Winchester 94 in 45 colt

[bgreed]

After trying to find one for nearly three years I finally got a 1894 Winchester in 45 Colt.
16"barrel made in the early eighties.

Anybody have a pet load for this rifle? I'm thinking a 270gr bullet.

[GoodOlBoy]

If you are talking about a 270 grain keith or SWC try a few before you shell out money for a mold. They may not cycle through the action. My Favorite 45LC load is, and always will be a 250-255gr RNFP Lead. Accurate, cycles flawlessly in most things, and will knock a deer on his coon dog.

GoodOlBoy

[Lonegun1894]

I'd suggest taking Goodolboys advice. Mine feeds the Lee 255gr RNFP, Lee 252gr SWC, and Lee 300gr very well. Does ok most of the time, but I have to be very careful of OAL with the RCBS 270gr SAA cause there's a very fine line between feeding and jamming with this bullet, and does not feed the Lee 200gr SWC for anything, even if loaded to a shorter OAL than the 270gr RCBS. I'd try the bullets you're wanting to use before buying a mold if possible. This rifle has it's own quirks, not all of which make sense at first. I hate to say it, but my Rossi 92 .45 Colt is smoother and less ammo sensitive.

[mac266]

I have the "cowboy limited" with a 20 inch barrel, which I bought for shooting Cowboy Action (if you haven't shot this game, you *REALLY* need to!). So my pet load is a cowboy action load, which is a mouse fart. We shoot steel targets up close, so the rules say lead bullets only (no gas checks!), and a maximum of 1200 fps for rifles.

I use 4.6 grains of Clays under a 200 grain lead RNFP (or SWC, depending on what I've been casting). Mine feeds 200 gr. SWCs just fine (Lyman mould with 2 lube grooves, I forget the number). I assume a heavier SWC would be longer, but since both my bullets are the same weight I seat them to the same depth. Like I said, it's a great cowboy action load, but I wouldn't go deer hunting with it. You might try it for cheap plinking; it will stretch out your powder life, for sure!

[denul]

I have a 20 inch barrel 94 that does extremely well with the MP 454640. With its various HP pins, or if you prefer the solid nose version,you will be very close to your desired weight, and also have a bullet nose and length which will feed well in that rifle. With substantial charges of slow burning powders like 2400 and 4227, I have not seen the need for gas checks. One of the several group buys for this particular mode has just been completed, and it would probably be worth checking with Miha to see if he has any left in stock.

[clum553946]

I have one of the 45 Colt 16" AE 94's & it's a riot to shoot. Going to try it on hogs from a stand this coming season!

[clum553946]

I looked up my two favorite loads for this rifle. For general shooting, I like 250 gr lfp over 13.2 AA#5 & the hunting load is Barnes XPB 225 gr over 24.5 Lil Gun. These are pretty stout, so use caution & start lower. I have to use the Barnes bullet for hunting because out here in sunny California, you can't hunt with lead anymore! Ridiculous! Also, 250 gr. with 11.0 gr AA#5 is a great plinking load!

[bigted]

something to consider with any Winchester is the chamber. take a fired case from your rifle and measure the flaired neck of the case before any sizing. this will be the most accurate boolit size in your rifle.

my M-92 takes a .457 easy peasy in a un sized case with just a small flair to check lead shaving.

as for loads ... it be awfull hard to beat a case full of blackpowder under your boolit. another load that does well is 8.5 or 9 grains Unique under the boolit.

[TXGunNut]

If you're looking for a heavy hunting boolit I can recommend Ranch Dog's 290gr design. I think NOE may do a run of them sometime soon if we get enough folks signed up for a group buy. For most of my 45 Colt shooting I like the Lee 452-255-RF RNFP that drops around 255grs, plenty of lube groove capacity for BP as well.