Please Point me in the right direction for getting into BP

[TybrneRyan]

Hello gents,

I am becoming more and more interested in reloading 45 colt with BP but I don't know where to start. I have absolutely zero experience with BP. What is your preferred published manual of reference to get me rolling? Also, Is FFFG the only way to go for this cartridge? Any recommendations on powder brands or tips are much appreciated.


Regards,

Ryan

[SharpsShooter]

Loading black powder in the 45 colt is quite easy. My load for example is 35 grains of Swiss 1.5f or Goex ffg under a 260 grain Keith semi-wad cutter that is lubricated with a proper black powder lube.


Nothing to it really. It fills the case for a 100% density load and is quite accurate from everything I have shot it from to date.


No Magnum primer required.


SS

['74 sharps]

Full case of 2F, .06" vegetable fiber wad under a 250gr very soft Lyman copy of the original Colt bullet #454190, a little compression on the powder with the bullet, and good to go. Once I shot real black in my Colt 7 1/2" SAA, will never go back to smokeless as there is no comparison in the fun factor between them.

[Remmy4477]

Just be sure your case is full of powder with a little compresion with the bullet seated. You can use wads or not between the powder and bullet, some folks do some don't. Goex 2f works well for me. Start out simple, keeps notes on your loads and experiment. Very soon you'll have a load that works great. Enjoy and have fun with it!

[country gent]

Also use a bullet lube that will help keep the fouling soft like spg.

[TXGunNut]

You've found a great place to start, as noted above SP in the 45 Colt isn't much fun once you've fired it with Holy Black.:-) Lyman has a good BP manual quite honestly it is a little thin in the area you're interested in. Steve Garbe and Mike Venturino have some very good info in their BPCR Primer but it mainly addresses the rifles used in the BPCR game.
Quite honestly this forum is a great source of info on the 45 Colt and BP but as others have said it's not really all that complicated. Since boolit profiles, case capacity and powder density varies the key is to compress the BP charge to the degree that gives you the best performance. The exact amount is immaterial. Knowing what load works for me will do you little good unless you are using the exact same components. A good load can be made from any good FFFg or FFg and almost any properly sized grease groove boolit and a suitable lube. Wads aren't required but they're worth a try if you have some lying around.

[Dale53]

Mike Venturino's book "Shooting Colt Single Actions" would be just what you want. However, it is out of print and bringing collector prices:

http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Single-Actions-Calibers-Generations/dp/B0006QNUJQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403495735&sr=1-5&keywords=mike+venturino

A number of years ago, I wanted to shoot Black Powder in my Ruger .45 Colt Bisley. I shot BPCR silhouette and there were side pistol matches. Mike's book put me on the right track and led to me winning a number of matches.

I used home cast Lyman 452664 bullets (250 gr RF) lubed with home made Emmert's lube and cast of 1/20 lead/tin and sized to .452". No wads are necessary. You want a case full of either 2F or 3F black powder. Have enough powder that seating the bullet compresses it by 1/16". Any more compression when seating the soft bullet can damage the bullet. It is important, however, to have some compression of black powder.

This is a full load, make no mistake. Using Swiss 3f gives me 900+ fps. 2F slightly less with less recoil, also. Standard large pistol primers work fine.

FWIW
Dale53

[StrawHat]

My load is similar to what others have posted. Enough powder to allow the boolit (260 grain RF, 260 SWC or similar) to apply a little compression. A black powder friendly lube is essential, many recipes are available. I use GOEX 2f or 3f. After I started using these loads for hunting, I sold my 44 Magnums.

[220]

Don't have any experience with BP in 45 but do load BP in a few cartridges.
Are you loading for handgun or rifle? If rifle you probably want to look for a boolit design that holds a good volume of lube. Lube will help keep fouling soft IMHO with BP the more lube the better.

[Gunlaker]

Ryan, this reference is a bit old, bu it will definitely get you started in the right direction. And it's free.

http://www.wahsatchdesperadoes.com/Intro_to_BPCR_Loading.pdf

Chris.

[SSGOldfart]

Ryan, this reference is a bit old, bu it will definitely get you started in the right direction. And it's free.

http://www.wahsatchdesperadoes.com/Intro_to_BPCR_Loading.pdf

Chris.

another very good link Thanks

[TybrneRyan]

Thank you gents for all the info! I have an idea on where to start. I see that NOE offers BP moulds and I may snag one to get the ball rolling.

Regards,

Ryan