My brother recently purchased a 7 1/2" Ruger blackhawk in 45 colt. He was complaining about the cost of ammo and the fact that most factory ammo made him feel like he was shooting a 38 special.

I explained to him the potential of the 45 colt cartridge. I only had 200g lead around the house but I put a charge of unique under it that pushed it right to 1000 FPS. This round put a smile on his face. Now I think he understands the 45 Colt cartridge.

All the other factory cartridge he had made him feel like he was shooting a 38 or at best 357 mag. I put some 250g jacketed bullets on order. I'm guessing he will be impressed by those after I work up a good safe load.

I then put some through my 1873 Cimarron replica and there was no doubt it was a 45 colt.

If you really want to sample the “boom” of the .45, fill that big ol’ case with a helping of FFG blackpowder and a 250 gr bullet. That load will reach 950 fps all day long, and it really makes you appreciate the real power of that load back in the day.

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Everybody could shoot

Oh yeah, and I like Unique as well.

Several years ago, a writer for "Precision Shooting Magazine" Was using a S&W 625 Hunter DX (8 3/8 I think) with a handloaded 300 grain bullet (still in factory ammo pressures) to shoot 1000 yards, off his desert cabin's front porch. With the factory sights he could keep 6/6 in a man size target at that range.

I currently have 7 revolvers and 2 carbines in 45 Colt, at one point I had 9 and 4. Over the years I had S&W 25-2 and -5, Super Blackhawks & Vaqueros and numerous SAA clones. I never had one that Didn't shoot better than I could.

Best factory ammo ever: Federal 225 gr. Lead SWC/HP and Hollow base! I haven't seen any in years, but in the 80's it was American Eagle brand, I saw a box labeled Federal Premium about 4 yeas ago, and haven't seen any since the shortage! With the hollow base, it shot great out of any throat size! listed velocity was 1025 fps.

2nd Best factory: Winchester Silver Tip Hollow Point. 225 gr. nickel plated brass jacketed Silver tip with an aluminum cone in the HP also at 1025 fps (New Jersey State Police carried this load for a short time in the 80's, but not the entire force.)

Personal plinking/Cowboy Action Load: 185 gr soft lead SWC/HP over 6.7 WW231, WLP primer, any brass; about 750 fps. On steel plates the HP's opened up to 1.5+ inches. In soft tissue (road kill tested) opened to just under 1". (Starr Bullets of Indianapolis went out of business in the early 2000's, so I'm saving my last 500 for a rainy day!)

Ivan

Yeah, most factory loads are loaded relatively weak. A lot of the factory 255 LFP rounds are going around 650-700 FPS. Some of the defense oriented ones are loaded closer to the potential of the 45 Colt. I've used Winchester SilverTips and Speer Gold Dots as good factory loads that aren't watered down. I like a 255 LSWC, pushed by Unique or a similar medium burning powder at around 900 FPS, for every day shooting/carrying. I used to load some pretty hot loads with W296 for the Ruger Blackhawk, but don't push it that much anymore. The old 45 Colt lives on....

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

Alliant powder co. has great load data for the 45 colt that will be more than satisfactory with a 255 gr cast bullet . Regards, Paul

OP, just a random thought from my Cowboy Action days. Try cocking that sixgun with your left hand so you don't have to shift the strong hand on the grip. Made an accuracy difference to me when I kept the grip as consistent as possible shot to shot.

Anyone here load Clays in lieu of Unique? I've read that it gives very similar velocity, but burns cleaner.

The .45 Colt cartridge is one of the most underrated cartridges ever. It's hard for me to imagine not having at least one revolver chambered for it.

After looking around 3 years for a 45Colt/ACP convertible,I found one(Ruger Blackhawk 5 1/2'').When I feel smooth,I shoot ACP in it.But when I feel like I want to be shoved around,it is either .41Mag,.44Mag or .45Colt.And the eldest can hit me as hard as the 2 other younguns!

I use FFFG 40 grains of Olde Eynsford black powder.

Ave. 1027 FPS out of a 5 1/2 in barrel Cimarron SAA copy.

I have experience shooting at 1000 yards with a high powered rifle. Anyone who has done that will have a real hard time believing the above story.

Just sayin'.

That's an old model. Is the cylinder recessed?

Yup I loaded clays after shooting 7.5 grains of Unique with a 255 grain swc for years.
The clays shot a lot cleaner and felt a lot softer with the same 255 grain bullet . I don't remember the exact load I'll have to check tomorrow.

Try any load that gives 750 FPS with a 255 Gr. slug. That is the load specified by the U.S.Army in 1909. This was for the Model 1909 U.S.Army revolvers made by Colt. I use 5.6 Grains of Bullseye for this load. In my 1909 it has a fair amount of recoil and the accuracy is good enough to keep all shots in a 5 inch bull at 25 yards. In my book with fixed sights that are a tad on the small side and my old eyes this is pretty good for a 109 year old piece of iron.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I'm partial to the 45 Colt cartridge. Five of my "cowboy action" guns are in 45 Colt and two of my S&W double-action revolvers are also in 45 Colt.

