45 ACP slugs in 45 Colt?

[bootsnthejeep]

Ok, first off, anyone else having problems with the Search function tonight or is just me? :coffeecom

Anyway, just a quick question since (when it was letting me search) looking for 45 ACP in 45 COLT yields a LOT of interesting threads, but not what I was looking for.

Loading for my 45 Colt. Don't have an appropriate mould yet (leaning toward the 270SAA) but do have my H&G 230 grain ball mould, and the 200 gr semi wad cutter. Have already loaded up some dummy rounds and they meet OAL requirments. Obviously a few thou undersized, but also shooting as cast and very soft, so I'm thinking obturation will take care of the rest. Uberti Cattleman, btw.

Just wondering what anyone else has had for results with this, I know some of you guys must have done this either out of curiosity or desperation. :Fire:

My lube pan is still cooling in the fridge, so I'll probably be loading some tomorrow and seeing what they act like this weekend. If it works out I'll probably just stick with it for plinking rounds, plan on having a lot of these around to feed the 1911 as well.

Boots

[fredj338]

When I started shooting CAS I wanted a 200gr bullet for lighter recoil. There were no suitable bullets at the time, so I used 45acp bullets. They work fine cast soft & sized to .452" in several Rugers & Colts as well as the rifles. Today there are so many good bullet designs from 185gr-270gr for the 45Colt, but you can still use 45acp bullets if they will shoot in your particular rev.

[zxcvbob]

My favorite .45 Colt load uses 230 grain truncated cone boolits with a mess of Red Dot powder. I load them hotter than SAAMI would approve of, but a lot less than my 255 grain Zombie Stomper loads (loading for a Ruger Bisley.) [smilie=1:

Red Dot is a good powder for loading *down* too.

[geargnasher]

Boots, with the gun you have most any .45ACP Cast boolit should work fine, and there's plenty of good data for 230 and 200 gr boolits for the Colt round. Stick with the mild load data (usually clearly marked in manuals for older, weaker guns, this does include the Uberti).

Most .45 Colts made after WWII slug somewhere around .451" with a few exceptions, so most of the .45 ACP boolits will work.

Slug your barrel, size .001" over groove diameter, and blaze! I bet your boolits will need to be .452", just like most ACP barrels need.

I have a Cimmaron Arms (Uberti-made) Bisely in .45 Colt and load all kinds of stuff for it, including Lyman's "Devastator Hollow Point" 452374 which drops at 204 grains and sizes .452" for my .451" barrel. I load that one over 7 grains of Titegroup for a 970fps varmint hammer that will consistently group 2-1/2" at 25 yards.

Gear

[leadeye]

I use the Lee 230 TL in my Rugers as a plinking load, they do a good job.

[RayinNH]

Boots, .45 ACP boolits work just fine in the .45 Colt cartridge as long as they are sized correctly. Just don't use the round nose boolits in a lever action rifle, flat nose only...Ray

[Dframe]

I've been using the same 200 grain RNFP for both calibres for a LONG time. They work great.

[mroliver77]

Both the boolits you mention should be fine in your .45 Colt. I have been shooting them in my Black Hawk since I got the molds. They cast a little on the large size and should be great for your gun. 8 - 10 gr unique should be a fun load in it.
Jay

[Jim]

Boots, .45 ACP boolits work just fine in the .45 Colt cartridge as long as they are sized correctly. Just don't use the round nose boolits in a lever action rifle, flat nose only...Ray

Ray, please don't misunderstand me to be disrespectful as I would never do that. I just wanted to say that I shoot RNs in my .45 Colt Henry repro all the time. Not a bit of problem. My line of thinking is that the round noses are too blunt to create a chain reaction in the magazine.

[mpmarty]

Jim it makes sense that your round nose boolits shouldn't detonate in the magazine. On the other hand it only needs to find a high primer or bit of grit embedded in the nose. You make your own decisions and I respect your right to do so but it only needs to happen once.

