45 long colt favorite load data

[whitetailsniper]

hi guy, for awhile now i have slowly been adding to my collection,,i just got 2 molds, a rcbs 255 grain ,,and a lyman 325 grain gc,,,i got the dies, the powder, had dale put my name on miha list for his 45 long colt hollow point mold, ,i have some brass, i got the dies,, but still looking for that one 45 long colt gun. im leaning towards the ruger blackhawk bisley 45 long cot 5.5 barrel. i even just recieved an awsome holster rig new,lined,scroll work, you name it , looks fantastic quality for only 40.00,,,got hooked up with this awsome lady on ebay,whos selling them for a friend who makes them. top notch work!! now im looking for top performance load data to ass to my load data book for this caliber. so when i find my gun,,i can get busy asap with this . bullet type,style,powder ,amount,col.,primeres,and if possable fps. and how they grouped at ther yrds. your comments are very greatful. ok 45 long colt lovers,,ring out ,lets hear from you,,the more the merry.:bigsmyl2:

[gifford]

Congrats on the 45 Colt - you'll enjoy it. I have one load for my Blackhawk .45 Convertible. I use 8 grains of Unique and a CCI LP primer. It works for me. All my loads are based on Unique. Keeps the inventory simple. :-) G

[littlejack]

wts:
I bought the Cimmaron (Uberti) Evil Roy model P a couple of months ago. It has the 5.5" barrel. I do like it very much. It fits well in the hand.
I bought the "Big Jake" rig from Kirkpatrick Leather. It is simple. The piece rides back just behind center right hip, to be out of the way and not get caught up on brush.
My maine load is the Lyman 454190 cast of ww + 2% tin. The powder is Herco. The charge weight is 9.2 grains.
I clocked 9.2, 9.5 and 10 grains. The 9.2 got the best SD and EP, if that means much to you.
I use WLP primers. I seat and crimp just over the bullet radius.
I chose the Herco powder to utilize as much case capacity as possible. There are a couple more powders that will take up more space, (bluedot and 2400) I have not tried. I will probably stick with the Herco, as I get a very clean barrel with no unburnt powder and no leading what so ever. I clocked these loads at 925 fps. This is plenty in the light weight saa revolver. The 10 grain load of Herco will get me 1000 fps and change. That loads begins to sting a little.
Jack

[jh45gun]

I too would give a thumbs up on the 8 grains of Unique as a great load and I also give a thumbs up on the Uberti.

I would read all the threads on the 45 Colt Ruger issues before I would make a buying decision.

[ktw]

7.5-9.5 grains unique (depending on the gun and your target velocity) with a 255-265 grain bullet meet most of my needs.

The following are some other 45 colt load recommendations for Ruger Blackhawks from respected sources that I have run across over the years

250-255gr (any)
9.3gr Unique
12.0gr HS-6
14.0gr HS-7
14.0gr Bluedot
18.0gr 2400
22.0gr 4227

255 gr. Keith or RNFP
6.0gr Bullseye (Plink)
7.0gr WW231 (Std)
9.0gr Unique (Std)

265 and 275 Keiths
18.5gr 2400 (Std)
23.0gr H110 (Heavy)

260gr cast
8.0gr WW231 (900fps)
13.0gr HS-6 (1050fps)
24.0gr H110 (1280fps)

-ktw

[tek4260]

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=78528

Here is a good read about the 45 Ruger Blackhawk

[Oyeboten]

I am also interested in hearing about favored Loads suitable for an older Uberti long Barrel SAA in .45 Colt.


BP loads take care of themselves nicely...but in Smokeless, I would not want to strain it of course.

