.45 Long Colt mould recommendations

[dlbarr]

Never had one before. Your favorites please....

[DougGuy]

For what gun? Lots of people here favor the wide meplat Lee C452-255-RF or the Lee C452-300-RF but the 300gr GC boolit doesn't always like to feed in a levergun. And since there is such a wide swing in power and pressure for this caliber, we need to know more specifically which gun you are loading for.

[dlbarr]

Cimarron Thunderball, 3.5" barrel

[Nobade]

#454190 for black powder, #454424 Keith for smokeless.

-Nobade

[bigted]

the revolver will tell you what it likes to devour. what I mean to say is that altho there are many "favorites" from folks ... the revolver is going to tell the story about what weight it wants to print vertically where you want them to go ... then the revolver will tell what load is going to tell accuracy wise [grouping] about what it will like. different powders ... different primers ... sizing ... you get my drift.

great thing is going to be the copious amount of shooting your revolver to attain the end result you request of it.

to start with I would slug the bore and the cylinder mouth's to find the diameter it will desire ... followed by purchasing different boolit weights to find out where vertically they will hit with your sighting and trigger squeeze.

after you find a boolit size that your revolver is going to want ... I would ask for some fellow casters to sell you some of the different weights usually found for the 45 Colt ... such as 200 grain ... 230 grain ... 250 grain ... 260ish grainers and the 300 grainers.

these will settle into what you desire your impact to be based upon your particular sighting arrangement. these different weight boolits will impact at different heights on paper for you and your revolver to settle on what you both can agree on for weight.

then the real fun begins ... ladder testing followed by changing primers and testing ... shoot then shoot and shoot some more ... shameful I know.

[DougGuy]

Cimarron Thunderball, 3.5" barrel

Okay, a couple more questions. First off, this revolver will only take standard pressure (14,000psi) .45 Colt loads, no Tier 2 loads permitted, and for sure no Ruger Only loads permitted.

Next important thing, have you slugged your cylinder throats or measured them with pin gages? The throat diameter will directly influence which mold size you will need. Many here like the Lee C452-255-RF mold, or the NOE mold which is an improved version. The Lyman 454190 is a popular round nose boolit. There are others who like the Keith type LSWC designs but I got away from them years and years ago and have much better luck with boolits that don't have that front driving band. I like a smooth transition into the sides personally as this design works better in the forcing cone than a Keith boolit.

[dlbarr]

OK, I get the standard pressure-only precaution. Appreciate knowing that.

I have neither slugged nor miked the cylinder throats but will need to do that. Thanks for the input.

[pworley1]

+1 on what Nobade said.

[bangerjim]

Watch the pressure rating of the load data in the books and the published rating of your gun.

That being said, I cast, load and shoot 45 long Colt in 165, 200, 230, 250, 260ish, and 300 grain flavors with no problem.

banger-j

[hp246]

Lee 452-230-TC. I use the same boolit in both .45 Colt and .45 ACP. Works in both my 92 and 73 lever guns really well.

[salvadore]

My Uberti .45 throats are like .451/.452, every .45 Colt mold I've bought would cast out to at least .452. A new NOE mold casts to .455 works well in my Colt with .454+ throats.

Size for the throat diameter, I like a softer alloy. The .45 Colt is a very cool cartridge.

[High Desert Hunter]

I have had good results with the Lee 452-255 RF in all 4 of my 45 Colts, and even in my 1911. That said I get the best result from the RCBS 45-270SAA, but I think that will be too much bullet for standard pressures.

[xd45forever]

My buddy has a vaquero and I cast him up some 452-252 Lee SWC he loved em for that!

[RobS]

If you have fairly standard cylinder throat diameters then the Lee 200 grain RF or the 255 grain RF are good designs that are accurate. If you have larger throats in the .454" plus area you may need to look into a custom mold.

