.45 Colt feeding

[doghawg]

I've been having a blued Henry carbine in .45 Colt calling out to me lately. My Henry .357 blued lever carbine is accurate and a lot of fun to shoot. The two bullets used the most in the .357 are the Lee 125 and 158 RF's. SWC's feed okay mostly but not quite as slick as the RF's.

My question is, for those of you that have been down this road, in the .45 Colt levergun how likely is it that there'll be feeding issues with the Lyman 424 or RCBS 270? I also have the Lee 255 RF which will probably feed well but am wondering about the SWC's. Every gun is a law unto itself but I'm looking for some input before the money gets plunked down. Thanks

[shootinfox2]

Most lever guns are length sensitive. COAL will determine if your rifle will function. My Marlin 1894 in 45 colt functions well with 180,200, or 250 rnfp bullets if seated properly. Too long or short causes feed problems.

[Ramjet-SS]

C.O.L. Issue

[Walks]

A sharp shouldered bullet will always be tricky to feed in a Lever Rifle.
Use #454190 or #452664.
Best is Lee #45-230-TC or RCBS #45-230-CM

[CastingFool]

Only boolits I've used in my Henry BBS 45lc are the lee 452-200 rf, and 452-255 rf.

[Kosh75287]

It's not ONLY about C.O.A.L., at least not in my Rossi Carbine. The SWCs tend to hang on something when going through the action. It's the sharp shoulder/driving band. I'm pretty sure relieving some metal somewhere would fix matters, but no variation of cartridge length helped with feeding.
I fully admit that my Rossi is not the Henry you contempslate buying. I would nonetheless expect trouble with SWCs or any other projectile presenting a sharp shoulder, feeding through a lever action.
Reloading various projectiles in .45 Colt for my carbine, I've experienced the best accuracy from the Lee 255 gr. RNFP-PC by Missouri Bullets. They hit hard, feed flawlessly, and group better than anything I've run through my rifle. After buying your Henry, I suggest you start with these projectiles and Alliant 2400 in your experimentations.

[waco]

My brother has a Henry 45 Colt Steel big boy and it will not even come close to feeding the RCBS 45-270-SAA

[smkummer]

Yep, lee 452-200 RF or Lyman 454190 ( 250 gr.). The Lyman bullet has so much neck tension that crimping on the ogive doesn’t allow the bullet to be pushed into the case when I have a full magazine tube full (10 rounds).

[Ramjet-SS]

It's not ONLY about C.O.A.L., at least not in my Rossi Carbine. The SWCs tend to hang on something when going through the action. It's the sharp shoulder/driving band. I'm pretty sure relieving some metal somewhere would fix matters, but no variation of cartridge length helped with feeding.
I fully admit that my Rossi is not the Henry you contempslate buying. I would nonetheless expect trouble with SWCs or any other projectile presenting a sharp shoulder, feeding through a lever action.
Reloading various projectiles in .45 Colt for my carbine, I've experienced the best accuracy from the Lee 255 gr. RNFP-PC by Missouri Bullets. They hit hard, feed flawlessly, and group better than anything I've run through my rifle. After buying your Henry, I suggest you start with these projectiles and Alliant 2400 in your experimentations.

I run a 440 grain WFN in my 480 Ruger lever gun the Meplat is .80 of caliber. As long as the Overall length is good they run flawlessly and they have sharp square shoulder and meplat. The biggest issue with the Henry’s I own has been overall length. Different guns different issues ?

[doghawg]

My brother has a Henry 45 Colt Steel big boy and it will not even come close to feeding the RCBS 45-270-SAA

I was afraid of that. The Lyman 424 is shorter and come to think of it I've got a 423 which is shorter yet but it throws undersize so it would need powder coated. BUT....There's also a Lee 255 RF in the drawer.