilots) and reamed both cylinders (while I was at it I also reamed my Bisley Vaquero and both of my buddies' Convertibles that also suffered from undersize cylinder throats). Now, my gun as well as those of my friends' shoot like NRA Bullseye Pistols. Further, we get NO leading.

I size my bullets to .452" and my favorite bullet for the .45 Colt is a Mihec clone of the RCBS 45-270-SAA. It weighs 285 grs in solid form with my alloy. In hollow point (20/1 lead/tin) it weighs 270 grs. In the Bisley (large frame I can load anything from mild to wild for hunting).

In my .45 ACP cylinder my most used bullet is the same one I use in my 1911's and S&W Model 625's - a Mihec clone of the H&G #68, a 200 gr SWC.

Keep in mind, that the new Ruger Flattops are reportedly being shipped with correct cylinder throats. If your throats are undersized and you are not trained as a machinist, then you can do what most do, use "Cylindersmith.com". He reams the throats to the proper size of .4525" and his prices are quite reasonable. You get a break when doing more than one cylinder and turn around time is reportedly quick.

FWIW
Dale53

[miestro_jerry]

I had one of the Blackhawks with the 2 cyclinders. I found the pistols worked better for me with the 45 LC cylinder. I sized the boolits to .454 and never a problem, my 45 ACP bullets meant for for my 1911 and other similar pistols where sized to .452, which worked well in the Blackhawk, but not as good as the 45 LC. That is one pistol I wish I had kept.

Jerry

[Harter66]

Sure wish I had an ACP cyl for my BH. I've shot the LEE 452-255RF in my 45 Colts BH and in a 1917Colt ACP revolver w/good results I just cast my 1st batch of 452-252SWC so no verdict on them yet.

[Wolfer]

I have had good accuracy out of the Lee 452-252 and 452-255RF in both of those cartridges. The 252 gives me better overall accuracy but only comes in a 2 cavity mold (I usually cast with 3 of them at a time).

For me it's just the opposite, the 255 has a slight edge on the 252. I have also used the 452-228 rn, and 452-200 rf all of which shot good with a slight edge to the 255
I also have the lyman 452-424. Not as accurate but does a better job on bigger game
The lee 255 does a better job on smaller game
I also have the lee 452-300 rf. accurate up close but seems to lose stability at longer range. I'm using a new vaquero and I sometimes have to adjust my load to POA
my findings might be different if I could just load for accuracy.

[Boerrancher]

I use the Lee 452-230RN for 45acp and the Lee 452-255RNFP for the 45LC. To be honest I don't have much use for the 45ACP any more and got rid of the extra cylinder years ago. If I am going to shoot a 45ACP I will use my Springfield 1911, as the 45acp just didn't shoot as good out of the wheel gun as the 45LC did.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Recluse]

What is a good cast bullet for the .45 Long Colt? Can one use a 45acp also?

Can any 45 jacketed bullet be used also?

Thanks for the advise

Joe


Welcome to CastBoolits joeatact,

As for the jacketed bullets I really have no idea what they may be good for, do they still make them?

Rick

:bigsmyl2:

Joe,

For plinking and just "fun to shoot" loads, I use a Lee 200SWC boolit. I forget how much powder I use, but it's a pretty mild load, stable, accurate and definitely puts empty cans over on their side.

My dad recently bought a gun like yours, along with a Ruger Vaquero, and I recently got a Judge to keep in the airplane for long cross-country trips as a survival gun. I bought a Keith style mold which is a 255 grain SWC boolit. I've cast several hundred up, loaded some but haven't shot them.

Just about anything "45" is easy to load for, accurate, and forgiving.

Quite honestly, I have no idea what I'd use a jacketed projectile for in a 45 Colt. Has nothing to do with this being a cast boolit site, just given the ballistics and typical scenarios in which one would have a 45 Colt on hand, I can't think of anything that jacketed bullet would do better than a lead projectile except wear the bore out faster.

:coffee:

[zxcvbob]

My favorite boolit for .45 Colt is a Lee TL452-230-TC and it should also be a good one for .45 ACP. Unfortunately, that was the very first mold that I bought and I only got a 2-cavity mold, and now I can't justify buying a 6 because I'm so cheap :rolleyes:

I've never fired a jacketed bullet in my .45 Colt. I do have a few 300 grain j-bullets that I bought to try out, but I haven't gotten around tuit.

[lbaize3]

The Lee 452-200-RF works well in my 45 Colt Schofield and Spencer reproductions. It also shoots very well in my Para Ordinance and Springfield 1911s. It even shoots without failure to feed in my semiauto Thompson 1927 A1 carbine.

[Cadillo]

I've yet to decide which Colt boolit works best in my Bisley Convertible, but using the ACP cylinder the Lyman 452460 is very accurate after I reamed my throats. The 452460 will not feed well in some of my Semi Autos, but is very accurate in all my guns.

[beagle]

I'll go along with Cherokee on the RCBS 45-230-CM. I've had exellent results in both the .45 Colt and .45 ACP in a Ruger convertible as well as my Colt M1911A1. IMO, the way to go./beagle


RCBS 45-230CM mould casts a nice 230 gr rounded flat nose bullet that I use in both. I found that the 45 ACP cylinder throats on my old model Blackhawks are picky about the diameter of the bullet extending beyond the case mouth into the throat, test load some dummy rounds and try them before loading a bunch.