1000fps loads for 45colt

[junkpile]

I know these loads have floated through here from time to time, but I'm not having any luck locating them. So, I'm after loads from Colt and Colt copy owners, and New Vaquero owners. I have Brian Pierce's article. Looking for more information.

What are you running? And if you could include the velocity, that would be awesome. As stated above, I'm looking for something in the 1000fps range. Haven't decided on the projectile yet. Still building up a plan. Will possible just be staying with 255gr.

[Jupiter7]

TONS of data in every manual and on all current powder manufacturer website for 255grn bullets at 950+. Almost all pistol powders can do it with ease at low pressure. My favorites are bullseye, unique, 2400 and aa5. Until you pick a bullet, exact charges are useless. I'll suggest the 454424 or 45-270aa if you want a tad heavier.

[junkpile]

I have not found tons of data. In fact I've found very little. I have 2 manuals I keep on my shelf, and they're both a bit lower than that. The Hodgdon reloading data website has 1. They have tons for Ruger-only loads, which is not what I'm after.

Was hoping for some favorites here. I've considered the 45-270, but will probably be sticking with the 255swc from Missouri for the time being.

[claudesapp]

Just looked at my notes, 45-270-SAA, Unique, WLP out of Ruger BH 7.5":
8.34gr 931 fps avg
9.04gr 1011 fps avg

[DougGuy]

What gun? What barrel length?

If you ask around nicely on here, you may find someone who casts these Lee 452-255-RF in 50/50+2% which would be well worth trying. I've had members here hook me up with 250-300 boolits from time to time.



And then there is the excellent NOE 255 RF that you may also find here for the asking that would be worth trying also:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post1621112

[Hardcast416taylor]

If you are wanting to "Horse" a .45 Long Colt cartridge over 1000 fps, just go buy a 454 Casull.Robert

[High Desert Hunter]

My go to load for the 45 Colt, that shoots accurate in all of my pistols, is 9.0gr of Unique under a 285gr 45-270SAA bullet for 960fps, loaded in Starline cases and lit by a Winchester primer. Of of sandbags, this combo will shoot 1 1/2" at 25 yards from all of mine, including my Freedom Arms 454. I use the same combo with the Lee 255 RNFP, and it clocks 940fps from my Flattop 45.

[30calflash]

I know these loads have floated through here from time to time, but I'm not having any luck locating them. So, I'm after loads from Colt and Colt copy owners, and New Vaquero owners. I have Brian Pierce's article. Looking for more information.

What are you running? And if you could include the velocity, that would be awesome. As stated above, I'm looking for something in the 1000fps range. Haven't decided on the projectile yet. Still building up a plan. Will possible just be staying with 255gr.

I don't know if Colt clones are proofed any higher than an original. I would be very skeptical of over loading one myself.

The new Ruger flattops are fairly strong, not as strong as the new model Blackhawks from what I've read. I wouldn't load a Colt as warm as a flattop could be loaded. IIRC the flattops are rated for loads similar to what can be loaded in a modern S&W.

From Linebaugh's posting on loads he seems to favor a Colt level load with a 'good bullet', as he puts it, in Colt type revolvers. This would be a 250-260 SWC cast at factory velocities.

If you look here a little more I think you'll find several folks that have used standard Colt loads, with good bullets, to take care of business.

[1bluehorse]

If you are wanting to "Horse" a .45 Long Colt cartridge over 1000 fps, just go buy a 454 Casull.Robert

Doesn't say "over" a 1000fps, say's "around" 1000 fps.....pretty easy to get near that number with a standard 45 colt load and 255gr. cast bullet......9gr. Unique, 9.5gr Herco, 12gr. Blue Dot, 10gr Acc #5, 10.5gr. HS6, 7.2gr. W231 to name but a few.....these will all bring 950ish in my 45 colts and are within SAMMI pressure spec. for standard 45 colt....these are all in accredited reloading manuals.....you can also get there with Alliant 2400 but it's a bit dirty at that pressure level....the Blue Dot load has been the most accurate for me.....if more is needed, no need for a 454 just buy a RUGER....that'll open a whole nuther' door.....but it's like the 15 minute saving thing, everyone knows that.....

[FlatTop45LC]

I run a Missouri Bullet Co Keith 255 grain over 9 grains of Unique in my FlatTop 4 5/8" in Starline cases with Winchester primers.

I have run up to 10 grains but I feel no need to run hotter than 9 grains.

[9.3X62AL]

Doug Guy asked a relevant set of questions in his response above. Barrel length and bullet weight will factor in to the equation. 1000 FPS is likely accomplished more safely in a 7-1/2" Colt SAA/repro than in a 4-3/4" barrel, and through use of black powder.....40 grains of high-grade 3F in balloon-head or folded cases like those used in the 1870s through the turn of the century. To paraphrase the late Frank Barnes--originator of the book series "Cartridges of the World"--the 45 Colt cartridge did not make the transition from black powder to smokeless fuels as seamlessly as other calibers did.

I routinely shoot "1873 level" loads in my RUGER Bisley Blackhawk x 7.5" that are in the 1000 FPS toll-free dialing area. 10.0 grains of Herco with either Lyman #454424 or #454190 gets this done pretty efficiently. I again emphasize the use of the battleship-anchor Ruger and its extended tube, with the added thought that all components are dimensionally optimized. Would I use such loads in a Colt or Uberti? Not as a steady diet, but for sight-in and use as a hunting load I might "go there", with the thought that a toll in accellerated wear might at some point get exacted. A nice way of saying "Uberti, yes--Colt, HELL NO".

