Need advice on loading for 45 Colt

[Bazoo]

Very interesting discussion. Thanks all for sharing.

[Kai]

Do you roll crimp in a separate step with an special die, or just use the one in the seater and seat/crimp at same time?

You will get varied answers on this one. I use the die the way it is meant to be used and always seat and crimp in one step using RCBS dies with roll crimp. There are tools out there such at the lee crimp die that make up for sloppy reloading practices such as reloading cases not trimmed to uniform length. However, this a moot point with 45 colt as I have never needed to trim a case to uniform in 35 years.

[Kosh75287]

One of the more "congenial" .45 Colt loads I've found has been 8.0/Unique/255 gr. RNFP or Keith. I've never found a firearm chambered for the round that did not shoot well with this load. If you have access to Herco, 8.5-8.8/Herco/255 gr. RNFP/Keith completes the same mission. I generally use Win. LPPs, but because both propellants are easily ignited, any standard LPP will work.
I tend to seat and crimp in one step when reloading auto pistol ammo in large quantities, IF I am certain that the load functions well, and if the ammo of interest is intended for practice, not competition. Rounds intended for hunting or competition are seated and crimped in separate steps. It tends to enhance reliability and accuracy (for me, anyway).
I don't know that there an advantage to taper crimping over roll crimping, except that bullets intended for use in auto pistols may lack crimping grooves. Herco and Unique have a tendency to burn on the dirty side, unless pushed hard. Increasing the crimp by 1/8th - 1/4th turn on the die often improves things.
The (more) bulky nature of Unique and Herco make it next to impossible to double-charge the .45 Colt case, if charge weights are kept in the range I mentioned above. There is nothing really wrong with using denser, faster-burning propellants in the .45 Colt, but extra care should be taken to inspect powder levels in the case, as a guard against double charges.

[kaiser]

My favorite .45 Colt 230gr cast load is loaded with 6.0gr Trail Boss. I leave the bullet "unsized", which is usually cast .453 to .4535 diameter, and use a Lee Crimp die after seating. Nice easy load on the gun and "shooter"; also accurate in every gun (5) I've tried.