[NickSS]

I have had ruger Black hawks in 45 colt with 5.5 and 7.5 inch barrels. They shoot OK but to tell the truth I nvever fell in love with them and they are down the road now. I do own three 45 colt Ubertis that I really like. Two have 5.5 barrels and one has a 4 5/8 barrels. Most of the loads I shoot are in the 800 to 900 fps range and they include a 250 gr RF Lee bullet pushed by 6 gr of Red Dot, 6.5 gr of red dot, 8 gr of Unique, 9 gr of Hurco and 6 gr of WST. They all work well in my revolvers. I also use a Lyman SWC of 255 gr over the same powder charges. I use more of the Lee bullets as they work really smooth in my lever guns and I have had some hangups with the SWC in them.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I side with NickSS on using 6.5 gr of Red Dot. I only have 2 RBH pistols in 45 Colt. I tend to stay with the RCBS 255 gr. bullet made out of ACWW. The load give me the almost same original velocity load of 900+ fps with this load. This velocity and weight load has only been gettin the job done since the late 1800`s! Why fix what ain`t broke?Robert

[Catshooter]

Hard to go far wrong with a .45 Colt. :)


Cat

[Snyd]

On the other end are the Ruger Only loads. My Rugers like a 355gr with 21.5-22gr H110, CCI 350, starline brass, nice tight crimp. About 1200+ fps in the 7.5 SBH, 1150fps out of the 4" Redhawk. And about 1450+fps out of the 20" 454 Puma Levergun.

As for plinkers, 8-9gr Unique, 255gr. Also 8gr Unique with a 200gr SWC (45 acp boolit) crimped on the driving band is very accurate and a pussycat to shoot.

[jh45gun]

On the other end are the Ruger Only loads. My Rugers like a 355gr with 21.5-22gr H110, CCI 350, starline brass, nice tight crimp. About 1200+ fps in the 7.5 SBH, 1150fps out of the 4" Redhawk. And about 1450+fps out of the 20" 454 Puma Levergun.

As for plinkers, 8-9gr Unique, 255gr. Also 8gr Unique with a 200gr SWC (45 acp boolit) crimped on the driving band is very accurate and a pussycat to shoot.


I would not call the 8 to 9 grain Unique load with a 255 grain bullet a plinker load as it duplicates the original black powder loads in performance.

[Oyeboten]

I intend to be loading .45 Colt in some Smokless, and, in Black Powder also...trying some different Lead Bullets and Boolits...looking forward to trying these loads mentioned. And, seeing how the BP Loads do through the Chronograph for compare too.

.45 LC sure has a lot of charm.

[GDLT31]

A favorite .45 Colt load,try anyone you'll like it then try another then another.You will soon find out there all favorites.I have an array of pistols in .45 Colt,some are for hog hunting,deer,even my bang stick for gators is in .45 Colt.The best way is to keep a detailed file which pistol which load,bullet,what range(sight in)Every pistol likes a certain load(barrel size,temp.)Also my favorite might not be your favorite.So the best way is load something that looks good try that then try something else.You bought it to shoot so let the lead fly.

[44man]

hi guy, for awhile now i have slowly been adding to my collection,,i just got 2 molds, a rcbs 255 grain ,,and a lyman 325 grain gc,,,i got the dies, the powder, had dale put my name on miha list for his 45 long colt hollow point mold, ,i have some brass, i got the dies,, but still looking for that one 45 long colt gun. im leaning towards the ruger blackhawk bisley 45 long cot 5.5 barrel. i even just recieved an awsome holster rig new,lined,scroll work, you name it , looks fantastic quality for only 40.00,,,got hooked up with this awsome lady on ebay,whos selling them for a friend who makes them. top notch work!! now im looking for top performance load data to ass to my load data book for this caliber. so when i find my gun,,i can get busy asap with this . bullet type,style,powder ,amount,col.,primeres,and if possable fps. and how they grouped at ther yrds. your comments are very greatful. ok 45 long colt lovers,,ring out ,lets hear from you,,the more the merry.:bigsmyl2:
If you go with a Ruger, the Lyman 325 is super for accuracy and hunting. I use 21.5 gr of 296 with a Fed 150 primer and Felix lube. An inch or less at 50 and it has done an inch at 75 yards.
I only plink with lighter boolits since I hunt mostly with my revolvers. Most of my shooting is with hunting loads.

[mtgrs737]

8 Grains of Unique, a WLP and a Lyman 454190 or 452664 is hard to beat. I size them to .453" and lube with Lar's BAC. These loads shoot to point of aim at 25 yards in my NM Ruger Valquero 5.5". I have also used the same boolits over 7 grs. of Red Dot, but I can't tell any difference in actual shooting.

