10" 45 colt contender

[rosewood]

Finally picked up myself a 10" 45 Colt contender barrel. It is 45 colt only, older soldered on front site. I did drop in a 454 case and it will close on it, so it has a deep chamber and long throat.

The question:
I want a cast boolit that shoots tight groups at 100 yards with reasonable recoil for target shooting. For those of you that have this barrel, have you discovered a specific weight/type boolit/mold that will shoot tight groups?

Currently, I have a Lee 200 RNFP mold and a 300 RNGC mold. Haven't really started playing with loads in this barrel yet but haven't had exceptional accuracy with the 200 in other guns and I think the 300 is gonna be a bit much for target shooting.

Thanks,

Rosewood

[MT Gianni]

I don't have that bbl but that would change if I saw one for sale. Treat it like a rifle with a pound cast and throat measurement. I suspect that an rf bullet may be your friend over a swc.

[dubber123]

The traditional style boolit in the Lyman form, either 452190, or 454190 are quite common, and have shot around an inch or so for me out of several different revolvers at 25 yds. It's not a "sexy" looking projectile, but seems inherently accurate. Weight generally runs around 250-260 grains.

[rosewood]

An inch or so at 25 yards? I am gonna be really disappointed if it won't do better than that. My encore .44mag and my contender .357 will both do under 2" at 100 yards with the right handloads. Now, that is j-word boolits though. Haven't pursued cast in them at that distance yet.

I was kind of thinking that a 250gr or so boolit might be more accurate than the 200 gr as it is longer and will probably stabilize better though.

Thanks,

Rosewood

[leftiye]

Use a 300 grain or so boolit, RNFP and maybe GC (after you see if plan base will shoot accurately at your chosen velocity). Do the pound cast as suggested. If casull brass will fit - consider using it (don't use casull loads unless you have a death wish). Keep velocity below 1300 for safety sake (with slower powder).

[rosewood]

Use a 300 grain or so boolit, RNFP and maybe GC (after you see if plan base will shoot accurately at your chosen velocity). Do the pound cast as suggested. If casull brass will fit - consider using it (don't use casull loads unless you have a death wish). Keep velocity below 1300 for safety sake (with slower powder).

I have thought about using the casull brass, and yes I know factory is too much pressure and I have better sense than loading it as such. I will have to do some more measuring to make sure it fits and doesn't taper down the end of the brass. This will let me get the boolits closer to the rifling (i.e. touching). May trim some casull brass if need be so it will fit well. The pound cast should answer that question.

Thanks,

Rosewood

[quilbilly]

While I don't have a 10" 45 Long Colt barrel, I do have a 45 acp 10" barrel and it shoots that 200 gr RF very well at an MV of about 1200. Both have the same twist rate I think. My mold actually drops boolits at a 215 gr. average. I am not good enough to tell you what great groups it shoots but there isn't much left of rabbits at 25 yards and one average size deer dropped like a stone at 50 yards. My powder is Bullseye.

[dubber123]

An inch or so at 25 yards? I am gonna be really disappointed if it won't do better than that. My encore .44mag and my contender .357 will both do under 2" at 100 yards with the right handloads. Now, that is j-word boolits though. Haven't pursued cast in them at that distance yet.

I was kind of thinking that a 250gr or so boolit might be more accurate than the 200 gr as it is longer and will probably stabilize better though.

Thanks,

Rosewood

Yep, inch or so at 25 from a 4" iron sighted revolver, not a "short rifle" which is what I consider Contenders. My 10" Contender short rifle in .44 mag shoots around 1/2" at 50 yds.

[rosewood]

Gotcha figure the contender should do better than a revolver.

[dubber123]

Gotcha figure the contender should do better than a revolver.

I would assume so also. Just the better sights on T/C's help groups tremendously. I have a factory 6-1/2" TCA barrel in .45 Colt I have not tried out yet.

I would still bet on the mold I suggested shooting well at moderate velocity. I have tried shoving it 1,300+ from a revolver, and groups suffered. The T/C is much more like a rifle, and I find I can shoot faster and maintain accuracy over a revolver. Good luck.

[DougGuy]

This will let me get the boolits closer to the rifling (i.e. touching).

You should try this first with just a few pieces of brass. You may find that some freejump greatly aids accuracy. You may find that a surprising amount of freejump is the most accurate. This is my experience in throating .45 barrels, I am finding that a decent amount of 3° freebore before the leade in begins is the most accurate throat. I cannot tell you why this is but barrels I have done this way shoot lights out and it seems to cut down on leading as well.

You can certainly try both ways if the throat is long enough but I wouldn't go overboard in trimming brass until you find out what the barrel likes.