[RayinNH]

Jim, no offense taken. I just thought that I would mention it to Boots in case he hadn't considered it. In fact he never even mentioned a rifle. I'm just repeating what I hear all the time concerning non flat nosed boolits and lever guns. I follow the advice, YMMV. I don't need a lot of excitement in my life :-D...Ray

[bootsnthejeep]

I've got 92s in 44 and 357 as companion guns to my favored wheelguns, but now that I've got this damn 45 I'm on the hunt for another and complete the trifecta. Loaded up some blackpowder rounds tonight to try in the morning, we'll see how that goes. Then on to the unique. Gotta make some smokeless lube first tho. Gotta hunt around and see if I have any Alox floating around...

[runfiverun]

i use the h&g 200 swc, and the lyman 200 swc in my 45 colt levergun for plinking and stuff all the time. a 160 and 225 rnfp a 230 rn in the revolvers as well as the rifle a 250 rnfp and a 260 swc keith type in them too.
i also use them all in the 45 acp and in the acp revolver. size em to 452 or 453 and have excellent accuracy to the distances the boolits are designed for.

[EMC45]

Quick ? Can you use 45ACP does with a 45 Colt shellholder to load the 45 Colt?

[oldhickory]

Quick ? Can you use 45ACP does with a 45 Colt shellholder to load the 45 Colt?

In a word, no. .45 Colt requires its own shell plate/holder. You would most likely mangle the brass trying to size it in a .45 acp die, (too short) you may be able to preform expanding and seating though, I never tried it, but you never know. I would say it would be nerve racking to try it and ammunition would be of poor quality if possible at all.

[bootsnthejeep]

I seem to recall reading where someone was reloading Colt with ACP dies, but obviously wasn't full length sizing, just neck sizing and expanding.

That being said, I shelled out the, what, $40 for the Lee Deluxe die set, and LOVE it.

I swear I'm gonna sell all my other reloading stuff and dies and get nothing but Lee. The more of that stuff I buy and use the more I like it.

[zxcvbob]

I seem to recall reading where someone was reloading Colt with ACP dies, but obviously wasn't full length sizingI've used a .30-06 sizing die to "neck size" .45 Colts. They looked kind of like .44-40's when I was done with them. I was trying to use some copper-plated bullets that were slightly undersized and had poor neck tension -- they were jumping the crimp. Eventually I just set them aside for when I get a .45 ACP someday. (I almost have enough empty brass to justify it)

[Leftoverdj]

Quick ? Can you use 45ACP does with a 45 Colt shellholder to load the 45 Colt?

Yes.

I've done it. Had to reset my dies, obviously, but no other problems.

[wallenba]

I was looking into using my Lee 230 RN TL in 45 Colt, loaded up a dummie round, and found that it was too long O.A.L. to fit in my New Model Ruger Vaquero. Just some FYI for anyone with same gun and idea. The Vaquero's have a shorter cylinder than most.

[Rocky Raab]

I use a 45 ACP carbide die for all my 45 Colt loading. It has no decap stem, as that is mounted in the second, expander die. Works perfectly because the carbide ring is smaller than the rest of the die interior.

I've also loaded thousands of commercial-cast 230 RNL for my 45 Colts. I find that six grains of darn near ANY pistol powder from Bullseye to Unique (and that's about 25 powders!) works just peachy keen. About 700-800 fps, which duplicates the 45 ACP load. I crimp them lightly, just over the beginning of the ogive.

Lastly, I firmly believe that the pointy bullet in a tube magazine warning is a myth. If you try, you can't get the bullet tip to align with the primer ahead, it ALWAYS sits off the primer, due to the angle caused by the case rim. And even if you DID have one set off a primer, it wouldn't be an giant explosion because the case is NOT confined as it would be in a chamber. It would merely pop the bullet, spew the powder out and probably fizz a bit.

In fact, it's been tested, and that is exactly what happens. I'm not saying to disregard the old warning, but that it probably isn't unsafe if you did.

[StarMetal]

I use a 45 ACP carbide die for all my 45 Colt loading. It has no decap stem, as that is mounted in the second, expander die. Works perfectly because the carbide ring is smaller than the rest of the die interior.

I've also loaded thousands of commercial-cast 230 RNL for my 45 Colts. I find that six grains of darn near ANY pistol powder from Bullseye to Unique (and that's about 25 powders!) works just peachy keen. About 700-800 fps, which duplicates the 45 ACP load. I crimp them lightly, just over the beginning of the ogive.