[StrawHat]

I, personally, have no use for the hot "Ruger Only" loads so I can not recommend any.

Most of my 45 Long Colt loads are based on black powder and different boolits. When I do go to smokeless I use the Unique loads already mentioned. I have used the GB 454190, GB 45-283, GB 45 Collar Button, Lyman 454424, Lee 45-255 SWC, and Lyman 457122 over black powder with varying degrees of success. It seems I keep going back to the origianl ballistics and boolit.

[excavman]

You guys are forgetting Trail Boss, it's one of the best 45 powders out there. Try 5-6 grain with a light boolit, nice shoot all day plinkin' load.

Larry

[Nose Dive]

Yep! had oughta try several powder and boolits...find the one YOU like best...
Unique is good. Trail Boss...Lil Gun...ders a bunch of'em....

My Ruber 45 Black Hawk w/ a Bisley conversion likes'em all inspite of how bad i
build the boolits... She goes BANG when i pull her trigger and we both are happy!

Play around with the STUFF...mix and match according to the manuals and you won't
get into too much trouble...

[DanWalker]

Here's a six shot group at 25 yards from my ruger new model blackhawk.
The load was 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 454424 that has had a cramer HP conversion done to it. I was just resting my wrists on the hood of my pickup for this group.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30909642&id=1465047205

[Dale53]

Last year a good friend talked me into getting a Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP (he and our dealer both got one at the same time). They shoot EXTREMELY well with both cylinders after reaming the cylinder throats to .4525" (all three handguns had undersize cylinder throats). What at first was a bit "off putting" turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We all ended up with custom dimentioned cylinder throats. Here is mine with the .45 ACP cylinder:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0385.jpg

My general purpose load for the .45 Colt is a 250 gr Keith with 8.5 grs of Unique. After I get my MiHec Cramer style bullet mould for the RCBS 45-270-SAA bullet (I should have it in hand in a couple of weeks) THAT will become my general purpose bullet. I am REALLY looking forward to that "wondrous time to come"...:drinks:

Dale53

[Nrut]

Dale,
Is your Ruger a special run or regular production revolver?

I have a regular 7 1/2" Bisley and a old style SS Bisley Vaquero, both in .45 Colt, but lust after yours..

[Dale53]

Nrut;
I know it's a bit lame of me, but I really don't know. My buddy located several of these from a particular distributor and I pretty much just went along for the ride. If I had known how well they would perform, I would have JUMPED on the wagon without having to have my arm twisted.

Frankly, I have always been a .44 man (early Elmer Keith disciple) but these .45 Colts certainly rank with the best out there. I had a trigger job done on mine as well as the pawl modified to a free spin pawl and it NOW is a superb revolver in most every way. It is finished extremely well, mechanically is as strong as a bull and just flat feels GOOD. It is also a user friendly platform seemingly allowing good scores to be shot with little effort.

FWIW
Dale53

[mroliver77]

There are a lot of guys unhappy with Rugers. I have three New mod. .357, .44mag SBH and a brand new last year 45 Colt. They all shoot well and cylinders are dimensioned correctly. I had a .45 go back and the new one is a replacement. According to the female I talked to at Ruger they did not have my model so they built one for me. I dont know if this is true but it has no issues and has shot very well from the first day I got it. Only jacketed it has seen was at the factory.I am very happy with all my Rugers so far. It was my fault the .45 needed replaced and I told them so and they still treated me well on the replacement.
8-10gr Unique,under the Lee 255RF works well. I also shoot some "warm" loads in it and it is a fine shooter. I put rubber grips on them for heavy recoil and that tames them a bunch.
Jay

[Trey45]

I have the RCBS 255gr Keith style mold for 45 Colt. I was using 8.5gr Unique and dropped it down to 8gr Unique, it's one of my favorite loads. My Redhawk and Blackhawk both shoot it very well.

[Dale53]

Here is my Bisley Vaquero:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/RugerVaquero-2.jpg

I got the Vaquero when I was shooting BPCR Silhouette matches. They had side matches for black powder cartridge revolvers and the Bisley worked VERY well in that capacity. Frankly, it really opened my eyes to the REAL properties of the original .45 Colt black powder round. The Army got it right "Back in the day"...

