What is your hunting load for shooting out of your 45 Colt lever action?

[huntersdog]

I have a line on a on a Rossi 45 Colt 16 inch barrel and I was wondering what are your guys's hunting recipes for deer hunting and bear hunting with your 45 Long Colt carbines?

[littlejack]

Not looking for top velocities;
Starline brass, Fed 150 lp primers. 11.9 grains of Alliant Herco under a 260 grain rnfp. Velocity average is 1387 fps.

[1Papalote]

Lee 255 at .453, 10 gr Unique and 24" Marlin Cowboy.

Added 4.7.21

I've taken 8 Axis deer with this combination as well as 1 turkey and many nuisance critters. Axis ranged from yearlings to a 32" buck. The turkey was taken at about 85 yards. Off the bench, 110 yard distant clays are easy. The Cowboys sights were changed to a Skinner up front and Marlin folding sight. It is my favorite levergun.

[osteodoc08]

13.5gr HS-6 under a 45-270-SAA no chrono data. Plenty for deer in GA.

[pietro]

.

While I use a cast boolit for the range, for hunting I prefer higher performance commercial ammo.

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bv851cna/images/stencil/500x500/products/75076/71443/45C200_Copyright_MUNITIONS_EXPRESS_LLC_IMAGETracke rID3487__17102.1588109694.jpg?c=2

[Naphtali]

21.92 grains H110, 300-grain Saeco SWC-GC (ww+2 air dropped), WW nickel plated brass, CCI 350 primers. This is the hunting load I developed for my Freedom Arms 97 45 Colt. Without having chronographed the load from my 24-inch barreled Rossi 92, I expect it to emulate the same as a factory 454 Casull 300-grain from 7.5-inch barrel.

Do not use this load in any Colt Single Action Army or any clone of it.

Hope this helps.

[Midohhntr]

The Lee 452-255 rfn sized .452 over 18.5 gr A2400 did the job on my grandson’s deer. Shot from a Henry big boy 20” barrel.

[BBMF1]

G'day from Downunder [smilie=s:

G'day All my favorite hunting load for my 92 Winchester is 7.1 grains of WW 231 pushing a Hi-Tec coated 250 grain boolit sized 454 using Fedral large pistol primers , this load works great on large Roo's DRT ;-) and it is very very accurate.

Regards Paul :-)

[littlejack]

Hey Paul, good to hear from somebody down south. :guntootsmiley::guntootsmiley:

[freakonaleash]

Don't stuff this hot stuff in a '73 winchester. Eyetalian or original.

[Seeker]

The Lee c300 rf in front of 16gr. of A#9

[farmbif]

mp 454640 lube sized at .454 with carnauba red over 20 grains 4227. gets about 1200fps out of my 18" Rossi barrel, good and accurate and feeds with no problem.

[jimb16]

8.0 gr. unique behind a pc'ed 260 gr rnfp in my 73 Uberti. Drops any well hit deer in its tracks.

[Randy Bohannon]

18.0 grs H110 300 gr. .454” from Accurate in my Win/Miroku 92 carbine for 1250 FPS ,I don’t need any more than this.

[Outpost75]

IMHO assembling heavy "rifle only" or "Ruger Only" .45 Colt loads, which are not useable in every .45 Colt revolver or rifle I own, defeats the intent of having a rifle and revolver which can use the same caliber of common ammunition. I have several old Colts, four modern Italian clones, a couple Rugers, an S&W, modern H&R and Rossi rifles and a tiny pre-WW1, 4-lb. soft iron action antique rook rifle in .45 Colt which was rechambered from a .455 Eley.

I don't want to be concerned about a heavy smokeless load being put inadvertently in an old gun. I assemble only ONE basic full-charge load with 7.2 grains of Alliant Bullseye as metered by the RCBS Little Dandy Measure rotor #13 for use in all the guns. I assemble cartridges with different bullets as needed to shoot to point of aim with the fixed sights on various guns, using the same powder charge with everything from a 200-grain bullet, up to a 295-grainer. K.I.S.S. principle.

Profiles of the various bullets are clearly distinctive such that I can identify bullet weight by sight. The highest pressure is generated by the 295-grain Accurate 45-290H, which Larry Gibson has measured at about 18,000 psi, [that being with a slightly heavier weighed charge of 7.5 grains] so my 7.2 grain load is well within safe design limits of all my .45 revolvers except for my antique black powder frame Colt. With the bullets up to 250 grains pressure is within the SAAMI MAP. Loads with the heavier bullets do not exceed the MAP for a .45 ACP cartridge, within safe design limits for post-1920 Colts and Italian clones.

[hornady308]

In a 92 or similar strong action, I use the Lee 255 with 9gr Unique or 17gr 2400. For the '66 and '73, I stick with the aforementioned 8gr Unique as this loading gives close to 1200 fps from a 20" barrel. That's plenty for around my area.

