New to casting and loading 45 LC

[c0wb0y84]

Well I have a ruger blackhawk in 45 with the 4 5/8" barrel on the way and instead of waiting for it to get here and seeing what I have and how it shoots I figure I should probably just start speculating and guessing and trying to figure out what would work best theoretically. I have Win 231, 296, Unique and 2400 to load with. I'm thinking about a 454190 to start with. Gotta find a used one somewhere though to meet budget demands as the dies, brass, gun etc is eating up the budget pretty fast. I also figure starting out around normal 45 loads and getting that down before going up to ruger only stuff is the way to go. Depending on what it looks like when I get it may send the cylinder out for honing, depending on how it shoots may have to get a taller front sight. But then again maybe not. I'll mostly use it to put holes in paper and hunt whitetail from time to time. Any thoughts, loads, experience with the shorter barrel.

[shell70634]

I shoot a 255 gr pc'd boolit sized at .452 over 8 gr of Unique. Ruger BH 7 1/2 gets 930fps. SW 625 5 1/2 gets about 890. Both with acceptable accuracy and comfortable to shoot.

[shell70634]

Went back and looked. That was a 250 gr HP PC'd and sized to .452. I guess that's why I write this stuff down.

Shelly

[onelight]

Is your new gun a flat top or standard model ?

[c0wb0y84]

259950

Standard Stainless. (Seller's pic)

[Texas Tinker]

259950

Standard Stainless. (Seller's pic)

I have a 4 5/8" "NEW MODEL" Blackhawk that has had several thousand rounds of 250 gr- 255gr cast of just about any profile you can think of (RNFP, RN, SWC, SWCHP, WFN) over the past 25+ years that I have carried it around the woods and range. No matter the bullet in this weight class it has always served me well with 8.0 grains of UNIQUE. That gives me just about all the recoil I want on my end and hits with plenty of wallop on the receiving end. :Fire:

[Walks]

Can't beat the old #454190 over Unique, been the std since long before I was born (1954).

And I can't believe I'm gonna say this but you might be better off starting with the Lee #452-252-SWC 2cav. It has a regular crimp groove and cuts a clean hole in the paper.

I've had My NM Blackhawk 4 5/8" since 1978, bought a Lyman #452424 2cav a 255gr SWC to start.
Dad gave me a 1cav #454190.

If you've never crimped a bullet on the ogive, it can be a pain to learn.
Have fun to start, get frustrated later.

If you absolutely need a RNFP, then try the LEE #452-255-RF. It has a crimp groove and comes in a 6cav too.

[DougGuy]

See if a .452" will go through the cylinder throats from the front. If not, it probably needs the throats honed to .4525" so you will actually be delivreing a .452" to the bore instead of it swaging the boolits down to whatever throat diameter is every time it is fired.

[charlie b]

I'm with the rest :)

I liked my short barrel Ruger the best with the std 255gn SWC loads.

For a while I shot 300gn at the max Ruger load level. About a box at a time. After the 4th or 5th trip to the range I noticed my wrist and elbow would hurt the next day. That next month was when Taffin wrote his long article about messing up his arm by shooting too many large bore magnum loads during his career of writing. I went back to std Colt loads and never felt under gunned.

[onelight]

That is a nice looking 45 they are a lot of fun.
I'm on my 3rd one I have learned my lesson and am keeping this one.
I also like boolits around 250gn at 850 to 1000 FPS

[oldhenry]

I've loaded the Lyman 454424 & the 454190 with varying loads of Unique. However for the past 15 years most of my shooting has been with the 452374 (crimped over the ogive) over 7.0 gr. of HP-38/231. The Lyman 452488 (a wadcutter clone of the H&G 130 with a light crimp over the end of the straight portion) is also one of my favorites with the same 7.0 of HP38/231 load. These "softball" loads are more fun. For a heavier boolit recently I use the Accurate 45-250E with HP38 or Unique.

My bowling pin load is the 452424 over 8.5 of Unique in my 8 3/8" 25-5.

