Is 45 Colt a good place to start?

[Spawndn72]

Thinking about getting into casting. I have read a ton and the only question I don't have an answer for is. Is 45 Colt a good place to start?

[DougGuy]

It's probably the most accessible and forgiving caliber you could load for, plenty of dies, boolits, molds, and plenty of knowledge shared. The only thing you need to do is ensure the cylinder throats aren't too small if you are loading for a revolver. The rest is a piece of cake.

[Froogal]

I am casting 200 grain RNFP and 228 grain RN. All in .452 diameter. Work equally well in rifles and revolvers.

[stubshaft]

Very easy cartridge to load for. It is a good place to start off.

[murf205]

Doug's right, the old 45 Colt is a "gimmie" IF you get the fit of the cylinders right, but that's true of any other revolver for that matter. The 45 responds well to fast or slow powders and you don't have to load it to the hilt to get it to perform. Casters, shooters and handloaders alike would be a much poorer lot without that old round. Welcome to the Castboolits family, you will find the greatest group of people here with knowledge aplenty and eager to share and help.

[Spawndn72]

Thanks. I am picking up a Uberti Desperado today and after buying a box of bullets I will be buying dies for my Dillon 550B. But then after looking at projectile prices for the 45 I started looking into casting, which brought me here. I am not looking to make super powerful rounds for this gun, just something for some enjoyable plinking.

[DougGuy]

That pistol is stronger than an old Colt, but not up to the Ruger Only loads that go to 30kpsi. Standard 45 Colt pressure is right around 14kpsi, and since there is no SAAMI spec for +p, too many old guns would be destroyed, you will probably find it difficult to locate load data other than standard pressure loads.

It may be a stretch loading it to 23kpsi which is 45ACP+P pressure, a lot of thinner cylinders will hold this power level just fine, yours may tolerate a limited diet but I wouldn't push it to that level of power, if you need this just use a Ruger you can beat on them all day and night too and it will not be hurt.

My avatar is a Uberti "Old West" model, it has huge .4565" cylinder throats and a .451" barrel so I use the 454190 cast in 50/50+2% sized to .456" lubed with SPG over 9.0gr Herco. It is quite accurate with this load even with the generous throat diameters, I will probably use only this load as long as I own this gun, it just works.

If you are casting specifically for your Uberti, I would say stick with 250-260 grain boolits at 900fps, there are quite a few styles and molds but that 454190 will be hard to beat in this caliber at standard pressures. See if a .452" bullet or boolit will go into your cylinder from the front. If not, you can size to what will, or open the throats to take the .452" with a light drag fit.

[gwpercle]

Thanks. I am picking up a Uberti Desperado today and after buying a box of bullets I will be buying dies for my Dillon 550B. But then after looking at projectile prices for the 45 I started looking into casting, which brought me here. I am not looking to make super powerful rounds for this gun, just something for some enjoyable plinking.

Keep DougGuy's contact info handy , if you are having accuracy problems and the cylinder throats are either undersize, oversize or different sizes.... Call him , he can help you sort it out .
Because of all the throat/bore size monkey business I have avoided the 45 Colt SAA...38 special/ 357 magnum are my vote for easy .
Gary

[Petrol & Powder]

I fooled around with big bore revolvers long before I started casting bullets so I can't share any wisdom about casting for the 45 Colt. I will say that in terms of accuracy, I always the found the 44 Special to be easier to work with than the 45 Colt.
In terms of a good place to start casting, I would lean to the 38 Special. It's certainly more economical in terms of lead per round.

[goryshaw]

I started handgun reloading with a 9x19, not a good choice. Second caliber was a .45 Colt, much better for starting out. The large case is a lot easier to work with, and so voluminous that a slight difference in length or charge won't go from mild to wild like a 9mm case can. My only issue is that my Win 94 has such oversized chamber that cases will crack lengthwise in just a few firings, no such problem in any of my revolvers.

[Froogal]

My experience with casting for the .45. I enjoy the process but it is not always the least expensive way to go. I do not have a steady source for scrounging scrap lead, so I buy the lead. I have found a source where I can buy the bullets, already cast and lubed, for about 2 to 3 cents less than doing it myself.