[ButchC]

In a 92 or similar strong action, I use the Lee 255 with 9gr Unique or 17gr 2400. For the '66 and '73, I stick with the aforementioned 8gr Unique as this loading gives close to 1200 fps from a 20" barrel. That's plenty for around my area.

17gr 2400 with Lee 255 was also my load, had a 20" 1892 clone as well. It was pretty substantial, had an opportunity to shoot it side by side with a Ruger M44 and there wasn't a lot of difference in the feel of the two. Not that that's the most quantitative assessment.

[prs]

Very similar to jim16; I use a "Ruger Only" charge of Unique under a 250 grain wide nose flat point powder coated boolit (PRS bullet) cast of Lyman #2. Not sure if the Rossie us up to that pressure, but the Marlin CB Limited is. "Wild" boar and white tails do not have to be tracked far. if shot was well placed. Shooting distances are fairly short in our heavy local cover; almost exclusively under 100 yards.

prs

[Mk42gunner]

My feeling is similar to Outpost75's, if I need more power than a standard .45 Colt, I need a bigger gun anyway.

My current crop of .45 Colts are all fairly strong, a Ruger large frame Bisley Vaquero, a 24" Marlin 1894CB and a 20" Rossi R92. But then I have though about getting a cartridge conversion cylinder for the 1860 Army.

Before I hurt my back and blew out my knee (funny how you loose interest in hiking through the timber when you are in constant pain) I started to develop some loads with the Lyman 452424 in front of a moderate charge of 2400. I don't think any whitetail would have shrugged them off.

Robert

[ktw]

454-300-LFN (the Cayoot Group Buy bullet from a ways back) over one of
21.0 gr H110 - 1360 fps
22.0 gr H4227 - 1320 fps
17.0 gr 2400 - 1275 fps
10.0 gr Unique - 1200 fps

in a 16" barrel Winchester 94 Trapper. The H110 load shoots best for me, but they all work well enough.

-ktw

[pls1911]

9.0 Grains unique, either normal 250 grain RNGC or RCBS 45-SAA-270.
Ruger BH or Rifles.
Accurate, lethal, plenty of daylight transfer....

[salvadore]

I've been shooting an NOE rnfpgc on top of 11.2gr. of aa#5. It averages 1233fps out of an 18" '73 barrel and if I did the math right is 844fp of energy. I get 1.7" @ 50yds groups but worry the pressure more than the 18000cup I hope it is.

[dddddmorgan]

8.0 gr. unique behind a pc'ed 260 gr rnfp in my 73 Uberti. Drops any well hit deer in its tracks.

Jim has it down pat ;-)

8 grains of Unique in the mighty 45 Colt is a magic load in my opinion. Fine in any firearm in good condition in this caliber.

Sure it's fun to stoke them hot if you have a Ruger or such but at lever gun distance (for me 150 yards max) this load behind my RCBS mold cast Keith boolit is the final chapter for anything I hunt regularly.

If I could get that close to an elk I don't know, I'd probably want something a little faster but a big fat 45 caliber boolit going along over 1,000 fps out of a rifle is good medicine for just about everything.

[T-Bird]

I agree from experience

[T-Bird]

Like salvadore I use AA#5 around 11gr for the same sized bullet, accurate, powerful never felt I needed more. My most accurate load in 44 mag is 12 gr AA#5 sameish sized boolit. Me and #5 get along.

[bigdog454]

I've found that any FNL boolit at 1000 to 1200 fps will knock a whitetail deer flat if fairly well placed. It didn't seem to matter if it was a 250 grain LFN or a 330 grain LFN.
BD

[Ramjet-SS]

Jim has it down pat ;-)

8 grains of Unique in the mighty 45 Colt is a magic load in my opinion. Fine in any firearm in good condition in this caliber.

Sure it's fun to stoke them hot if you have a Ruger or such but at lever gun distance (for me 150 yards max) this load behind my RCBS mold cast Keith boolit is the final chapter for anything I hunt regularly.

If I could get that close to an elk I don't know, I'd probably want something a little faster but a big fat 45 caliber boolit going along over 1,000 fps out of a rifle is good medicine for just about everything.

This is an outstanding load I use this load in my New Henry Original with soft cast 255 grain flat base HP. I also use this in my Wiley Clapp 45 with birds head grip. Fun to shoot won’t break the bank and lethal on game animals.

[ranchman]

How fast do those 8.0gr unique loads with 250/260grainers shoot over a chrony?

[ktw]

How fast do those 8.0gr unique loads with 250/260grainers shoot over a chrony?

I get around 1100 FPS with 8.5gr Unique and Lyman 454190 in a 16" barrel.
Haven't tried 8.0 gr over a chronograph. Best guess would be around 1025-1050 FPS.

-ktw

[ddixie884]

That sounds good to me.........