[littlejack]

RCBS makes a dandy 45-255 SWC mould. I run two of these double cavity moulds when casting. This is one of the commercially available moulds that Glen Frixell recommends to replace the original Keith 454424. You can usually pick one of these double cavity moulds up on ebay for about 50.00 + shipping. My go to load, is this bullet over 9 grains of Herco. This load shoots to p.o.a. in my Uberti Evil Roy model pasta gun.
Regards

[smkummer]

[QUOTEMy bowling pin load is the 452424 over 8.5 of Unique in my 8 3/8" 25-5.[/QUOTE]

That has to absolutely blow chunks of wood out of the bowling pins. 9 mm and 38, the bowling pins last a good while. 45 acp fmj, less so. 44 or 45 SWC, appears to take pieces of wood with the bullet every time.

[Outpost75]

Factory loads in .45 Colt have been loaded with Bullseye for over 100 years. You can do lots worse than 6.5 to 7 grains of Bullseye with whatever 250-265-grain bullet you like which fits the cylinder throats of your revolver. My preferred bullet for the .45 Colt is of my own design from Accurate. I adjust the powder charge for the lot of powder I have to produce 880 +/- 25 fps from my Colt New Service M1909 with 5-1/2" barrel and 0.008" cylinder gap. Use the same load in my Cimarron Pistolero, H&R Handi Rifle and Ruger Blackhawk convertible.

259959

[c0wb0y84]

Thanks for all of the replies. Lots of good info, discussion and things to think over. I have looked at the lee 452-255-RN but I have only used lee molds for casting in other calibers so I figured if I could find one in the price range I'd get something else to see what the fuss is about. I've seen a few that looked to be in rough shape with rust and maybe missing a screw or something. I may look into trying to refurbish one if its not overly complex. I guess I need to find a pin gauge or two I suppose as well. I really appreciate the help from everyone.

[oldhenry]

[QUOTEMy bowling pin load is the 452424 over 8.5 of Unique in my 8 3/8" 25-5.

That has to absolutely blow chunks of wood out of the bowling pins. 9 mm and 38, the bowling pins last a good while. 45 acp fmj, less so. 44 or 45 SWC, appears to take pieces of wood with the bullet every time.[/QUOTE]

I never did a post mortem on the pins. I do know that load shoves them off the table & they were in one piece when they went.

[Drm50]

I load Lyman 454-309 button nose WC 237gr/ 10gr Unique for my 83/8” m25.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Yesterday I cast RCBS 45-270-SAA and the day before I cast 452423, but only because I had a quantity of 452374, 454424 and most importantly 454190. The 454190 is the boolit I use the most in my five (5) Colt’s and one Ruger .45. The 454190 delivers on target at all ranges most reliably out of all my guns.

[smkummer]

The 454190 delivers on target at all ranges most reliably out of all my guns.
In my Colts which includes the SAA, cowboy, New Frontier, New Servce and Anaconda the same is true for me with 9 grains unique. And that bullet rings steel all the way out to 200 yards. I sold my 452424 to a friend with a S&W25 and it works fine for him. I since picked up a single cavity 454424 but have yet to see if it will match 454190. My 454190 sized to .454, seats heavily enough into the case that it doesn’t push back into the case out of my burgess repo rifle.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

The 454190 works as well with the scrap lead I’ve been using as it does when I mix it with 4 parts of Linotype.

The 454190 is the boolit adopted by the Army at the same time the Army was testing and developing the .45-70.

[downzero]

And I can't believe I'm gonna say this but you might be better off starting with the Lee #452-252-SWC 2cav. It has a regular crimp groove and cuts a clean hole in the paper.


It's funny that you mention this because I just started casting last weekend with a 300 grain RF Lee .45 2 cavity, and I decided to order the exact mold you posted in this post yesterday as well so I can make those for my "lighter" loadings. Hard to go wrong with a SWC in that weight.

[c0wb0y84]

If you've never crimped a bullet on the ogive, it can be a pain to learn.
Have fun to start, get frustrated later.

