Recommedations for 45 long colt

[Alan in WI]

I want to start casting for the 45 long colt. Molds come in two different sizes .452 and .454. What is the best way to go when ordering a mold? I would also like manufacture recommendations. I have used some Lyman molds in the past for other casting and have been satisfied with the results, but I am open to suggestions. Also, what type of alloy should I use for the bullets? I really appreciate your help!

Thanks

Alan

[454PB]

Alan, you'll need to slug the barrel and cylinder throats before deciding what diameter boolit mould will work. If the gun needs .452" boolits, you can size the .454" boolits down, but if it wants .454" boolits, it takes some work to get that diameter from a mould that casts .452".

If you plan to use SAAMI pressures, any alloy of 9 BHN or over will work well. If you're looking for "Ruger only" pressures, you'll need a harder alloy, or maybe even a gas check design.

I own mostly Lee moulds, but also have RCBS, Lyman, H&G, and NEI. The only mould I've ever owned that was so bad it had to be returned was an undersized Lyman 452460. Lyman promptly replaced it.

You can't go far wrong with the Elmer Keith inspired Lyman 452424 as an all around performer, or the RCBS clone.

Tell us what you expect to use this .45 for, and we can get more specific.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

A 454 boolit can be sized down to 452 without any problem. But most 45s shoot just fine with 452. Have you slugged your barrel? Will be shooting any Black Powder? My personal favorite is the Lyman 454190 mould.

[HammerMTB]

I have a 255 gr RF mold from Lee that makes a good all-round boolit. Mine happens to cast about .453
I borrowed Yondering's 300 RF. It makes for a good hunting or thumpin' boolit. Since I use it for those purposes, I load it fairly heavy, and it bucks pretty good in a Blackhawk frame. It also runs a bit over .452 so lubes and sizes in a .452 sizer.
I have a lighter boolit mold for .45, but haven't tried it in the .45 Colt. The 230 TC just looks like an auto boolit. Maybe one day I'll feed a few to my wheelgun.... :castmine:

[jh45gun]

I have Lee's 252 grain Semi wad cutter and it is a great bullet.

[geargnasher]

Do what the others have said, slugging the bore is important, but MORE important is accurately measuring cylinder throats. Opinions vary, as do the temperment of individual pistols, but generally you want the cylinder throats .001" or more larger than groove diameter, and your boolits sized to cylinder throat dimensions or .0005" smaller.

Most SAA style .45 Colts are designed around a 250-grain boolit, and cylinder length accomodates most of these designs without issue.

Use published data from Lyman or Hodgdon for the cast stuff, I prefer HS6 for guns that shoot a bit low, and Unique or Universal for poi shooting out to 25 yards, and Titegroup or Bullseye in MILD loads for guns that tend to shoot high. There are plenty of other powders that work well in this burn-rate area, just that these are the ones I use due to familiarity and availability in my area.

As for moulds, the Lyman 454190 is hard to beat for accuracy, plus with today's notoriously undersized Lyman moulds it is likely to be large enough. (mine was made in 2001 and drops acww at .4525" just below "frost" temperature). The Lyman 452664 is a good choice also, and the Lee 452-250- (rfn) is decent if you can get the mould to function. If you want a really good mould and don't mind investing the money, get an RCBS Keith SWC copy.

My Ruger gets 300-340 grain boolits and stiff loads of Blue Dot and Lil'Gun, but that's another story.

Stick with standard primers, "neck" size the brass only unless used in leverguns or multiple guns to forstall incipient case head separation, use alloy between 9-14 bhn, and stay under a half-grain or so below maximum listed "standard" loads for best accuracy.

Hope this helps, if you have specific/further questions pm me, I have pretty much run the gamut with this caliber and am still enjoying what it continues to teach me about revolvers, casting, and reloading.

Gear

[Bucks Owin]

What Gear said. My BH's .456" throats much prefer .454"+ boolits even though it's barrel slugs .452"...