Lastly, I firmly believe that the pointy bullet in a tube magazine warning is a myth. If you try, you can't get the bullet tip to align with the primer ahead, it ALWAYS sits off the primer, due to the angle caused by the case rim. And even if you DID have one set off a primer, it wouldn't be an giant explosion because the case is NOT confined as it would be in a chamber. It would merely pop the bullet, spew the powder out and probably fizz a bit.

In fact, it's been tested, and that is exactly what happens. I'm not saying to disregard the old warning, but that it probably isn't unsafe if you did.

I don't think the pointy bullets in a tubular magazine are a myth, but...I think someone is wrong saying the 45 acp round nose in a tubular magazine is. Don't forget they used both round noses and flat tips in the 30-30, 32 Special, 35 Remington, etc..

I've shot lots of 45 acp bullets out of my old model three screw Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt. I forget the number of the Lyman mould, but it's a SWC that has a very very short nose and the sides of the nose are radius instead of straight slanted. I use to shoot about 250 of them a week over 9 grains of Unique which moved them out pretty fast as they weighed 195 grains. Now this was when I was in my 20's, but hitting one pound coffee cans at 200 to 300 yards was easy because I done it a lot. The gun really does shoot. Got lucky I guess. It even shoots better with the 45 acp cylinder.

I have the Lyman roundnose and I've shot that too, it fit my Rugers cylinder. Strange that Lee one is too long.

Joe

[TAWILDCATT]

I guess I will have to stop shooting my 30/30 as I am loading lyman 311291 a RN
it was made for the savage but is used in any 30 cal.pointed bullets were what was problem and in the french Lebel.but even then the case is so tapered I doublt it and the new 8 mm does not have the grove.:coffeecom

[bootsnthejeep]

Well, the blackpowder experiment was... interesting. Shot blackpowder cartridges before out of my 45-70, but now that I think about it, was the first time in a handgun. Fun (LOUDER than I expected. Used to my cap and ball blackpowder shooting, this was NOT the same) and shot fairly well. Hitting a little high and left but could have been me, I was just shooting offhand. But the beeswax/vegetable shortening lube works nicely I must say. Wasn't so much a lube star at the end of the barrel as it was a lube donut. One swipe down the barrel when I walked back to the house and it was clean as a whistle.

Just rooted thru the pile on my reloading bench, seeming to recall in the dank recesses of my mind I picked up a Lee 429 push thru sizer die at a gun show for $10 and I also recalled it might have had a bottle of alox with it. Sure enough, 3/4 full bottle of alox on the sizer that, to date, I've never used or even screwed onto the rockchucker. So we'll forego the smokeless lube recipe for now and see how this works.

I'm gonna need to start casting at home and not at work.

[bootsnthejeep]

Did I mention that the only reason I have this Cattleman was because I got a screaming deal on it? At Cabela's in the tiny "used guns" section, looked in excellent shape and not abused, with a price tag of $225. Glued myself to the counter until I could glom onto it and try to figure out what ailed it. Someone had removed the ejector rod and housing, other than that it was shipshape. Course, I was Christmas shopping and had all my money earmarked for other things, but layaway was cheap enough.

So ever since I've been casting about for an ejector rod for this thing (almost $100 for all the parts thru Numrich. Yeah, no thanks.) and know where I can get a few just haven't gone to get one. So yeah. Could have used one today. Just enough soot and junk from the sacred black to keep the shells from just falling out of the cylinder like they did with my Red Dot load. So I'm out in the gravel pit digging shells out with a jackknife. Very proffesional.

I keep holding out hope that someday I'll learn. Riiiight.

[runfiverun]

pencil dude.

[bootsnthejeep]

Didn't have one in my pocket at the time. I thought about cutting a stick but plucking them out with the blade was working well enough.

[bootsnthejeep]

Just an update on the ACP slugs, the 230 gr H&G GI ball profile shoot nice in the thumbuster. Nothing on paper, but it'll shot minute of beer can at 25 yards offhand, and that's plenty accurate for current purposes. 7 grains of Unique is a nice load for starters. Going to play around with it a bit more.

Now its off to experiment with the 200 grain semi wadcutters. So far, the liquid alox lube is working fine, no complaints.

Still haven't gotten that damn ejector rod tho.