Dale53

[Changeling]

Dale is that the original case coloring on the Vaquero, if so you are very lucky.

[Dale53]

Changeling;
Yes, that is original case coloring on the Ruger. That is a recent picture, too. That revolver has been shot a good deal - a lot of it with Black Powder. It's been a VERY nice piece to me - it's won me several matches and has been totally reliable.

Right out of the box, it shot to point of aim at 25yards. My most used bullet with it is the Lyman 452664 (250 gr RF with a generous grease groove filled with Emmert's home mix). It will run 70 rounds of full charge black powder loads without cleaning or wiping.

FWIW
Dale53

[9.3X62AL]

Another 45 Colt user here, and I enjoy 8.0-9.0 grains of Unique with any 250 grain-class boolit--usually #454424 or #454190 lately. My revo is a Ruger BisHawk x 7.5". Every so often, I'll run some #454490 SWC/GCs through it at 1200+ FPS, but I'm not so certain that our coyote-sized muleys and blacktails out here would be any more impressed by the thunder & lightning loading. They would likely tip right over with 250 grains of Elmer's Brainchild running 900-1000 FPS and placed correctly. All the velocity on earth can't make up for crummy hit placement, and that 1873-level 45 Colt load PRINTS WELL.

[StrawHat]

... My most used bullet with it is the Lyman 452664 (250 gr RF with a generous grease groove filled with Emmert's home mix). It will run 70 rounds of full charge black powder loads without cleaning or wiping.

FWIW
Dale53


I just looked up that bullet, it certainly looks interesting. It would seem to hold more lube than the 454190.

[EDK]

Dale,
Is your Ruger a special run or regular production revolver?

I have a regular 7 1/2" Bisley and a old style SS Bisley Vaquero, both in .45 Colt, but lust after yours..

It is called an "ACCU SPORT," a limited edition done for Accu-Sport first, and then later for Williams Specialties (IIRC.) Check out gunbroker under Ruger Bisley for prices....anywhere from $600 to $900 for Dale's gun. (I've been lusting after one of them with the extra 45 ACP cylinder for some time, but just put a 7.5 inch Old Model convertible in layaway. Temptation overcomes empty wallet once again!) The 45s are probably the most common...and popular! The 357 is d*** near impossible to find and the 41 and 44 are somewhere in between. I got one of the 44s CHEAP...new but no box and collector goodies.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[StrawHat]

...Frankly, I have always been a .44 man (early Elmer Keith disciple) but these .45 Colts certainly rank with the best out there...
FWIW
Dale53

Dale,

Like you I am also an early Keith disciple, but I got over my magnumitis and went with what Keith used early in his career, the 45 long Colt. I believe his pick of cartridges, if restricted to factory loads, was the 45 long Colt in the old blackpowder load. After his death, his 45 revolver was found with 5 of those loads still in the chambers. Not a bad choice. (Not to say a 44 is a bad cartridge, just no longer my choice.

[Dale53]

StrawHat;
What is often forgotten, the original handguns Keith experimented with were the early Colt SAA. The .45 Colt cylinder, in addition to suspect metal in the early ones and mismatched parts Army surplus revolvers that were quite available in the West, had much thinner cylinder walls than the .44 Special. THAT is why Keith chose the .44 Special. The .44 Special could be SAFELY loaded to much higher power than the comparable .45 Colt IN THAT PLATFORM.

The Ruger large frame .45 Colt put everything in quite a different light. Now, for the first time, the .45 Colt could be loaded to it's potential.

I have spent too many years admiring and using the .44's to abandon them, but any rational person MUST recognize the effectiveness of the .45 Colt in the modern, large frame Ruger with properly designed bullets for medium to large game as well as self defense. What is also not generally recognized is that the big bore (.40 and above) revolver also works quite well on edible small game without excessive meat damage. I can PERSONALLY attest to that! Visions of cottontail rabbits, snowshoe rabbits, and grouse that I have taken with the handgun thoroughly support that idea.