[Thumbcocker]

I fooled around with big bore revolvers long before I started casting bullets so I can't share any wisdom about casting for the 45 Colt. I will say that in terms of accuracy, I always the found the 44 Special to be easier to work with than the 45 Colt.
In terms of a good place to start casting, I would lean to the 38 Special. It's certainly more economical in terms of lead per round.

In my experience the .45 Colt is a cantankerous old witch of a cartridge. The .44 special will shoot rings around it. Standard pressure. 45 colt has nothing on standard pressure. 44 special with power pistol powder. With that said my best results with .45 colt have been with an Uberti clone with .452 -.453 throats a Keith boolit and Unique or promo. I got this gun just to whip the .45 colt after years of frustration with other guns. Still I would take a .44 special over a .45 colt.

[fredj338]

I have been loading the 45colt for about 35y. I find it an easy cartridge to load for & accuracy can be ridiculously good with cast bullets in a revolver that is setup correctly. Throats need to all be uniform & bore dia + 0.001". I also find bigger bullets easier to cast than smaller calibers.
BTW, if you buy alloy for $1/#, that is about 4c per bullet. A significant savings over buying cast & you can have the exact shape & size you want. Which is worth the time casting your own IMO.

[Walter Laich]

Thanks. I am picking up a Uberti Desperado today and after buying a box of bullets I will be buying dies for my Dillon 550B. But then after looking at projectile prices for the 45 I started looking into casting, which brought me here. I am not looking to make super powerful rounds for this gun, just something for some enjoyable plinking.

you're ¼ of the way to having all your cowboy guns for SASS cowboy shooting

both my rifle and revolvers are .45 Colt and I'm having a ball shooting them--reliving my youth playing cowboys and Indians with real bullets!

might want to check out that avenue for shooting your hardware

[Walks]

I've loaded for this round for 55+yrs. First Colt SAA I ever fired. Been in love with it ever since. First Colt I ever bought was a SAA in .45Colt with a 5 1/2" bbl.

I've loaded .454 &.452 bullets depending on the Revolver.
My Favorite Bullet is the old IDEAL #454190 for Colts and some Uberti Rifles, sized .454dia.
Rugers & S&W's prefer .452dia. I have one old Vaquero that will hit a Tennis ball at 25yrds 6 out of 6 times.

It's easy to load for, just size for Throats.

[RogerDat]

My experience with casting for the .45. I enjoy the process but it is not always the least expensive way to go. I do not have a steady source for scrounging scrap lead, so I buy the lead. I have found a source where I can buy the bullets, already cast and lubed, for about 2 to 3 cents less than doing it myself.

Compared to the 44 mag bullet cost the savings for 45 colt may be less pronounced but even paying a buck a pound for lead from the S&S forum you should be getting around 25 bullets at 255 grain per dollar of lead, this is after making a small allowance for shipping.

I scrounge lead and often pay a dollar a pound for clean lead. I jump at it for 75 cents when I can get that price which is seldom. Mostly only if I buy a few hundred pounds at a shot. Generally takes a group buy of a few local casters to make that happen. The dollar a pound price point, plus 3 cents for a primer, another few cents for powder, brass lasts a long time if the loads are mild and the cylinders are not oversized. I guess I haven't seen anything commercially offered that compares on price to making my own.

I agree the 38/357 is an excellent round to cast and reload for but both the 38 and 45 colt are from the same black powder cartridge era so work well with mild loads and make for an enjoyable time plinking. Either one should save you money in most cases. Plus offers the opportunity to tailor the round to the firearm for maximum accuracy. I also like the idea of having a supply of components on hand so I can make and load what is needed irrespective of what the market is doing as far as price and availability.

[Winger Ed.]

A wise choice.

You can cast & load about 'full house' loads for them, and the barrels will last almost forever compared to J boolits.

Casting for the .44 & .45 calibers is the only way I can afford to feed them.

[Driver33]

I started casting with the 45colt and a 255swc mold from rcbs. Have had no problems with it except I keep finding molds I want to try out

[lightman]

I have found the 45 Colt to be an easy cartridge to load and cast for. Like the others said, match the bullet diameter to the throat diameter. For revolvers I have always favored the heavier Keith type bullet.

[whisler]

Handloader magazine #320 (June 2019) has 280 standard pressure loads for 45 Colt in bullet weights from 150 to 280 grains, both J-word and cast. Well worth the cost of the magazine just for that article.