"lite"Load/45colt/uberti

[gunoil]

Gonna do these on loadmaster.
1)dillon sizer
2)lee 45colt expander
3)powder only, plug milled flat.
4)dillon seater
5)Lee FCD.

Lyman cast 200gr w/hitech-supercoat.
cleaned decapped brass
fed primers
No powder yet.

I have a veteran colt friend to help when hes in town. Found uberti local for 399$,new in box. No buy yet. Gonna shoot waxed too.

ANY TIPS WILL BE HELP. Ive loaded over 20 thousand (380/9/45). But no colt 45's.

[DougGuy]

Std .45 Colt loads are "lite" at 14,000psi max.

That is one of the largest old time straight wall pistol cartridges, it has a LOT of case capacity, it is difficult to download it and have decent consistent ignition because of where the powder ends up in the case.

If you are going to use fast burning powder and 200gr RF boolits you could come across a couple decent loads but to be honest, you should just load the ol' girl like they did way back, 255gr boolit over 8gr Unique and enjoy the romance of the Grand Dame of metallic cartridges!

Oh, leave off the FCD, it won't be necessary.

Also, if you have a boolit or pin gage to take with you, you might discover the Uberti has .454" or larger throats..

[prs]

See if you can come up with some Trail Boss powder. The listed charges for it are VERY mild and you can use as much as will fit without compressing powder; but why? A charge that is slightly more than half case full is ideal as a double charge will overflow. Modifying the powder through die may have been a mistake as its friction fit helps "jostle" the ProAuto Disc for more consistent charges. A powder baffle helps consistency too. When setting up, loosen (raise) the bolt that depresses your primer rocker arm. Have your dies way loose (raised) and hold press until it stops on its own stops. Then turn your #1 die down to make just firm contact as you hold the press ram up. Lock that die and DO NOT turn it in any deeper. Then that Carbide Factory Crimp Die body in #5 can be set the same way, but keep crimp adjustment well up. Set your 2-3-4 dies as needed for proper internal size, charging, and seating. Set the CFCD to make the desired roll crimp (caution, if you feel that carbide ring actually sizing the cartridges, fix the problem instead of letting the die cover it up or you will lose some retention). Now set the primer rocker bolt to where the primer is just below flush, with the shell plate empty and the press ram full up on its stops, that rocker arm must have some play in it, i.e., an air gap is seen between the bolt head and contact area of the rocker arm if the rocker arm is depressed with your finger. This should give you trouble free loading with consistent OAL.

prs

[JohnnyFlake]

For what it's worth, I have an Uberti .45 Colt Smoke Wagon with 4 5/8" Barrel. I absolutely love it!

I have only shot reloads in it. I use 3 different loads and they all work well.

8.0gn of Unique under a Cast 230gr RN
8.0gn of Unique under a Cast 250gr RNFP
8.0gn of Unique under a Cast 255gr FPSWC

All 3 loads are very accurate, however, the 255gr FPSWC has the edge with accuracy.

BTW, I do not cast, so the boolits I use are from "Oregon Trail".

[flyingmonkey35]

I loved mine. Until I double charged it and blew it up.

Use trail boss if you can find it. This gun is what it is made for.

[wrench man]

Yep, Trail Boss, burnt several pounds of it in the 45 Colt!

[35 Whelen]

I am not a fan of Trail Boss because I think it lulls handloaders into not watching for double charges, BUT if I were wanting to load light loads on a progressive, that's probably what I'd use. Just be ready for a little sticker shock because it costs 25% - 30% more than your typical handgun powder.

35W

[bedbugbilly]

Sounds to me like it would be a good candidate for some BP loads!

[JeffG]

Yep, 35 gr of FFF behind the Lee 452-255-RF is a nice little hand full. The everyday load is 6.3 of Bullseye.

[gunoil]

jeffg, no powder in cumberland county. My projectiles are all lyman 200gr coated with hitech. There is some blue dot @ Jims.

[jonp]

I've been fooling about with 6gr of Unique under a 200gr boolit to use some up in my 45Colt. Kinda dirty but they shoot fine and no recoil to speak of.

[Markbo]

When I first started reloading about 8 years ago the first big expeimenting was .45 colt with 200gr cast. It was a waste of an entire year. Bullet styles, profiles, hardness and all the different loads I could do never resulted in great accuracy in 2 different revolvers. Fast foward to a couple of 250-255gr bullets and I found the expected accuracy very quickly including light-ish rounds and now load for 6 .45s.

Im not saying you wont or cant. Just sharing my experience. ;)

[charlie b]

Beware of light Blue Dot loads! Blue Dot is one of those powders that is finicky. I almost learned the hard way with a Blackhawk in .45LC.

It shot really well with BD near max loads and 255 or 300gn bullets.

I loaded some down and experienced the "explosion" I was using a chronograph at the time. Fired the first cylinder full and they came out at around 800fps. Second cylinder half way through and huge recoil. velocity with a 255gn bullet was 1600fps!!

So, I tilted the gun up to vertical, carefully lowered it and shot. 850fps. Tilted the gun down and shot, 1600fps (yes, that was stupid). Tossed the rest of those.

I tested the load density at home. The charge of BD, when the case was horizontal, did not cover the primer hole. So, the primer ignited almost the whole charge at once. After that used BD only in higher density loads. Great powder, just not very forgiving, especially in large volume cases.

[cowboy]

Howdy- I have and enjoy shooting my many Rugers ( Original Vaqueros, and Full size Blackhawks ) in.45 Colt. My BEST "light" loads for Cowboy Action ( accurate, too) use .45 Schofield brass, 180-200 grain cast bullets, and Trail Boss powder 4.4 gr. I had best results by crimping well, and NOT using listed minimum charges ( that resulted in inconsistent performance, unburned powder spewing out when fired, etc. Somewhat bigger charges and firm crimping resulted in better ignition and more complete burn, all of which was more easily achieved in the smaller Schofield casings. Getting the same result in .45 Colt casings required more powder, with more recoil, etc. That .45 Colt case is BIG inside, and LITTLE charges of powder have trouble being ignited the same way every time. I save .45 Colt cases for "standard" .45 Colt loads in lever actions ( where I need the longer rounds for proper feeding ) and revolvers, and "heavy" loads in my Freedom Arms beastie.

[gunoil]

Thanks CharlieB! I didnt buy blue dot.