FWIW
Dale53

[Nrut]

It is called an "ACCU SPORT," a limited edition done for Accu-Sport first, and then later for Williams Specialties (IIRC.) Check out gunbroker under Ruger Bisley for prices....anywhere from $600 to $900 for Dale's gun. (I've been lusting after one of them with the extra 45 ACP cylinder for some time, but just put a 7.5 inch Old Model convertible in layaway. Temptation overcomes empty wallet once again!) The 45s are probably the most common...and popular! The 357 is d*** near impossible to find and the 41 and 44 are somewhere in between. I got one of the 44s CHEAP...new but no box and collector goodies.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:
Thanks EDK,
I kinda figured Dale's little Bisley would be a special order model..
It always baffles me why Ruger can't figure out what configuration would be a best seller and a distributer can..

[leadloader]

i load a 250 gr lead rn over 5.5 gr American select in my Ruger new Vaquero and get great results a plus is American select powder is formulated with recoil reduction in mind so it kicks like a 22 lr ... great plinker

[Outpost75]

I am also interested in hearing about favored Loads suitable for an older Uberti long Barrel SAA in .45 Colt.
BP loads take care of themselves nicely...but in Smokeless, I would not want to strain it of course.

With 260-grain Saeco #955 Cowboy bullet 6.5 grains of Bullseye gives 880 fps in my Colt New Service 5-1/2", which approximates factory loads.

Same charge also shoots well for 900 fps with the 230-grain #954 bullet of the same shape. K.I.S.S. principle.

[bigted]

37 grains GOEX 2F black powder ... compress with the 250 grain boolit lubed with SPG ... no card wad of any kind ... just powder / boolit / compress / crimp / shoot!!!

if range shooting i do thusly;

i like the small hand held grease gun i bought designed for chainsaw bar greasing ... i fill it with crisco shortening and after loading my Vaquero with cartridges ... i grease the mouth of the chambers with crisco and wipe away the extra with my finger after spinning the cylinder to allow the forcing cone of the barrel to wipe the crisco off even with the cylinder mouth's.

for walking round i do not crisco the cylinder mouth ... just load n walk. very fun shooting and with ballistol/water mix in a 80/20 water mix ... it cleans rite up.

[USSR]

What is it with guys who resurrect 4 year old threads?[smilie=b:

[9.3X62AL]

What is it with guys who resurrect 4 year old threads?[smilie=b:

We are unreconstructed curmudgeons.

[DougGuy]

What's with guys who buy a pistol built like a tank and then shoot mouse fart loads in it? :kidding:

[warboar_21]

So with a New Vaquero what power loadings are you able to load to? I have read you can't load to the old model vaquero or the blackhawk levels. Are they any better than the import clones? Or are they only safe for the same lighter loads?

I like loading up 9gr of unique under a 255gr,310gr,or even my 335gr lyman. My blackhawks like them as well as the hotter loads of h110 or Lil gun.

[BigAl52]

Dale
Did you ream the throats on both cylinders or just the colt cylinder? I have one of those guns also and havent done mine yet. Did you ream the throats yourself or send them out? Thanks Al

[35 Whelen]

So with a New Vaquero what power loadings are you able to load to? I have read you can't load to the old model vaquero or the blackhawk levels. Are they any better than the import clones? Or are they only safe for the same lighter loads?

I like loading up 9gr of unique under a 255gr,310gr,or even my 335gr lyman. My blackhawks like them as well as the hotter loads of h110 or Lil gun.

The NM Vaquero is good to 22,000 - 24,000 psi according to an article by Brian Pearce (http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/HL_234_preview.pdf).

I'm working on a post of some loads I've been working on in my NM Vaquero. Stay tuned.

35W

[Catshooter]

What is it with guys who have communist user names? :)


Cat

[warboar_21]

The NM Vaquero is good to 22,000 - 24,000 psi according to an article by Brian Pearce (http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/HL_234_preview.pdf).

I'm working on a post of some loads I've been working on in my NM Vaquero. Stay tuned.

35W

Thank you sir. I will be watching for your info.

[35 Whelen]

I started a thread titled "45 Colt and Oddball Powders" here.

