Titan ReloadingRotoMetals2Inline FabricationMidSouth Shooters Supply
Lee PrecisionReloading EverythingLoad DataRepackbox
Wideners
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 27

Thread: 45 Long Colt and looking for a recipe.

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35

    45 Long Colt and looking for a recipe.

    Am about to start casting some 45 Long Colt boolits and looking for a recipe. I have a 452424 NOE 45 Long Colt mold with the pin to make it HP I got few years ago. With the pin, should be about 235 grains? I have a melting pot and a lot of ‘pure’ lead and most of the rest of the stuff but am not sure about the amount of tin and/or antimony to add in the mix. The point is if I shoot it, want it to mushroom - not bounce, and/or not lead up the barrel. Will running the boolits at about 850 - 900 fps with Unique. Any advice will be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    2,515
    Following

    Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Butler, MO
    Posts
    9,020
    Somewhere around 16:1 to 20:1 lead to tin is where I would start. With a good lube.

    Robert

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Deep South Texas
    Posts
    12,820
    Cast the HP bullet 30-1 if you want it to expand at nominal 45 Colt velocity.
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Ball Ground, GA
    Posts
    415
    20:1 or 16:1 has always worked for me. 20:1 is where I would start for that velocity range.
    I do have one question, what are you shooting at and at what distance are you concerned about boolits "bouncing" back?
    Tony

  6. #6
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35
    Was not clear - am not worried about "bouncing" back. Was worried about having the boolit not mushrooming. Would hate to have a bunch hollow points that fail to mushroom.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master


    cwlongshot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Central Connecticut
    Posts
    3,727
    My experience says a HP cast in 20:1 needs close to 1200fps to properly expand. A large deep HP will need little less and a shallow small HP will need more.

    30:1 will preform same as above minus about 2-250 fps.

    CW
    NRA Life member • REMEMBER, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE its being paid for in BLOOD.
    Come visit my RUMBLE & uTube page's !!

    https://www.RUMBLE.com/user/Cwlongshot
    https://youtube.com/channel/UCBOIIvlk30qD5a7xVLfmyfw

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    N. E. Ohio
    Posts
    1,566
    At those low velocities, you could use soft lead with a decent lube and not get leading if you size the bullets properly. You could also go with powder coating a soft 1:30 bullet and push slightly higher velocities and not get leading. In either case you should get decent expansion.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    190
    I use 20-1 with a 250grn.......at 850 to 875. no leading no fears in the lower 48!
    Do I have a knife....Ive got my pants on don't I.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    1,523
    At those low velocities, you could use soft lead with a decent lube...
    In fact pure lead would be fine at traditional (Tier-1) 45 Colt loads
    https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/rel...c=true&type=53

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
    oldblinddog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    959
    20-1 is what I would use. I would load 8.5 to 9.0 grs of unique depending on seating depth. What are you shooting it in?
    USMC 6638

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,379
    Use 30:1 for the HP bullet. Play with the load.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

    Land Owner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Mims, FL
    Posts
    1,864
    20:1 lead to tin is 5% Tin. Retail pricing (not including shipping) is commonly quoted here as $1/lb. lead and $10/lb Tin, which adds up over a lot of shooting. It is not difficult to cypher that reducing Tin reduces cost.

    30:1 is 3.33% and 50:1 is 2% Tin.

    If you HIT SOMEONE (home defense related) at a belly gun distance (5 to 25 feet) with a 45 Colt boolit, it is first going to "sting a mite" going through and second leave a big hole regardless of "mushrooming" the leading edge. If they're hit in the CNS, the mushroom is immaterial.

    If hunting is intended, creating a large wound channel on PASS THROUGH within the round's effective range is desirable and the trend toward less Tin and softer lead remains true.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  14. #14
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35
    Robert likes "it is first going to "sting a mite" going through and second leave a big hole regardless of "mushrooming" the leading edge."

  15. #15
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35
    I have found an article about the 45 bullets.
    http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/ByC...0.45%20ACP.pdf
    On page three there is a photo of an Ideal 454190 HP recovered at 100 yards.
    The photo shows a #454190HP that was launched at 887 feet per second during these tests out of a 5 ˝” Blackhawk .45 ACP. Assuming the 45 Long Colt HP boolit has the same character, it SHOULD have the same ‘mushroom’ effect.
    The article does not tell us how lead vs other elements are in the boolit.
    I have ordered some tin and a hope to cast some boolits soon. Will cast some with no tin to see if am happy and then try with tin starting at 1:50 going up see how it goes. Then when my work bench has been cleared, will use it to develop loads.
    And will report back.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    1,523
    Adding small amounts of tin doesn't really have an effect on hardness till you get way up there. (past 1-20/16, etc)
    Before you do anything else, baseline some w/ your pure lead.


  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,379
    I see it now.

    Attachment 288908

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

    Land Owner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Mims, FL
    Posts
    1,864
    meharvey==>interesting graph. What is its resource for further investigation?
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    1,523
    Since Brinell numbers are literally the metal's yield strength in "pounds per square inch", they ARE linear.
    Double the brinell number and you have double the strength ("hardness") of the alloy.

    (If you don't believe this, check the chart HERE )

    So I went back to 1st principles and did the math to put into Excel...

    The only thing that all the "squares & square root" terms do in the Brinell equation is
    convert the diameter of the impression made by the steel ball into spherical surface area.

    Then plain old Lee hardness tester in the reloading press (which is nothing more than
    steel ball and a 60# spring)

    The big problem for people w/ the Lee is the microscope -- which is actually very accurate
    ... just a bear to hold in any fashion to get readings.

    Hence my first holder:

    (Nifty, huh ? )

    Then the SuperDooper CELESTRON...

    Which is reeeeaally nifty, but `ya gotta calibrate each set-up)

    And final realization that any home printer/scanner -- along w/ PhotoShop -- could
    read/measure the dimple in about 30 seconds....

    A true No-Brainer at this point... which is good.





    What has surprised was Reactor Shielding Lead (came in bricks from when I was a real person) is EXTREMELY soft.

    - Just measured some Minnie balls I cast back 45 years ago: really close to "4.2"
    - Some Rotemetal pure lead just now: 4.75
    Last edited by mehavey; 09-19-2021 at 01:42 PM.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Eastern WY
    Posts
    1,957
    Just enough tin to get good fill out on the bullets, 1-30 is plenty hard, might go softer, with any decent lube, 850 +/- fps should work very well.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
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