If you absolutely need a RNFP, then try the LEE #452-255-RF. It has a crimp groove and comes in a 6cav too.

What makes crimping on the ogive so difficult? I've never tried it so I don't know what I don't know.

[alamogunr]

Yesterday I cast RCBS 45-270-SAA and the day before I cast 452423, but only because I had a quantity of 452374, 454424 and most importantly 454190. The 454190 is the boolit I use the most in my five (5) Colt’s and one Ruger .45. The 454190 delivers on target at all ranges most reliably out of all my guns.

Another vote for the RCBS 45-270-SAA. I actually use the MP version in 4 cavity. One of the best casting molds I have. Also have the original RCBS 2 cavity mold. All drop at approx 280+ gr.

[Dorf]

Hard to beat that RCBS .45-SAA-270 bullet. My Flattop just loves it. Hope thiis helps --Stan

[Silver Jack Hammer]

The RCBS 45-270-SAA is unstable at 100 yards in my Colt’s SAA 4 3/4”

[Walks]

I'm gonna ***/u/me you know how to adjust a seat/crimp die.
Crimping on the ogive is a matter of trial & error. Use a RN seating stem, and push the bullet down slowly until you've pushed just Barely past the bearing surface of the bullet.
Raise the stem and screw the die down to just kiss the case mouth. Seat a bullet and crimp it. Now slide your fingernail down the side of the bullet from tip to Cover the crimp. Did your nail hang up on the case mouth ? if yes you need to turn down the die 1/8th turn. Try slide/nail thing again. If it slides down over the case mouth without hang up then you have enough crimp, so far.
Now take your dummy round, and push it against the side of the bench Hard. did the bullet move ? No ? then you have enough crimp. Finished.
if the bullet moved deeper into the case, you need to check sizing die & expanding die. With modern dies that are made to reduce the case down far enough to hold .452dia bullet, a .454dia bullet is a tight fit. And should not slide any farther into the case. If you are over expanding the case then you may be creating a situation where you're actually opening up the case too much. Your expander may be too long. Expand just enough to open the case mouth to accept a bullet w/o shaving lead. A Lyman M-die maybe the answer.

I load most of My .45Colt to feed/work in Lever Rifles. So I'm using a RCBS carbide sizing die that sizing the brass a bit more then really necessary. This creates a small bulge in the brass case when you seat a .454dia bullet. It serves the same purpose that the case cannelure does on Winchester & Remington 255gr RNFP loads.
Some folks will disagree with this approach, but it works for Cowboy Shooting Ammo. Where proper functioning in a Lever Rifle is the what counts.

I hope this makes since. Regardless if you agree or not. This method worked very well for me when I choose to shoot .45Colt instead of .44SPL/.44WCF that day.

[c0wb0y84]

Factory loads in .45 Colt have been loaded with Bullseye for over 100 years. You can do lots worse than 6.5 to 7 grains of Bullseye with whatever 250-265-grain bullet you like which fits the cylinder throats of your revolver. My preferred bullet for the .45 Colt is of my own design from Accurate. I adjust the powder charge for the lot of powder I have to produce 880 +/- 25 fps from my Colt New Service M1909 with 5-1/2" barrel and 0.008" cylinder gap. Use the same load in my Cimarron Pistolero, H&R Handi Rifle and Ruger Blackhawk convertible.

259959

This look a lot like the 452664 which I'm interested in hearing if anyone has experience with it. Looks like a larger meplat and a crimp groove. Your mold looks good but sounds out of my price range right now.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I'm gonna ***/u/me you know how to adjust a seat/crimp die.
Crimping on the ogive is a matter of trial & error. Use a RN seating stem, and push the bullet down slowly until you've pushed just Barely past the bearing surface of the bullet.
Raise the stem and screw the die down to just kiss the case mouth. Seat a bullet and crimp it. Now slide your fingernail down the side of the bullet from tip to Cover the crimp. Did your nail hang up on the case mouth ? if yes you need to turn down the die 1/8th turn. Try slide/nail thing again. If it slides down over the case mouth without hang up then you have enough crimp, so far.
Now take your dummy round, and push it against the side of the bench Hard. did the bullet move ? No ? then you have enough crimp. Finished.
if the bullet moved deeper into the case, you need to check sizing die & expanding die. With modern dies that are made to reduce the case down far enough to hold .452dia bullet, a .454dia bullet is a tight fit. And should not slide any farther into the case. If you are over expanding the case then you may be creating a situation where you're actually opening up the case too much. Your expander may be too long. Expand just enough to open the case mouth to accept a bullet w/o shaving lead. A Lyman M-die maybe the answer.