35W

[Dale53]

BigAl52;
As stated in my P.M. to you, I reamed the cylinder throats myself with a reamer kit (complete with pilots) borrowed from a good friend to .4525". In fact, I reamed both of my cylinders as well as the Bisley Vaquero and both of my friends convertibles cylinders. We are ALL very happy campers as a result.

What started out to be less than satisfactory (serious leading and poor accuracy) ended up with our having "custom" cylinder throats, NO leading, and terrific accuracy (under 1" at 25 yards).

FWIW
Dale53

[lbaize3]

I have been a long time 45 Colt fan with Rugers, Uberti reproductions, and various different 45 Colt rifles. Although numerous others have mentioned loads with Unique, I have switched from Unique to Universal Clays. My all around load for all my 45 Colts (except one short barreled Schofield) is 7.5 grains of Universal for both 250 RF and 255 SWC boolits. Over the years I have tried Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot, Tight Group, Trail Boss and black powder. (and probably some others I have forgotten.....) The best all around load I have found is the fore mentioned 7.5 grains of Universal.

As a side note, I have reamed the forcing cones on different revolvers to the Ron Powers recommended 11 degrees. That really seems to improve the Ruger's performance with cast boolits.

[BigAl52]

Dale
Thanks for all your info. Mine wont chamber a 45acp with a cast bullet either but will with a jacket 230rn. I think I am going to send mine to Doug and let him ream the cylinders for me as it seems like I have the same condition with mine as you did. I cannot get a 452 bullet to go into the front of the cylinder. As soon as I hear from Doug off they will go. Al

[DougGuy]

PMs exchanged sirs Thanks!

[USSR]

What is it with guys who have communist user names?


Cat

Sorry to hear you are so ignorant, Cat, but the initials refer to my business, thanks.

Don

[Catshooter]

Sorry USSR, I forgot to put a smilie in my post. I was joking and meant no harm.


Cat

[USSR]

No problem.

Don

[bubbapug1]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected as I just bought a El Patron and a vaquero, both in 45C.

I've been shooting trail boss at 5.8 grains with 210 grain SWC, 230 grain Xtreme plated, and 255 grain lasers. They all work great but I don't have any chrony data yet.

The trail boss is very smokey and makes a mess in a dillon as it's so light your downstroke on powder filling has to be slowed down.

I'm going to try those red dot loads in this thread.

[rodburns]

Never die All around fun case to stuff with damn near anything is why this thread was resurrected
besides some of us don't know everything
230grn rnl pistol 7.0 unique. Rifle 7.8
6.6 reddot. 7.5
7.0 grndot. 7.7
6.5 hiskor 700x. 7.0
8.5 alcan7. 9.5
8.0 sr4756. 8.5
These were our cowboy loads for 10 years no issues just fun
250grn fnl. rifle 8.5 hiskor700x.
255grn Keith 8.7 herco

all the rifle was shot in a win trapper and my ruger blackhawk
the 230 pistol was for the colts and of course everything else

old alcan powder worked well for me I treated al120 and win ball 450ls like bullseye
Be careful with that its faster than the rest

[Good Cheer]

In the 1980's my favorite load was a #450229 with the RF nose machined to make a straight cylinder and that loaded backwards to make a HPWC for the Colt Army Model 1909. Used enough Unique to make them hit in the same spot.
Biggest problem with the '09 is how to work past the chamber dimensions.

[pakmc]

I have one of the uberti "P" in .45 LC, and it a real accurate shooter. but if you want to really have fun go for a Schoifeld. I have one .45 and one in .44-40 I love them both. both are accurate and shoot to point of aim.(the .45 is the Russian model) the other is a copy of the smith #2(I think thats right) but any where from 5 to 7 gr's of trail boss will work with either gun. AT my age I shoot 5 to 5.5 gr's of trail boss in them for cowboy shooting! with a 200 gr. RNFN bullet. and yes, I have the rifles for them also.l

[M-Tecs]

Lyman 454190 over 8 grains Unique.

[jim 44-40]

Trail Boss with 230 RN and Ben's Red lube turns heads at the shooting range.You hear guys say you missed after the first shot,Then they find out all the shots are in one hole! I size @ .451 in the ruger works for me.

