45 Colt - RF vs SWC

[Redd508]

I've got 200 gr swc and 300 gr rf boolits for my 45 Colt. I'm loading for a 5 1/2" Blackhawk and I'm looking for a mold around 250 gr. Lee molds have served me well over the years and I'm not opposed to them. My question, has anyone noted any difference in performance in the 2 different types. My primary interest is hunting, tho I will try to settle on one boolit for most uses. I don't hunt anything larger than deer so elk and bears are not on the menu. I don't necessarily need to stay in the Ruger only loads unless they prove to be most accurate. What say you?

[USSR]

Personally, I'm partial to SWC's. Elmer Keith perfected them about 90 years ago, and who am I to argue about it. Lyman and RCBS both make a couple of nice 255gr SWC's. Now days most of my .45 Colt loads use a 240gr SWC that was the 2nd bullet Keith designed which was originally for the .45 AR.

Don

[winelover]

Either design will sever you well for hunting. I use SWC design in 250 or 270 grains in my BH, for hunting. The RF would be my choice in a lever chambered in 45 LC.

Winelover

[Wally]

I load the 454190 & 452424. I prefer the 452424 because it has a crimping groove. However the difference in accuracy between the two is minimal. I have quite a few .45 Colt cases that are shorter than the minimum is 1.275". Because the 454190 crimps on the ogive, case length is more critical.

[Redd508]

Either design will sever you well for hunting. I use SWC design in 250 or 270 grains in my BH, for hunting. The RF would be my choice in a lever chambered in 45 LC.

Winelover

This is a good point and one that I failed to mention. I may also be using these in a lever action if I can find a single boolit that works well in both guns. And it may be that my best answer is not 1 particular weight or profile. Having said that, the BH is what I will focus on 1st.

Also true about Elmer Keith. I'll have to read up on his work again. It's been a while.

[gwpercle]

I grew up reading Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton so when it comes to handguns lean to SWC's .
But...I don't own any lever action rifles and have read where SWC might not feed as well as RF.
With 2 cavity Lee moulds only costing $25.00 order the Lee 452-252-SWC and the 452-255-RF , try them both and see what works .

Amazon has reprints of Elmer Keith's reloading book "Sixgun Cartridges & Loads " for $18.00 , the chapters on boolit casting , alloy , sizing and moulds are woth the price . Lots of photo's also...the old man knew a lot about what killed game and what didn't .
Gary

[Wally]

I have/use the Lee .45 Cal 252 SWC & 255 RF....they shoot very well in my Ruger BHK...and they are quite accurate.

[Harter66]

I had both the 255 and 252 and both shot equally well in a 7.5" RBH .
Both of those and a 454424 killed 135-165# hoof weight hogs at 10 ft to 50 yd with a 1050 fps MV decisively .

[megasupermagnum]

I have no idea about a lever action, but the Lee 452-252-SWC cycles through my Sig P220 as slick as can be. Never had a hang up. I'm guessing both will work fine. Flip a coin.

[Gohon]

I load the 454190 & 452424.

And those are what type of bullet???

[Thin Man]

I own a Winchester 94AE, scoped (these old eyes can't use iron sights very well) and have experimented with several different 45 molds ( I have 24 different 45 mold patterns, just didn't test with all of them) for group size at hunting velocity. After all the testing I found the Lyman 452664 pattern gave me much tighter groups than any other mold design. This is a 250 gr. RF profile, PB and has a dedicated crimp groove. Loads feed through the action fast and smooth. Groups are the tightest this rifle has ever produced with either cast or J-word loads at maximum velocity, in spite of its plain base design. I am through testing with this rifle, now simply loading what I know it likes. Hope to find similar tight groups in my Ruger Blackhawk but those tests will have to wait for warmer weather. Your rifle may like these, or it may not. Good luck on your search.

[PositiveCaster]

Since the OP likes LEE moulds...I've used both their RFN and SWC .452” bullets for over 40 years in several .45LC handguns and a M94 Trapper. Both shoot well, Ive seen slightly better accuracy with the RFN probably due to its longer bearing surface. The RFN has a slightly wider meplat so it has a tiny advantage as a hunting boolit - the wadcutter shoulder plays no part in killing power. Bottom line though, either works well.


.

[greenjoytj]

Lyman 452664 is a RNFP Bevel Base with a single wide lube groove that holds 1 to 1.1 grains of my homemade Emmerts lube and has a crimp groove.
The bevel base makes this bullet very easy to set into the slightly flared case mouths.
The bevel base does collect a little lube from the lubri-sizer but that is easily wiped off by dragging the bullet base across a pad made up of several sheets of paper towel.
I like that this bullet is not a semi wad cutter, because I found the SWC edge always snagged on the edge of my revolver chamber mouth on loading my Ruger NV’s.

[Redd508]

Thanks for the discussion guys. Are you seeing a preference for a particular bullet weight in the RBH? Am I missing out on the 270 gr?

[PositiveCaster]

Today I use the 280 WFN from LBT for hunting with my 4-5/8” BH, over 12.0 grains of AA-5 it clocks 966 fps. Out to 50 yards it works great, the big meplat slaps hard and it groups into 4” at that range. Is it “better” than the lighter bullets? Can’t say for certain, but I like it.


.

[USSR]

Am I missing out on the 270 gr?

Good bullet. I've got the MP Mold version of the .45-270SAA mold. My hollowpoints come out at about 265 grains, and I have killed several deer with it.

Don