ruger bisley questions

[george1980]

ok i recently traded for a ruger bisley model blackhawk in .45lc , and im going to have a ton of questions as i get started but heres the first few , ill start with boolits , ive been thinking about getting the Lee 452-255-RF mold any thoughts on how itll preform in my ruger and if theres a better choice as far as the lee molds go , and will i get better boolits with a 2 cavity or 6 cavity mold , and alloy will wheel weights be hard enough , or should i look for something a bit harder , lube and sizing , if the mold drops bullets that arent oversized do i need to worry about sizing , i dont have a sizer so i'd probly have to get a lee push threw if its needed , lube , lla or pan lube bein i dont have a lubersizer , and finaly powder whats your fav for this cartridge and wha might be my best choice , now im not looking to do any hot rodding with it im just looking to plink and shoot paper so im thinking about keeping my loads at the cowboy level of around 800 fps or so , thanks guys all helps welcome

[Dale53]

I have a couple of Ruger .45 Colts. One is a Vaquero 5½" and the other is a 5½" SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP Convertible.

Using the .45 Colt cylinder and .45 Colt brass I find several powders to work quite well. Unique is an old favorite (8.0-8.5 grs in a modern .45 Colt). Titegroup may well be the best "modern" powder for the .45 Colt for standard loads. It is not position sensitive ( especially good in the large Colt case), meters well, and burns clean.

I use two bullets - an NOE 454424 in their five cavity mould ( an excellent example of the Keith style 250 gr bullet) or my latest (and favorite) a MiHec two cavity Cramer style hollow and solid point mould for the RCBS 45-270-SAA clone (soon to be joined by a Mihec Four cavity brass mould for the solid bullet). The hollow point bullet weighs 270 grs and the solid point about 285.

My alloy for the solids is WW's + 2% tin. For the hollow points I use 50/50 lead/WW's + 2% tin. I size to .452" (depends on your cylinder throats).

I have a Star lube/sizer but either of these bullets will pan lube well and Lee's push through sizer does a fine job. If you use several cake pans you can do several hundred at a time. I bought "dedicated to bullet casting" cake pans at thrift shops for very little money.

Dale53

[DanWalker]

Welcome to the fold! 45's are addicting.
I use 6.5 grains of Red Dot under a 250 gr swc in my Blackhawk. It's a nice medium power load(900fps)
My primary boolit is a Lyman 454424 that I had a cramer hollowpoint conversion done to.
I had a LEE 255 rnfp that was quite accurate for me, but I wanted an increase in killing power so I switched to an SWC.
For lube, I just tumble lube with Johnsons Paste floor wax and Lee Liquid alox

[skimmerhead]

i have a few ruger's and like all of them. my wife bought me a ruger bisley 5 1/2" stainless 45lc with the non fluted engraved cylinder for our wedding anniversery, wow what a woman!! so i bought a mihec 270 saa mold to cast boolits for it. i'm still waiting for it, hope this week. i think your going to like your bisley good luck.

skimmerhead :)

[tek4260]

If it hasn't already been done, ream the throats to .4525 or have cylindersmith do it for you. Will save a lot of headaches and time cleaning leading.

www.cylindersmith.com

[george1980]

yea i am getting a bit excited to shoot it this is my first cartridge pistol so its going to be a learning experiance , im starting to think it may have had some work done by the previouse owner , the trigger is crisp with little creep and breaks at what im guessing is around 3 lbs , and the throats will take a .452 pin guage but not a .453 , so it looks like im ready to shoot once i get the componants gathered up , cant wait

[Dale53]

geprge1980;
I'm predicting you are going to be a VERY happy camper. Having a Ruger .45 Colt with proper dimensions and a great bullet (the Mihec 45-270-SAA bullet) will give you LOTS of shooting pleasure. It is also a Capitol hunting gun for everything from cotton tails to white tails.

Dale53

[Heavy lead]

I have three Bisley bh's 45 colts, all three are with .4525 throats now, I size boolits to .454. The RCBS270SAA over 10 grains of Unique is my go to load, a might heavy to plink, but the bisley grip makes them pretty comfortable to do so. Lately I've been shooting a lot of 300 grain in a design I drew from Mountain Molds with a long .430 nose and a 74% meplat over 10 grains of Unique. I tried this over different charges of 2400, but went back to the Unique as it shoots wonderful.
I'm in on the Dale53 group buy of the RCBS 4 cavity clone, I just love this boolit, it's more accurate in my guns than the RCBS 45255, the 454424, 454190, the Lee 255 RF. The only two that have shot as good or maybe in some cases better are the MM and the Lee452300C. I also shoot a lot of the 270SAA with 8.5 grains of Unique, much nicer plinker, but still adequate to shoot any deer to 50 yards.
Now that 10 grain load is WAY too hot for a Colt, clone, or a New Vaquero, but in the Blackhawk, and the old Vaquero it is a fine load and not too stout at all.
Also keep in mind the 300 grain boolit I'm referring too is very nose heavy and leaves a lot of powder space, on a short boolit I don't think I would load the 10 grain load.
I also have shot quite a few 360 grain WLN slugs with a heavy dose of 296 out of these too, a good accurate load as well. IMO the Rugers like the heavy slugs much better than the short lighter ones.

[Rocky Raab]

I've been a 45 Blackhawk owner for over 30 years. I've mostly loaded commercial-cast 255 SWC bullets, but have recently shot a lot of that Lee 452-255-RF bullet and love it. I use any old alloy, tumble lube with LLA, or JPW or the 45/45/10 mix and shoot them unsized - with complete satisfaction.

I shoot lighter loads than some, but these days I shoot only for fun and not to hunt. I like 8.0 of Unique or Universal, or 7.0 W231, or 6.5 RedDot. Any of those give speeds close to the original 850 fps - which was the "magnum" load of its day.

[Dale53]

Rocky;
You so rightly point out that 8.0 grs of Unique is not only an enjoyable load to shoot but can be a VERY effective load, as well.

I notice that a lot of our older shooters (including me, certainly) are picking relatively light to "standard" loads for much of our shooting. For me, it requires a certain amount of "trigger time" to keep my hand in. These loads are quite accurate and much more enjoyable to shoot than the big boomers. I have been reserving heavy loads for hunting (other than some practice just prior to hunting).

Now that I am getting a bit old in the tooth for hunting, I am enjoying these very practical loads even more.

FWIW
Dale53

[george1980]

im only 30 but i dont see a need for magnum style loading for what i want to do , cut paper and bang steel , i did order the lee mold today i went with the 2 cavity on the theory that if i dont like it im only out 25 bucks , if i do like it its just going to give me more experiance casting better boolits , plus i dont have to buy handles and that little bit of savings let me buy carbide dies instead of standerd , one more paycheck and ill have primers and powder and ill be in business , thanks guys

[white eagle]

love the 45 colt
I have a blackhawk by far my favorite boolit is the rcbs saa 270 gr
I have switched over t a brp 310 tha is awesome as well
can't leave out the Mihek saa clone hp's are beautiful
all things going rite its like music to your ears

[Rocky Raab]

George, when you want some really mild loads, pick up some cast 230 RN bullets meant for the 45 ACP. Load them over 6.0 of Red Dot, Bullseye, Clays, AA#2 (or any other fast pistol/shotgun powder) and crimp just where the ogive curve begins. I just buy commercial bullets for this, not needing enough of them to justify a mould, but if you find such a mould cheap, snap it up.

That load just about duplicates a 45 ACP, but seems to recoil less in a revolver.