Got a new levergun, need mould and powder help.

[Goshawk]

243265Got a new in box Winchester 94 Legacy in 45 Colt for pistol caliber Leveraction silhouette and want to hunt with it also. Never loaded any pistol loads. What moulds and powder do you recommend? TIA

[John Boy]

For starters ...What weight bullet do you want to use?
Pick one then the mold comes next ... https://stevespages.com/451p_3.html

[Goshawk]

For starters ...What weight bullet do you want to use?
Pick one then the mold comes next ... https://stevespages.com/451p_3.html
I think I am going to get the Lee 255 grain 6 hole mould to start with. Looks like a good bullet and is available up here in Canada.

[Larry Gibson]

For hunting I'd look at "Ruger only" 45 Colt loads with a 250 - 270 gr GC'd bullet.

[Norske]

And for pleasant plinking/practicing, look to cowboy action loads.

[osteodoc08]

For plinking, 200gr RNFP, with fast pistol powder of choice

For all purpose 45-270-SAA using 13.5gr HS-6 (mid level 2) or for hunting max dose of 2400/296/LG (Ruger Only)

[hockeynick39]

For hunting I'd look at "Ruger only" 45 Colt loads with a 250 - 270 gr GC'd bullet.

I will concur with this!

[bikerbeans]

I can't help you with load workup but that is a very sharp levergun.

BB

[Outpost75]

Another thing to consider is that many of the lever-actions do not feed Keith SWCs well.

My advice would be to get a 250-260-grain ogival flatnosed Cowboy style bullet similar to the Saeco #955.

Load this to standard factory velocity with 8.5 grains of Unique or 7 grains of Bullseye, TiteGroup, WST, 452AA, 700-X or Red Dot.

Use same ammo in rifle and revolver. Velocity about 900 fps handgun, 1050 fps in 20" carbine.

The "Ruger Only" revolver loads also work well in the rifles, but if not hunting game larger than deer, I have not found them necessary. Just sayin'

[Goshawk]

Larry, going to check these loads out. Moose is my main game up here. Thanks!

[Goshawk]

For starters ...What weight bullet do you want to use?
Pi
ck one then the mold comes next ... https://stevespages.com/451p_3.html
Great info. Thanks!

[Goshawk]

Another thing to consider is that many of the lever-actions do not feed Keith SWCs well.

My advice would be to get a 250-260-grain ogival flatnosed Cowboy style bullet similar to the Saeco #955.

Load this to standard factory velocity with 8.5 grains of Unique or 7 grains of Bullseye, TiteGroup, WST, 452AA, 700-X or Red Dot.

Use same ammo in rifle and revolver. Velocity about 900 fps handgun, 1050 fps in 20" carbine.

The "Ruger Only" revolver loads also work well in the rifles, but if not hunting game larger than deer, I have not found them necessary. Just sayin'
Great info, having never loaded pistol caliber at all ,everything you guys tell me helps a great deal. I am in hunting heaven here in BC but shopping for reloading supplies not so much. I have to mail order just about everything and due to hazardous charges for shipping I am stuck with whatever I order so want to make the right decision.Going to look that Sacco #955 up. Thanks!

[kycrawler]

I'd look at the Lee c452-300 rf gas checked 300 grains nice flat nose should be a good moose killer over a healthy load of 2400

[Prairie Cowboy]

I think I am going to get the Lee 255 grain 6 hole mould to start with. Looks like a good bullet and is available up here in Canada.

The standard advice is to slug the bore first before buying a bullet mold, and it always applies.
Lee molds can work fine, but they usually cast close to the standard SAAMI groove diameter, and they are limited in their designs. If your groove diameter is around .451" - .452" then a Lee mold that drops a .453" boolit will probably work fine.
However, only 3 of the Lee mold designs are really practical for a lever action. Those are the .452-250-RF, .452-200-RF, and the .452-230-RF. The first two are round nose flat point designs and the latter is a truncated cone. Keiths and semi-wadcutters usually don't feed that well.
Also, the bullet nose length affects the cartridge overall length, which needs to be close to the SAAMI spec to not cause feeding problems. When properly seated and crimped .300" - .315" works best IMHO. (.315" being SAAMI spec) Most cowboy bullets are around .300" RNFP hard cast.
The Lee molds I mentioned are all less than .300" (.262", .268", and .280"respectively according to Lees chart. They might work okay but I prefer to go with .300" design myself.
It all depends on how particular your Winchester is as to bullet length.
You might want to look at getting a mold made for your gun which will drop a bullet that is .002" greater than it's slugged groove diameter. I like what Accurate molds has to offer, though if you insist on a six cavity mold that's going to be expensive. They make aluminum and iron molds that are quite reasonable in price in a 2 cavity version all things considered. The 45-230S and 45-250B look like good designs for general shooting.

[georgerkahn]

For starters ...What weight bullet do you want to use?
Pick one then the mold comes next ... https://stevespages.com/451p_3.html

I cannot seem to access Stevespages -- indicated is a password is required. Help?
Thanks, geo

[Harter66]

I can't speak to the Win 94 but I've had no problems with even extreme bullet choices . The 454424 and NOE version work well in the 92's . The 452-255 RF Lee does also . 8-9.5 gr of Unique do nicely . At the far end of sanity I loaded a 350 gr custom RF from Mountain Molds with H322 from Quick Load data looking for a 23,000 psi or less load to push the 350 about 1050-1100 fps at the muzzle . Backed down for a start load I was tiptoeing in 45-70 plinker load speeds . At 50 yd a rather sedate 900 1050 fps 454424 passed through 24"+ of Texas hog at 135# hoof weight quartering away . 4 broken ribs , missed most of the shield it exited low in front of the off shoulder .
Approach the fast rifle powders cautiously but using them to take advantage of the closed breach and longer barrel is very productive .