[osteodoc08]

454424 for a classic Keith

45-270-SAA for all around 45 Colt goodness

454190 for the classic look

MP 45 Ruger only with penta point for some serious work

[StrawHat]

I have used all of these with good results, 454190, 454424, 452423, RCBS 45-270, 457122, 457130 and round ball. Notice I said "have used". I have narrowed it down to these three, 454190, 454424, and the RCBS mold. I have 6 cavity GB of all three.

Kevin

[35 Whelen]

On a cast bullet forum, most will tell you to slug the bore and cylinder throats first. I disagree. Shoot it first, then if you have problems start trying to figure out why. I currently own six Uberti's chambered in .357, .44 Special and 45 Colt. All of them have shot extremely well with no modifications to the cylinders or barrels. My Ruger Vaquero is another matter entirely and has required quite a bit of work.

As to the moulds, there's a plethora of choices. I'm a dyed in the wool SWC fan. The RCBS 255 gr. SWC has worked well in everything, but I just love the RCBS 45-270 SWC. My mould is a copy made by Miha and came with 4 sets of hollowpoint pins. I use them not to cast expanding bullets, but to vary the weight of the bullets. With the largest pin my bullets drop right around 260 gr. at the light end, and cast as a straight SWC drops at 285 - 290 grs. It's a very versatile mould allowing one to cast bullets for anything from practice to hunting. This is the bullet cast using the large HP pin:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Cast%20bullets/45-270LgHP_zps5ee7b1ec.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Cast%20bullets/45-270LgHP_zps5ee7b1ec.jpg.html)


Same bullet with a smaller HP pin weighing 283 grs. and a couple of 25 yd. groups:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Uberti%2045%20Colt/Uberti-Twogroups-text_zpsd03169c2.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Uberti%2045%20Colt/Uberti-Twogroups-text_zpsd03169c2.jpg.html)

That said, I recently, against my better judgment, bought a Lee 452-255-RF. The mould is a pretty much a piece of junk and takes LOTS of care and finesse to cast good bullets and a rejection rate of close to 50%. But once those good bullets are cast, they've shot very, very well in both my 45 Colts with practically any load I choose. My intention is to ditch the Lee and buy a quality mould that casts a bullet of the same style...probably an NOE or Accurate brand.

Last but far from least, a Miha (http://[URL]http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?207074-MiHec-454640-brass-two-or-four-cavity-cramer-hollow-point-mold) 454640 mould. This mould is a copy of Lyman's 454640 mould and comes with HP pins and will cast bullets weighing from 262 to 290 grs. This particular bullet has shot well in all my 45 Colts too, with just about any load.

So, there you are. I have a NOE 454424 mould, but for some reason this bullet isn't as easy to get to shoot as the others I mentioned.


35W

[5.7 MAN]

The 454190 calssic bullet has shot well in about every 45 colt ive owned. If you want an SWC I like the RCBS 255KT bullet.

[Harry O]

#454190 for black powder, #454424 Keith for smokeless.

-Nobade

I agree 100% with Nobade. I tried a couple of different Lee moulds before I got the Lyman 454424. The Keith shot so much better. That guy Keith must have known a thing or two.

[DougGuy]

On a cast bullet forum, most will tell you to slug the bore and cylinder throats first. I disagree. Shoot it first, then if you have problems start trying to figure out why.

Would you drive a car knowing the tires were low and then wonder why it didn't drive any better or would you air the tires up to start with? To each his own I guess.

[35 Whelen]

Would you drive a car knowing the tires were low and then wonder why it didn't drive any better or would you air the tires up to start with? To each his own I guess.

Apples and oranges, my friend.

Why would I need to know the diameters of the cylinder throats of a revolver if it will shoot 6" groups at 100 yds., as in the case of my Flat Top .44 Special or my Cimarron Model P? I care not in the least!

35W

[jonp]

I tried a few with my BH and was using a 454190 but I've switched to a Lee C452-255-RF.

[USSR]

...I just love the RCBS 45-270 SWC. My mould is a copy made by Miha and came with 4 sets of hollowpoint pins.

+1.

Don