Red Dot deer load

[Schreck5]

Would 8 grs RedDot, rcbs-270-saa (285gr), 45colt load make an acceptable deer hunting load in either a Bisley 7.5" or a Henry big boy with a 20" bbl?

[white eagle]

not familiar with red dot but I think there are others here that are
I recall 6.5 gr of red dot was the recipe

[hc18flyer]

I only have Ruger Blackhawk experience, but I would want a little more horsepower. I hunted with the same bullet over 17.5 grains of Alliant 2400, remember that being a little over 1100 fps out of my 7.5" Blackhawk. hc18flyer

[Schreck5]

The reason for asking is because I have vey little H 110 left,and can,t fi d any. I do have Hs6 and Unique, but I haven,t found a very accurate load with them. So far Red Dot is proving to be more accurate.
Edit: I am not trying to reach H110 levels with unique, Hs6 or RedDot

[MT Gianni]

Are you chasing 220 lb mule deer in the sage flats or 90 lb whitetail from a tree stand? Is 25 yards a long shot or is the wind gauge at 125?
6.5 gr should be close to 1000 fps and get it done close.

[Schreck5]

200 lbs north Missouri deer at 5 - 100 yds.

[GhostHawk]

I load 6.5 gr of Red Dot in mine under 230 gr cast but I only bust paper.

That being said, I would have no qualms about pulling the trigger on a good shot at 100 or less with that load.

It is not fast, but it does not NEED to be fast to be deadly. It just needs to hit the right spot.
That is all about your practice, proficiency and confidence.

I would have no concerns at all with 8 gr of Red Dot under virtually any bullet.

[Kosh75287]

The old rule(s) of thumb for deer with pistol cartridges consisted of:
1.) No smaller than .40 caliber.
2.) No lighter than 200 grains.
3.) No slower than 1000 f/s.
Obviously, you have conditions #1 and #2 covered, with plenty to spare. This MIGHT allow you to settle for a velocity under 1000 f/s, if that's where the best accuracy is. I just prefer to keep velocities above 1000 f/s to flatten the trajectory, a little.

Your Red Dot load would likely break 1000 f/s from your revolver, but maybe not from your carbine. Red Dot burns fairly completely in short barrels, so you might actually experience some frictional deceleration from the carbine's longer barrel.
You don't mention the data you used in the work-up with Unique, but I'm amazed that you haven't found an accurate load with it in either the carbine or the revolver. I hope you'll revisit the possibility that this powder will give you an accurate load. 8.0/Unique/250 gr. RNFP is wonderfully accurate from my Rossi M1892 and my Ruger Redhawk, and gives just under 1000 f/s from my carbine. Alliant lists 9.5/Unique/250 gr. LSWC as maximum (non-Ruger & T/C firearms), and delivers 941 f/s from a 5.5" barrel. I suspect it'd break 1000 f/s in either of your firearms. Even with heavier projectiles, I doubt that the same charge weight would strain either of your firearms, and may surprise you in terms of accuracy. You might also find that charges in the 9.5 gr. to 10.0 gr. are where the best accuracy is to be found. Because Unique is fairly bulky (one of the reasons I use it in .45 Colt), I would expect fairly good loading density with the heavier projectiles, often helping accuracy.

I have very little experience with HS6, but I'm given to believe that it burns more slowly than Unique. It may develop higher velocities for you than Unique in either firearm, though I have no idea of how it will work in terms of loading density.

[dverna]

I know a number of guys who have poached deer at the ranges you are facing with a .22 LR. Of course, they never talk about the deer they wound and lose.

I have no idea of your proficiency with a revolver....most people I know should not use a revolver at 100 yards but if you can make the shot...go for it. A deer is not hard to kill if you hit it right.

But if you have a better gun, why not use it?

Btw, you only need enough H110 for a handful of rounds to get your deer. Ditch the RD and use what little H110 you have for deer this year.