The SAA is not a weak platform. This is not an invitation to intrepidity, but in the early days of the 454 Casull and its triplex loadings the cannon addicts assembled 5-chambered cylinders into Colt SAA or New Frontier chassis and sallied forth. ("For how long" and "At what comfort level" seem to not get much newsprint, but I digress). So, if a shooter has a Coltish clone.....and it has a longer barrel attached.....he/she is likely on fairly firm ground to run the 250-260 grain castings into the 1000 FPS ZIP Code. But that is on YOU if you do so. To keep the lawyers off my aspirations, consult a reliable published reloading manual for any and all powder/bullet/primer recipes. And always color inside the lines, too--because courtrooms are paint-by-number venues, and the denizens thereof frown upon creativity. Dali, Van Gogh, or Picasso wouldn't stand a chance.

[DougGuy]

There was a gun rag last year or the year before where they were working up a 255gr Keith SWC in a clone I want to say, could have been a genuine Colt with a 5 1/2" barrel and they got it to near or slightly over 1100f/s with Colt level pressures, that is staying right under 14,000psi, 5 shots at a 300# black bear in a tree penetrated fully. I was quite impressed with the whole article but since I shoot Rugers in .45 Colt to 30,000psi I didn't save it. Someone here has it I have seen it scanned and posted.

Flattop Rugers, and any of the New Vaqueros with 3 digit prefixes in the serials will be good to .45 ACP+P pressures of 23,000psi. I would suspect the clones would proof at this level or maybe higher but I would not consciously feed one this hot of a load.

[MT Chambers]

Some are getting near 1000fps with BP reloads.

[RED333]

http://castpics.net/dpl/index.php/re...et-data-lookup
Ya really cant beat this data.

[Piedmont]

There was a gun rag last year or the year before where they were working up a 255gr Keith SWC in a clone I want to say, could have been a genuine Colt with a 5 1/2" barrel and they got it to near or slightly over 1100f/s with Colt level pressures, that is staying right under 14,000psi, 5 shots at a 300# black bear in a tree penetrated fully. I was quite impressed with the whole article but since I shoot Rugers in .45 Colt to 30,000psi I didn't save it. Someone here has it I have seen it scanned and posted.

Flattop Rugers, and any of the New Vaqueros with 3 digit prefixes in the serials will be good to .45 ACP+P pressures of 23,000psi. I would suspect the clones would proof at this level or maybe higher but I would not consciously feed one this hot of a load.

The article you are thinking of Brian Pearce's account of loading for a Ruger Flattop and his pressure limit was 23,000 not 14,000. His son shot the bear. The bullet was the RCBS 270 which actually weighs around 280 grains.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Myself, I prefer to enjoy shooting my 45 Colts. I settled on the duplication load of 6.5 gr. of Red Dot with a 255 gr. wheel weight alloy bullet at about 900 +/- fps. It must be lethal seeing how it has accounted for a 4 pt. whitetail deer at 35 yds. with only 1 shot. If I need more than this load I uncase the .44 mag. that I have worked up loads that are way past the 1000 fps mark.Robert

[shoot-n-lead]

If you are wanting to "Horse" a .45 Long Colt cartridge over 1000 fps, just go buy a 454 Casull.Robert

OP said TWICE that he was looking for "1000fps" loads...once in the thread title and again in the 2nd paragraph.

How does your statement apply to this thread?

[junkpile]

I greatly appreciate the information and discussion here. I will probably look into a couple of these in the morning. I got roped into a long inspection next week, which will be followed by thanksgiving travel, so might not get to it real quickly.

I was initially just after "tier 1" information, but I'll step up to "tier 2". I thought I remembered a few posts about 950-1050fps in Ubertis, used as hunting loads. I have no idea what the pressure may have been, and cannot find much load data. I still have a hard time finding powder up here, so I try to keep as much information around as I can, which allows me to keep going during bigger powder draughts.

I currently shoot from 5-1/2 and 7" barrels. Would be real interested at experiences from 4-3/4" barrels.

[9.3X62AL]

In 45 Colt/4.75" Uberti barrel, 9.0 grains of Unique gave 815-830 FPS with Lyman #454490. The gas check was superfluous, but what the heck. These loads shot right to the sights at 25 yards.

[MBTcustom]

OP said TWICE that he was looking for "1000fps" loads...once in the thread title and again in the 2nd paragraph.

How does your statement apply to this thread?

Slow your roll there shoot-n-lead. All he's saying is that the load manuals err on the side of safety for the Colt pistols for a reason, and honestly it's a good idea to be careful.

To the OP: Do you have a chronograph? Depending on your barrel length vs. the one used to establish the load data, you might be closer than you think, or further away than you think.
I would shoot over a chrony, and see where you are. and compare to the load manuels. If you are consistently slower than the published data do to barrel length and chamber design, I wouldn't push the envelope much. Over pressure loads won't necessarily cause you a kaboom. They might instead swell your chambers and stretch your frame or some other less than catastrophic, but equally disappointing effect. Had one come in the shop last year that had all the brass stuck in the cylinder. Started measuring after punching the brass out, and every chamber was swelled in the middle slightly.
Just be carefull.