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Thread: What is your hunting load for shooting out of your 45 Colt lever action?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy huntersdog's Avatar
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    What is your hunting load for shooting out of your 45 Colt lever action?

    I have a line on a on a Rossi 45 Colt 16 inch barrel and I was wondering what are your guys's hunting recipes for deer hunting and bear hunting with your 45 Long Colt carbines?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


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    Not looking for top velocities;
    Starline brass, Fed 150 lp primers. 11.9 grains of Alliant Herco under a 260 grain rnfp. Velocity average is 1387 fps.
    If a 41 won't stop it, I wouldn't bet my life on a 44.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Lee 255 at .453, 10 gr Unique and 24" Marlin Cowboy.

    Added 4.7.21

    I've taken 8 Axis deer with this combination as well as 1 turkey and many nuisance critters. Axis ranged from yearlings to a 32" buck. The turkey was taken at about 85 yards. Off the bench, 110 yard distant clays are easy. The Cowboys sights were changed to a Skinner up front and Marlin folding sight. It is my favorite levergun.
    Last edited by 1Papalote; 04-07-2021 at 12:40 PM.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    13.5gr HS-6 under a 45-270-SAA no chrono data. Plenty for deer in GA.
    Last edited by osteodoc08; 04-03-2021 at 06:24 PM.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master pietro's Avatar
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    .

    While I use a cast boolit for the range, for hunting I prefer higher performance commercial ammo.

    Now I lay me down to sleep
    A gun beside me is what I keep
    If I awake, and you're inside
    The coroner's van is your next ride

  6. #6
    Boolit Master


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    21.92 grains H110, 300-grain Saeco SWC-GC (ww+2 air dropped), WW nickel plated brass, CCI 350 primers. This is the hunting load I developed for my Freedom Arms 97 45 Colt. Without having chronographed the load from my 24-inch barreled Rossi 92, I expect it to emulate the same as a factory 454 Casull 300-grain from 7.5-inch barrel.

    Do not use this load in any Colt Single Action Army or any clone of it.

    Hope this helps.
    Last edited by Naphtali; 04-03-2021 at 09:34 PM.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    The Lee 452-255 rfn sized .452 over 18.5 gr A2400 did the job on my grandson’s deer. Shot from a Henry big boy 20” barrel.
    Retired: school of hard knocks
    NRA Lifer

  8. #8
    Boolit Bub

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    G'day from Downunder

    G'day All my favorite hunting load for my 92 Winchester is 7.1 grains of WW 231 pushing a Hi-Tec coated 250 grain boolit sized 454 using Fedral large pistol primers , this load works great on large Roo's DRT and it is very very accurate.

    Regards Paul

  9. #9
    Boolit Master


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    Hey Paul, good to hear from somebody down south.
    If a 41 won't stop it, I wouldn't bet my life on a 44.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy freakonaleash's Avatar
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    Don't stuff this hot stuff in a '73 winchester. Eyetalian or original.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    The Lee c300 rf in front of 16gr. of A#9

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    mp 454640 lube sized at .454 with carnauba red over 20 grains 4227. gets about 1200fps out of my 18" Rossi barrel, good and accurate and feeds with no problem.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    8.0 gr. unique behind a pc'ed 260 gr rnfp in my 73 Uberti. Drops any well hit deer in its tracks.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master Randy Bohannon's Avatar
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    18.0 grs H110 300 gr. .454” from Accurate in my Win/Miroku 92 carbine for 1250 FPS ,I don’t need any more than this.

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    IMHO assembling heavy "rifle only" or "Ruger Only" .45 Colt loads, which are not useable in every .45 Colt revolver or rifle I own, defeats the intent of having a rifle and revolver which can use the same caliber of common ammunition. I have several old Colts, four modern Italian clones, a couple Rugers, an S&W, modern H&R and Rossi rifles and a tiny pre-WW1, 4-lb. soft iron action antique rook rifle in .45 Colt which was rechambered from a .455 Eley.

    I don't want to be concerned about a heavy smokeless load being put inadvertently in an old gun. I assemble only ONE basic full-charge load with 7.2 grains of Alliant Bullseye as metered by the RCBS Little Dandy Measure rotor #13 for use in all the guns. I assemble cartridges with different bullets as needed to shoot to point of aim with the fixed sights on various guns, using the same powder charge with everything from a 200-grain bullet, up to a 295-grainer. K.I.S.S. principle.

    Profiles of the various bullets are clearly distinctive such that I can identify bullet weight by sight. The highest pressure is generated by the 295-grain Accurate 45-290H, which Larry Gibson has measured at about 18,000 psi, [that being with a slightly heavier weighed charge of 7.5 grains] so my 7.2 grain load is well within safe design limits of all my .45 revolvers except for my antique black powder frame Colt. With the bullets up to 250 grains pressure is within the SAAMI MAP. Loads with the heavier bullets do not exceed the MAP for a .45 ACP cartridge, within safe design limits for post-1920 Colts and Italian clones.
    Last edited by Outpost75; 04-04-2021 at 10:48 PM.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy hornady308's Avatar
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    In a 92 or similar strong action, I use the Lee 255 with 9gr Unique or 17gr 2400. For the '66 and '73, I stick with the aforementioned 8gr Unique as this loading gives close to 1200 fps from a 20" barrel. That's plenty for around my area.

  17. #17
    Boolit Man

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    Quote Originally Posted by hornady308 View Post
    In a 92 or similar strong action, I use the Lee 255 with 9gr Unique or 17gr 2400. For the '66 and '73, I stick with the aforementioned 8gr Unique as this loading gives close to 1200 fps from a 20" barrel. That's plenty for around my area.
    17gr 2400 with Lee 255 was also my load, had a 20" 1892 clone as well. It was pretty substantial, had an opportunity to shoot it side by side with a Ruger M44 and there wasn't a lot of difference in the feel of the two. Not that that's the most quantitative assessment.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Very similar to jim16; I use a "Ruger Only" charge of Unique under a 250 grain wide nose flat point powder coated boolit (PRS bullet) cast of Lyman #2. Not sure if the Rossie us up to that pressure, but the Marlin CB Limited is. "Wild" boar and white tails do not have to be tracked far. if shot was well placed. Shooting distances are fairly short in our heavy local cover; almost exclusively under 100 yards.

    prs

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master
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    My feeling is similar to Outpost75's, if I need more power than a standard .45 Colt, I need a bigger gun anyway.

    My current crop of .45 Colts are all fairly strong, a Ruger large frame Bisley Vaquero, a 24" Marlin 1894CB and a 20" Rossi R92. But then I have though about getting a cartridge conversion cylinder for the 1860 Army.

    Before I hurt my back and blew out my knee (funny how you loose interest in hiking through the timber when you are in constant pain) I started to develop some loads with the Lyman 452424 in front of a moderate charge of 2400. I don't think any whitetail would have shrugged them off.

    Robert

  20. #20
    Boolit Master ktw's Avatar
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    454-300-LFN (the Cayoot Group Buy bullet from a ways back) over one of
    21.0 gr H110 - 1360 fps
    22.0 gr H4227 - 1320 fps
    17.0 gr 2400 - 1275 fps
    10.0 gr Unique - 1200 fps

    in a 16" barrel Winchester 94 Trapper. The H110 load shoots best for me, but they all work well enough.

    -ktw

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check