[reloader28]

If you have HS6 try 13gr. John Linebaugh has blown up more 45's on purpose in testing than most 10 guys will ever fire combined and he swears that "on average" this is the most accurate load. He gave me some to try and I would agree and its what I use now.
It runs 1050 in my 5.5" I aint tested in my 7.5 but it should run close to 1100fps in your pistol with 250-320gr boolits

[doghawg]

I use Red Dot in my 5 1/2" Ruger Bisley .45 Colt and like it for range use but I'm a couple grains short of your load. I have no load data to back this up but am thinking 8 grains of Red Dot under a 285 gr. bullet might be a bit much. My preference would be Unique or HS6.

[P Flados]

I used to load hot 45 Colt ammo for my Contender. That was back when I was young and even foolish at times.

I went through all of my info and did a web search. I found no heavy loads for Red Dot with pressure data.

Where heavy load pressure data was given, it generally did not exceed 30,000 (cup or psi).

I ran Quickload with some of the loads shown in the manuals. QL is not known for accurately predicting pressure in straight wall cases. As expected it gave results different than test data. Calculated pressures were from 10% to 15% higher than test data. When I ran 8 gr of Red Dot under a 270 gr cast Bullet, the predicted pressure was very high at 34,074 psi. Velocity for your revolver was 1138 fps and 1238 fps for your rifle.

I am guessing that your load may be on the ragged edge of what seems to be considered acceptable (and only for the strongest of the Rugers). The 6.5 gr charge previously suggested should give you around 1000 fps for your pistol and 1100 fps for your rifle.

Unique or HS6 are probably better choices if you want to push things.

Unique at 8.8 grs will give you about the same performance as 8 gr of Red Dot load at a predicted pressure of 22852 psi and will give you around 100 fps more speed at 9.8 grs with a predicted pressure of 28411 psi.

HS-6 takes 11.0 grs / 12.2 grs to get real close to the Unique predictions I provided above.

[Schreck5]

Many thanks guys. I will revisit Unique and HS6 using the suggested loads.

Upon further consideration, I think I will tear down the Red Dot loads.

[white eagle]

why take them apart shoot them in practice
after all more practice is always good

[Schreck5]

why take them apart shoot them in practice
after all more practice is always good

Because I,m kinda worried about overly high pressures.

[Thumbcocker]

8 grains seems very warm to me.

[cowboy4evr]

There was a guy a few yrs ago that would make a comment occasionally . His hunting load was 6.5 grs of Red dot with bullets up to 300 grs . In fact , it became known by his name , kind of like the skeeter load for 44 specials . I would definitely give 6.5 grs a try before going any higher . My personal feeling is 7.0 would be the max . Good Luck , Paul

[45stomp]

There was a guy a few yrs ago that would make a comment occasionally . His hunting load was 6.5 grs of Red dot with bullets up to 300 grs . In fact , it became known by his name , kind of like the skeeter load for 44 specials . I would definitely give 6.5 grs a try before going any higher . My personal feeling is 7.0 would be the max . Good Luck , Paul
Dan Walker IIRC.
Stomp

[Schreck5]

Ok guys and gals, I just got finished breaking down my Red Dot loads and reloading them with 6.5 gr RD, preped the rest of my 45c brass, loaded some with 9 grs Unique, some with 13 grs HS6. Now to catch a day when I,m feeling decent to go shoot these boogers. A range report will follow. Thanks for the help, Bruce.

[Driver33]

I have used john Linebaugh's hs-6 load on deer it worked well. Accuracy was good in my blackhawk. I have also used 2400 with good results. But 30 yards is about as far as I can see in the mountain laurel patches I hunt in.

[DanWalker]

Dan Walker IIRC.
Stomp

YESSIR. I'm still shooting stuff with that load. Hasn't failed me yet. I don't post on here much anymore. Had a few bad experiences with newer members and lost my desire to interact with folks. I don't have time for people's nonsense or arrogant chest thumping. I know what I know. Most of it I learned by doing it WRONG first.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I am using 6.5 of promo , and enjoy it a lot more then my heavy ruger only loads , seems to have enough power , running it from a 73 uberti rifle and pistol , as time goes by I find those heavy ruger only loads to be more then is needed .

[pls1911]

Either a 250gr, SWC or RCBS's 45-270-SAA swc over 9.0-9.5 grs of Unique will get the job done in a Blackhawk, Redhawk, TC, or Marlin.
As stated above PRACTICE!! Know your load, know your gun, Know your placement, and you'll do fine.