I load most of My .45Colt to feed/work in Lever Rifles. So I'm using a RCBS carbide sizing die that sizing the brass a bit more then really necessary. This creates a small bulge in the brass case when you seat a .454dia bullet. It serves the same purpose that the case cannelure does on Winchester & Remington 255gr RNFP loads.
Some folks will disagree with this approach, but it works for Cowboy Shooting Ammo. Where proper functioning in a Lever Rifle is the what counts.

I hope this makes since. Regardless if you agree or not. This method worked very well for me when I choose to shoot .45Colt instead of .44SPL/.44WCF that day.

Ya, I hear you about sizing the .45 Colt. I have been neck sizing with the RCBS carbide for years, but just the other day I ordered one of those 2 ring sizer dies by Redding.

[c0wb0y84]

I'm gonna ***/u/me you know how to adjust a seat/crimp die.
Crimping on the ogive is a matter of trial & error. Use a RN seating stem, and push the bullet down slowly until you've pushed just Barely past the bearing surface of the bullet.
Raise the stem and screw the die down to just kiss the case mouth. Seat a bullet and crimp it. Now slide your fingernail down the side of the bullet from tip to Cover the crimp. Did your nail hang up on the case mouth ? if yes you need to turn down the die 1/8th turn. Try slide/nail thing again. If it slides down over the case mouth without hang up then you have enough crimp, so far.
Now take your dummy round, and push it against the side of the bench Hard. did the bullet move ? No ? then you have enough crimp. Finished.
if the bullet moved deeper into the case, you need to check sizing die & expanding die. With modern dies that are made to reduce the case down far enough to hold .452dia bullet, a .454dia bullet is a tight fit. And should not slide any farther into the case. If you are over expanding the case then you may be creating a situation where you're actually opening up the case too much. Your expander may be too long. Expand just enough to open the case mouth to accept a bullet w/o shaving lead. A Lyman M-die maybe the answer.

I load most of My .45Colt to feed/work in Lever Rifles. So I'm using a RCBS carbide sizing die that sizing the brass a bit more then really necessary. This creates a small bulge in the brass case when you seat a .454dia bullet. It serves the same purpose that the case cannelure does on Winchester & Remington 255gr RNFP loads.
Some folks will disagree with this approach, but it works for Cowboy Shooting Ammo. Where proper functioning in a Lever Rifle is the what counts.

I hope this makes since. Regardless if you agree or not. This method worked very well for me when I choose to shoot .45Colt instead of .44SPL/.44WCF that day.

This makes perfect sense and thank you for the detailed explanation. I assumed that it would be two separate operations for seating and then crimping and that's why I was wondering what past that was difficult about it. For the time being I wouldn't be as concerned about the boolit being pushed further into the case since I don't have a lever gun, but its still good info and a good check to be sure.

[smkummer]

When I was loading for just one 45 caliber colt SAA, I too was just sizing about 1/2 way down the case. This worked fine when loading for just one and probably was easier on the cases.

[USSR]

So I'm using a RCBS carbide sizing die that sizing the brass a bit more then really necessary. This creates a small bulge in the brass case when you seat a .454dia bullet.

That is why I sold my carbide 45LC dies and bought a steel die set. Much happier.

Don

[Silver Jack Hammer]

That is why I sold my carbide 45LC dies and bought a steel die set. Much happier.