[robertbank]

I have some 700X to turn into smoke so am going to run 5.9 gr of same under my 200 gr LSWC for a plinking load using my Uberti and Ruger Convertible. For more serious work I run 8 gr of Unique under a 255 gr LSWC.

Don't care to pound out my wrists anymore. Hurts!

Take Care

Bob

[bowhunter]

221674

an old thread but like the 45 LC talking about guns never gets old. I have had a few 45 LC I had all thee barrel length 25-5 smiths when they were new in the 80s being the wise man I am I sold them off. I got the hankering for another smith and picked this 4in 25-5 I had 2 uberti I wish I had kept also. I don't post on here as much as I should, this is a very good forum. I have used 19gr. of H4227 and a 250 Keith for decades. recently I have been using 16gr of 2400 and it dose well. today I am loading some with 8.5 of unique. I also love the 44 sp. but that is for another thread,,,,,,,,,,,,

[35 Whelen]

I've finally found a 45 Colt, a Uberti Frisco, that is really accurate and am having so much fun with it!

I ran across a fellow getting out of the 45 Colt loading business and he sold me 300 pieces of brass and some commercial (MBC) cast bullets. My new favorite powder for target shooting is Red Dot. 6.0 grs. under a 250-260 gr. bullet yields a little over 800 fps, and 6.5 yields about 850, these from a 4 3/4" barrel. Anyhow...I loaded some of the commercial bullets tonight and shot a little before dark:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2025%20yds._zpswpbjdqcv.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2025%20yds._zpswpbjdqcv.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco205020yds.20MBC_zpsu8vis71f.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco205020yds.20MBC_zpsu8vis71f.jpg.html)

This load would make a great deer hunting load. Velocity is around 900 fps with that big ol' 290 gr. bullet.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2050%20yds.%20290%20gr%20SWC%20edit_zpstjm3 gwdo.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Single%20Actions/Uberti%20Frisco/Frisco%2050%20yds.%20290%20gr%20SWC%20edit_zpstjm3 gwdo.jpg.html)

Uberti has really stepped up their game in the last few years and are now making some very accurate, well built revolvers.

35W

[Rodfac]

8 Grains of Unique, a WLP and a Lyman 454190 or 452664 is hard to beat. To the original poster....Hmmm...you've got the holster but need the gun if I read your post correctly...at any rate, the above prescription has shot inch and a half groups with a 7-1/2" SAA Colt, Smith's M25, and a much loved Ruger NV. It's authoritative, very close to the old cavalry load of 1873, and won't loosen your cartilage over a day's shooting. Good luck with your search. Rod PS: I size all of mine to 0.454" and have no leading problems with 50-50 NRA type lube.

Eh. Scheisse...just checked the date on the OP....

[Dale53]

Rodfac;
Good to see that you are "still in the hunt"! Green Frog and I made it down to Friendship on Friday, met with some old friends and toured Commercial Row. Then, about over come with the heat, we left in the early afternoon before they had to carry this ol' hoss out on a stretcher!

Say hello to your wife for us!

Dale53

[oldbear1950]

I have had in the past a COLT SAA that I purchased in 1977, I sold it, have also shot RUGER BLACKHAWK, UBERTI SAA BISLEY , NOW HAVE A UBERTI EL PATRON, and that is my favorite 45 to shoot. It has WOLFF springs, an action job, and shoots awesome. Of all the others that I have had and shot, only the UBERTI BISLEY, is the one I wish I had kept. I will have another of those. I do reload for this EL PATRON, but so far have not developed a favorite load.

[oldbear1950]

was looking at an interesting bullet from Matts bullets, was a 240 grain 452 inch bullet, would like some but can not find any loading data for that bullet. Any one got any ideas?

[Ziptar]

After I get my MiHec Cramer style bullet mould for the RCBS 45-270-SAA bullet (I should have it in hand in a couple of weeks) THAT will become my general purpose bullet.

Dale53

Got a Mihec 45-270-SAA in a group buy must be at least 10 years ago. I cast others too but the 45-270-SAA is my go to and I've cast 3 times as many of those. Over 8.5 - 9.5 grains of Unique or Universal It's general purpose perfection.