Looking for advice on best defense bullet for 45 colt in ruger Blackhawk

[Justinrivercity]

Hi guys , just bought a ruger Blackhawk in 45 colt , my understanding it is the large frame . I am an expireienced reloader but never loaded 45 colt, I got my brass powder and primers but haven’t ordered projectiles yet. Wondering if you guys might have some advice on your favorite self defense / hunting projectile for this caliber . Also would be interested in trying out some projectiles if anybody has any they would sell me to test out !thanks !

[Wheelguns 1961]

I have some large hollowpoint bullets from an mp-molds 452-278 wfn. They have a plain base, and weigh 249-250 grains. These are powder coated, and are presently sized to .454”. If need be, I could size them to .452”.

[Outpost75]

Speer 250-grain Deep Curl JHP bullet with a standard-pressure load of 7 grains of Bullseye gives 840 fps from my 3-1/2" barrel Cimarron New Sheriff in .45 Colt, penetrates three gallon water jugs, stops in the 4th and expands to 0.70" diameter.

[RU shooter]

If against 2 legged critters a 200-230 gr speer gold dot at 1200 or so fps should do it. But since this is a cast bullet site Id pick a wad cutter or SWC with a wide flat nose

[Justinrivercity]

Thanks for the tips Guys , I’m going to try out all these different recommended boolits and see what my Blackhawk likes best !

[Alferd Packer]

45 wadcutter for defense can hardly be beat and would stand up better as a target shooting round if you had to go to court.
As opposed to a hollow nosed hunting round.

[jonp]

Same Lee 452-252 SWC or 452-255 RF I use quite a bit loaded to 900fps or so. For me, you can go with a 9mm and worry about expansion, fps etc or go with a big hole to start. This is for the house, though as I'm pretty sure that big chunk of lead will not slow down much for a bit and you don't want that in public.

For general plinking I use a 200gr Lee over Promo or such.

[dverna]

It is smart to test out bullets before investing in a mold. Cannot suggest a particular bullet for the .45 LC as i use different calibers for SD. I decided long ago to go with jacketed bullets when it matters. It is a personal choice and there are reasons some use cast and others use jacketed.

I use cast exclusively for practice and plinking with pistol calibers. Even a high end mold will pay for itself if you shoot any quantity. I invested in an MP mold when I wanted an "all round" bullet for my .38/.357 guns. It comes with pins to produce different profiles so something to consider if you decide to cast. Alloy will make a significant impact on how a cast bullet performs; so if you decide to hunt or use cast for SD, mixing up any junk is to be avoided. For plinking, alloy is less critical.

Welcome to the forum and the casting journey!!!

[Lloyd Smale]

lots of men have been sent to God with even cast round nose bullets in the 45 colt and jacketed round nose in the acp. About any flat nosed cast or any jacketed 452 bullet would work just fine. Ive seen 1000 lb bison killed with 255 kieths at 900 fps. Id think they would take care of a 140 lb crack head.

[stubshaft]

45-250 WFN, accurate and that big flat meplat does a lot of damage.

[onelight]

If you are concerned with over penetration use the 230 grain Speer gold dot loaded to 8 to 900 FPS .

[bigboredad]

45 wadcutter for defense can hardly be beat and would stand up better as a target shooting round if you had to go to court.
As opposed to a hollow nosed hunting round.This is the correct answer

Sent from my SM-T377V using Tapatalk

[bangerjim]

I have never had to use any self-defense 45's and hope I never will, but all my 45 revolvers love to shoot anything and any shape from 200 to 300 gn. I have a couple that I cast in HP that really splatter out nice.

No one in their right mind would want to be looking down the barrel of a 45 revolver loaded with any of those!

Shoot what you like, and pray you never have to face off with another person. Just follow published load data charts.

[Gunslinger1911]

I have an MP 452-225 HP (think Speer Flying Ashtray size HP) that's my SD bullet for my 45ACP.
That's what I would use in an SD situation in a 45 Colt - but I already have the mould. haha
Casts a sweet 250g solid that's nice too.
I would be happy to send some to you to try for the cost of shipping - PC or lubed; 452 or 454, your choice.
This bullet is my fav for anything 45. Feeds 1911, lever, you name it.
I also have a Accurate SWC mould, solid and HP.
I'll post some pix after dinner.

[softpoint]

A 200 grain roundnose flat point would be fine for 2 legged creatures. 200 grain will give plenty of penetration with quick recovery and follow up. Load to about 1000 fps.

[Kosh75287]

Just USE THE LOAD that YOU HIT BEST WITH! If it's ANY kind of a .45 Colt load, it'll stop an agitated GORILLA in its tracks, in addition to any human determined to do you harm. A 250 at 750 f/s will work as well as a 200 gr. at 1000 f/s. Your target will never have the time or the sense to discriminate between the two.

[Land Owner]

I like the 255 gr., TRN, 0.454", LYMAN #454190 cast as pictured below at about 900 fps. One went through and through the shoulders of a 145# sow hog broadside, stopped her in her tracks, from 22 yards out of my 7.5" barreled Blackhawk. I was so enthralled with the geyser of water from the bullet impact in the water hole just beyond that I failed to notice, until too late, the untouched 175# boar that skedaddled past at the shot as if it had been branded.

https://i.postimg.cc/cJg1ZG85/45-Colt-Lyman-454190.jpg

[Gunslinger1911]

272548272549

L to R

225g round nose solid, 200g HP, 250g SWC, 235g SWC-HP

The 200g HP is my go-to, prob cast and shot 10,000 of these thru assorted 1911's and S&W 625's

[MT Gianni]

For self defense use a round ball at about 600 fps to avoid over penetration. Hunting use a heavy round flat bullet.

[onelight]

Speer 250-grain Deep Curl JHP bullet with a standard-pressure load of 7 grains of Bullseye gives 840 fps from my 3-1/2" barrel Cimarron New Sheriff in .45 Colt, penetrates three gallon water jugs, stops in the 4th and expands to 0.70" diameter.
That is good to hear I was concerned it that it might have been designed for much higher impact velocity.

[derek45]

I think it would be harder to find a 45 bullet that would not work well

8-)

[Bushrat]

When you get hit by a bus it doesn’t matter what shape it is or how fast it is going. Shot placement is most important.

[dougader]

Speer 250-grain Deep Curl JHP bullet with a standard-pressure load of 7 grains of Bullseye gives 840 fps from my 3-1/2" barrel Cimarron New Sheriff in .45 Colt, penetrates three gallon water jugs, stops in the 4th and expands to 0.70" diameter.

I load the same bullet with 13 grains of Blue Dot for around 975-1000 fps. Hits hard, expands well and penetrates just about right.

[Castaway]

Defense against humans? As stated in many posts, any flat nosed, 250 grain bullet at 900 f/s has worked well for 147 years. Grizzly bears and mutant zombies might need the same bullet at 1,000 f/s to tame them.