Don

I bought steel RCBS dies however I found that they also sized too much down to the base of the die. I was going to send a Colt’s cylinder into RCBS and ask them to machine a sizing die that would match the chamber but I never got around to that. Now I’ll see if this new dual ring die will do the trick.

Brian Pearce said he tried to convince Colt’s to tighten up their chamber dimensions but they wouldn’t change.

[bigted]

Been loading n shooting the old Colt round for many many years. Tried many molds and factory boolits and all kinds of powder from Black Powder to Unique.

My favorite load has been the cheapest and most comfy of them all.

Lee 452 255 RFN. A max load of Trail Boss. Primed with either CCI L Pistol or Rem L Pistol primers. A mix of Winchester, Remington and Starline cases.

These loads are cheap, easy on shooter and revolver and I find em very accurate in most 45's I have had.

Cant go wrong with same boolit, same primers and cases with 7 to 8.5 grains of Unique. Probably the cheapest to load n shoot altho a bit smokey but very reliable and factory like.

Loading Black Powder loads of 35 to 40 grains will open your eyes to the reason the US military insisted on downloading the old Colt using a 230 grain boolit and 28 to 30 grains of 2Fg Powder. Sam's initial load was 40 grains 3Fg powder under a 255 grain boolit from a 7.5 inch Colt SAA. A very powerful load to be sure.

You can make this as easy or hard on yourself as you wish. Starting with a 2 cavity Lee mold and Lee 4 die loading set will get you casting and loading for well under 100 dollars complete.

[alamogunr]

The RCBS 45-270-SAA is unstable at 100 yards in my Colt’s SAA 4 3/4”

At my age I can barely see 100 yards much less hold a sight picture to hit the barn door.

[35 Whelen]

I load the 454190 on my Dillon 550 and use a little roll crimp. 700-X or Red Dot, 6.0-6.5 of wither offers wonderful accuracy to at least 75 yds.

https://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/250%20gr%20RNFP%2075%20yds_zpsaibbgrty.jpg (https://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/250%20gr%20RNFP%2075%20yds_zpsaibbgrty.jpg.html)

If you ever think you want to hunt with your 45, as others have said, the RCBS 45-270 is hard to beat. I took a buck with this bullet loaded to a bit under 1,000 fps last season. He trotted off about 25 yds. and died.


The RCBS 45-270-SAA is unstable at 100 yards in my Colt’s SAA 4 3/4”

Weird. It shoots wonderfully for me to at least 75 yds.

https://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2075%20yds%2045-270%20edited_zpsc5kix4z8.jpg (https://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2075%20yds%2045-270%20edited_zpsc5kix4z8.jpg.html)

https://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2075%20yds%2045-270%209-9-2018_zps00czqpf1.jpg (https://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2075%20yds%2045-270%209-9-2018_zps00czqpf1.jpg.html)

35W

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Weird. It shoots wonderfully for me to at least 75 yds.

I was using 8.0 gr. of Power Pistol in a brand new Colt’s 3rd gen. A few days ago I cast a bunch more 45-270-SAA and will be trying them in another 3rd gen .45 Colt’s SAA.

Your results have me puzzled and encouraged

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Today my new Redding dual ring sizer die arrived, but all my brass is loaded and all the ranges are closed. So I wait.

[c0wb0y84]

Well I finally got the gun in hand and the first question I have is am I crazy in thinking it appropriate to clean a gun before selling it to someone else? My goodness this thing was dirty. Spent an hour or so just scrubbing the cylinders clean. Other than that I'm excited about it. Although I think the cylinders need to be opened up. A 200 gr hornady xtp that measures .451 won't pass through them. Should I go ahead and send it to someone to ream or just load some and see what happens? I don't intend to load the hornady bullets I just thought if those didn't pass through then that would be a good indicator without having a set of pin gauges.

[USSR]

A 200 gr hornady xtp that measures .451 won't pass through them. Should I go ahead and send it to someone to ream...

Calling Dr. DougGuy, calling Dr. DougGuy!:)

Don

[alamogunr]

Well I finally got the gun in hand and the first question I have is am I crazy in thinking it appropriate to clean a gun before selling it to someone else? My goodness this thing was dirty. Spent an hour or so just scrubbing the cylinders clean.

No! You're not crazy. Just expecting normal curtesy from the seller. I purchased a Freedom Arms from an intermediary who did not inspect the gun before shipping it to me. That thing was filthy. I finally just soaked it down with a aerosol cleaner. Couldn't believe how much crud came out.

[DHDeal]

No! You're not crazy. Just expecting normal curtesy from the seller. I purchased a Freedom Arms from an intermediary who did not inspect the gun before shipping it to me. That thing was filthy. I finally just soaked it down with a aerosol cleaner. Couldn't believe how much crud came out.

A dirty gun bothers me, and a dirty FA bothers me more. A day or two at most are all I go from shot to clean. Anal I is...

[bigted]

Funny thing about selling dirty guns.

When a young man, I learned to clean a gun sparkling clean when going for a trade. A lightly oiled gun that is clean shows the care that has been taken with it. I have gotten better sales and trades in this manner.

Having bought several guns over the GB, I notice that dirty guns are a regular item rather then clean. Trashy business if you ask me. It shows me only that these sellers are only in for the commodity and not a love of weapons.

Pretty shoddy in my opinion.

[c0wb0y84]

Well its good to know I'm not alone in this line of thinking. Its times like this I wish I had an ultrasonic cleaner.

But I got the cylinder sent out to receive the necessary attention so I can't wait to get it back and start having some fun with this gun.

[c0wb0y84]

Well, I got the cylinder back from DougGuy and finally had a chance to take the new Blackhawk out for a test drive today. I didn't shoot it before sending the cylinder out because I knew the throats were way too tight so I don't have any comparison but I tell you what, this is one sweet shootin' gun! I didn't load anything special, just some of the .452-255-rf lee boolits and some 255 gr powder coated hp's that Shelly sent me to try out. Both of those were loaded over 8.5 gr of 231. Now that I know she will shoot its time to start playing around with the loads. A big thanks to DougGuy and Shelly for the help!

[c0wb0y84]

I have a question. Is this normal? While slugging the barrel after the slug was fully in the barrel it moved nice and easy with very light taps for about 1 1/2" then a single very light tap and the slug jumped about 2" down the barrel. Then I was at a restriction where the barrel screwed into the frame in which I had to increase the force of taps from "very light" to "moderately light" taps.

The slug measured .451 groove and .444 bore.

Before I slugged the barrel I fired some of the Lee 452-255-rf over 8 gr of win 231 and the cylinder throats and forcing cone and first inch or so of barrel show leading. It's minimal in the cylinder with the worst being just past the forcing cone, mostly at the bottom.

I'm hoping that maybe just too hard of an alloy so I cast up some soft boolits to see what happens or maybe just something else with the load. I might speed it up some with either 2400 or 296?

I wouldn't think the restriction at the frame would be a big deal since it's still .451 but should I be concerned about a bulge in the barrel where the slug jumped?

[Outpost75]

Sounds like you have a thread choke. Fairly common, but easily fixed and will shoot better afterwards.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I’ve tried my new Redding dual ring sizer die on brand new Starline brass. It’s real nice however I wouldn’t buy one for a Ruger. The Colt’s cylinders have a slight taper, Ruger cylinders are tight. I full length resize brass for my Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt. Full length resized brass has a tendency to split when fired in the Colt’s SAA .45. I guess Colt’s keeps to their cylinder dimensions from the black powder days.

[USSR]

SAAMI chamber dimensions for the .45 Colt show a slight taper. That's why I use steel dies and not carbide dies for the .45 Colt.

Don

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Don, I purchased a new steel RCBS sizer die and it downsized the case at the bottom too much. I contacted RCBS asking if they’d make a custom sizer die, the said they didn’t do that anymore.

[USSR]

Guess RCBS's newer steel dies don't have the built-in taper. I would suggest you set up your sizing die so you only size the upper 2/3's of the case.

Don

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I’d been neck resizing my .45 Colt cases for years. It worked well but neck resizing does not work well on a progressive.

[USSR]

I only load on a single stage, so what happens on a progressive, Jack?

[Silver Jack Hammer]

When the baseplate is raised to engage the multiple dies, the mouth of the case occasionally hits the die. If the sizer die is blackout out for neck resizing, that is the same position as where the powder bar engages. Lowering the base plate to align the case, then raising it again throws just a little more powder in the case.

I was getting 1/3rd overcharges. It was a real puzzler until I figured it out.

I’ve been neck sizing and priming on a single stage for years, then inserting the sized, primed case at station 2 on the Dillon for charging. This system worked great, but was slower than say, the .44 Special.

[c0wb0y84]

I got that the restriction at the thread choke is normal. I was more interested in the middle section of the barrel being normal or not.

I'm sure I could fire lap the thread choke out some but I don't want to open the middle section of the bore up more if that will cause another issue.

I think I want to ream the forcing cone to 11 degrees and see what that does. Unfortunately brownells is currently out of stock of their reaming kits.

[c0wb0y84]

Anybody have any ideas about this?


I have a question. Is this normal? While slugging the barrel after the slug was fully in the barrel it moved nice and easy with very light taps for about 1 1/2" then a single very light tap and the slug jumped about 2" down the barrel. Then I was at a restriction where the barrel screwed into the frame in which I had to increase the force of taps from "very light" to "moderately light" taps.

The slug measured .451 groove and .444 bore.

Before I slugged the barrel I fired some of the Lee 452-255-rf over 8 gr of win 231 and the cylinder throats and forcing cone and first inch or so of barrel show leading. It's minimal in the cylinder with the worst being just past the forcing cone, mostly at the bottom.

I'm hoping that maybe just too hard of an alloy so I cast up some soft boolits to see what happens or maybe just something else with the load. I might speed it up some with either 2400 or 296?

I wouldn't think the restriction at the frame would be a big deal since it's still .451 but should I be concerned about a bulge in the barrel where the slug jumped?

[onelight]

Is there any chance you had leading in your barrel before slugging it ?

[c0wb0y84]

I apologize for the confusing wording. The leading was from shooting cast boolits. I cleaned the leading out before slugging the barrel.

[onelight]

I am sure it was me I can get confused with no help from anyone 😏 some types of leading will be at the muzzle and can cause it to feel as you describe even with a tight patch on a jag.

[LAH]

If the slugging went as described there is a section of the barrel which is larger than the rest. The way to accurately test this is by air gauging unless I'm mistaken.

[onelight]

Fire lapping will have the most impact on the tight sections of the barrel the thread choke.
As the lapping slug goes through the thread choke it is sized down and does not cut as much past that point but you need to re-slug the bore as you go to know when the choke is lapped out.
My experience is limited but I have not seen a bulged barrel that had not been fired with a bore obstruction but I guess anything is possible.

[sonoransixgun]

Congrats on your new gun! Lots of good advice and experience here. I'll add my two cents...

I spend more time with my .45 BH than any of my other guns. I don't necessarily like it more, it's just something that happens.

I reamed out the throats and I also fire lapped mine. I've tried lots of loads and lots of different bullets. I echo what other said about settling on sane loads. At the age of 50, I just don't like dealing with the sore wrist that comes with the hot loads.

Anyway, though accuracy has always been good, I got my best from a load I developed with IMR 4227 and a Lyman boolit. It's in the pics below. Right now I'm shooting the same Lyman boolit with about 7.5 grains of Unique cause I have more of that powder and need to use it up. Truly great gun. If you're like me it'll never collect dust...

https://i.imgur.com/IaOmwKH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uMR1Uqz.jpg

(Just had to throw this in too. I was given some blank powder which is not recommended for use in any loads involving lead. My experienced friend told me to just use it for light loads, so I did. Below is a group I got with the .45 BH at 15 yards using a light load of blank powder.)

https://i.imgur.com/TOhqm1F.jpg

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I have a one cavity 454424 however a follow forum member loaded me his RCBS 45 255 SWC and I’m sold. The RCBS mold beats the Lyman at the casting bench and on target in my Colt’s SAA’s.

[littlejack]

I run two dc RCBS 45 255 SWC's when casting. Great moulds and great bullets. Glen Frixell stated that in his opinion, that mould was as close to the old original Lyman 454424 one could get in a factory commercial mould.

[sonoransixgun]

Just came across this relevant Taffin quote....

“With the 45 Colt, IMR 4227 is almost magical in being able to provide excellent accuracy when other powders will not. In fact, an axiom with me is, 'When all else fails, try IMR 4227 before giving up.'” —John Taffin

rest of the paragraph...

"Years ago, after tiring of oversized 45 Colt chambers in Colt Single Action Army revolvers and New Frontiers, I started with a 357 Magnum New Frontier, had the cylinder rechambered properly and tightly to 45 Colt, and then had a new 4.75-inch Colt New Frontier barrel fitted. After all the work and expense, it turned out to be a somewhat mediocre performer. That is, until I tried IMR 4227 with Lyman’s #452424 and a 20.0-grain load, and that combination produced one-hole groups. Any time I have a 45 Colt that doesn’t shoot the way I think it should, I don’t give up until I try this load of IMR 4227 with Keith’s bullet. It has never failed me. It also is a most versatile powder as it can be used for standard loads for the Colt SAA and heavy loads for the Blackhawk."

[LAH]

Thanks sonoransixgun

In one of my Lyman Manuals the 454424 bullet with 20 grains of IMR 4227 is listed as their accuracy load. Listen to Mr. Taffin on this one.

[USSR]

This is also known as the Hank Williams Jr. load, as he is a big .45 Colt fan.

Don

[c0wb0y84]

Fire lapping will have the most impact on the tight sections of the barrel the thread choke.
As the lapping slug goes through the thread choke it is sized down and does not cut as much past that point but you need to re-slug the bore as you go to know when the choke is lapped out.
My experience is limited but I have not seen a bulged barrel that had not been fired with a bore obstruction but I guess anything is possible.

What just thinking out loud on this one, would just putting some lapping compound on slugs and slugging them through the barrel maybe have a more controlled effect than fire lapping? I guess perhaps starting from the side with the most restriction would be an advantage to fire lapping, if that matters.

Under the amount of pressure from firing the round would the bullet not obturate after it passed the restriction and still lap the larger portion of the barrel? Considering that based off of the slug, the bore is measuring .444 at the choke, is that amount of restriction really even worth fretting over?

Also having bought the gun used I can't say for certain that nothing crazy has ever happened to it that could caused a bulged barrel. I just don't think it has based on visual condition.

I don't have the means to air gauge a barrel so that's off the table.

[c0wb0y84]

Just came across this relevant Taffin quote....

“With the 45 Colt, IMR 4227 is almost magical in being able to provide excellent accuracy when other powders will not. In fact, an axiom with me is, 'When all else fails, try IMR 4227 before giving up.'” —John Taffin

rest of the paragraph...

"Years ago, after tiring of oversized 45 Colt chambers in Colt Single Action Army revolvers and New Frontiers, I started with a 357 Magnum New Frontier, had the cylinder rechambered properly and tightly to 45 Colt, and then had a new 4.75-inch Colt New Frontier barrel fitted. After all the work and expense, it turned out to be a somewhat mediocre performer. That is, until I tried IMR 4227 with Lyman’s #452424 and a 20.0-grain load, and that combination produced one-hole groups. Any time I have a 45 Colt that doesn’t shoot the way I think it should, I don’t give up until I try this load of IMR 4227 with Keith’s bullet. It has never failed me. It also is a most versatile powder as it can be used for standard loads for the Colt SAA and heavy loads for the Blackhawk."

Well I guess now I know another powder I need to get. I'll be on the look out for a new mold as well I suppose.

Really before that I need to find some one to let me borrow a forcing cone reamer... then all this other stuff y'all are filling my head with.