My load is a 200 gr bullet, pushed by 5.4 grs of Clays (min 4.6 grs; max 5.9 grs). Standard velocity with good accuracy. Very pleasant shooting in all my shooters.

My S&W 625-9 stays in the night stand loaded up with Sig Sauer 45 Colt, 230 gr, Elite V-Crown, JHP cartridges. Sig advertised: 850 ft/sec, 369 ft-lbs.

Uberti Model 1873 "Sporting Rifle" and Uberti Model P revolvers in 45 Colt


Uberti Open Tops in 45 Colt


Birdgun using 45 Colt stoppers against all those bad guys.


S&W Model 25-5 in 45 Colt


S&W Model 625-9 in 45 Colt


Thanks for looking at my 45's. Did I say I'm partial to the 45 Colt cartridge? ;-)

God bless,
Birdgun

I have an OM Ruger that I load to low-end 454 velocities and weights that is my favorite (over my 10mm and 454) for bear country. For fun, I shoot "baby" loads in 2 Colt SAA's.

Carried with (what else?) a matching Randal Yukon Skinner!

A 250-255 grain swc at 900 FPS will hole a 160 lb Georgia Whitetail going and coming, usually dropping him in his tracks. This from either a 7 1/2 Inch Old Model Blackhawk, or a Rossi Winchester 92 clone with 16 inch barrel. I consider the revolver 50 yards max, and the Trapper 100 yards.

About 9 grains of Unique.

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Georgia On My Mind

I much prefer the .45 ACP's efficiency out of shorter barrels, but the .45 Colt does deliver much satisfaction from a long tube.

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Now go make God proud...

You can't go wrong with a 45 Colt.

I only have 1 45 Colt revolver now. 25-15. I do enjoy shooting it. It now has Herrett Shooting Star skip checkered stocks. No 45 Colts at the gun show Sunday. Bob

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8 1/2 grs of Unique behind my cast 250 bullet.....My standard load for years.

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S&W Accumulator

I enjoy 45 Colt too. I shoot 800-850 and it's pleasant to shoot.
If I feel the need to crank something I go to 44mg Ruger SBH.

those wanting more power sometimes than just 800-850 fps , try alliants Blue Dot load of 12.9 grs w/ 255 gr cast bullet . lots of power and fantastic accuracy . They list over 1000fps w/ a 5.5" barrel and it's a std pressure load not exceeding 14K psi . I emailed Alliant to verify that . Regards, Paul

Drm50, that's what I've been saying for years.

Don't try to turn a 45 into a 44 magnum. If you feel you need the magnum, get one.

I've got two Blackhawks and a Rossi carbine, and COULD hotrod the hell out of them. Instead I shoot 8.0 of Unique under a 255 RNF, know that they will shoot lengthwise through a cow, and don't have to worry that I accidentally picked up the wrong ammo and might blow up my Ubertis.

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I always take precautions

I don't know how many guys I run into that have just bought a
38sp, 44sp or 45 Colt and first thing they talk about is running
them into loads that equal magnums. I don't know why they just
don't buy a magnum to begin with. I don't know what their purpose is, other than it can be done. In S&Ws you are just going
to beat up your gun. Ruger SAs will take it but with out a purpose
what's the gain?

In .38 Special it is just wanting to use the cartridge to it's full original potential.

"Several years ago, a writer for "Precision Shooting Magazine"Was using a S&W 625 Hunter DX (8 3/8 I think) with a handloaded 300 grain bullet (still in factory ammo pressures) to shoot 1000 yards, off his desert cabin's front porch. With the factory sights he could keep 6/6 in a man size target at that range. "

Looks like we should send that combination to all our snipers in the sandbox. The fact that he is a "Writer" should tell you a great deal about truthfulness.

Makes you wonder on these 1000 yd shots if the guy ever looked
through S&W sights on a deer at 100yds. I wonder what the hold
over would be? I for one would have trouble hitting a man sized
target at 1000yds off a bench with one of my hunting rifles with
a scope. I don't own any long range specialty rifles but I have
several good BAs. Elmer only claimed 600yds and I take that with
a grain of salt. I'm not saying he didn't do it but how many times
had he attempted such a shot. Sooner or later if you attempt to
take such shots you will connect just on luck of law of averages.
1000 yds is a fur piece for any stock rifle let alone a revolver.

I like to shoot magnums.Be they .357,.41 or .44,I like them.But I load them at their potential.Not any less but not any more.
A gun,any gun is designed to yield performance according to its design.
I like the .38Spl...a lot.But if I want it to go BANG instead of bang,I use my .357.There are some jobs better done with Specials than Magnum and vice versa.I just try to match the gun to the job.
A .38 is a .38 and if some smarta** thinks he knows more than tens of thousands of handloaders before him,not to mention gun and powder and ammo manufacturers before him have tested well,let him blow his a** as smart as he can be.
While he's doing this,please let me know which shooting booth he is in so I can walk out of the range while he will perform his feat!

I will answer your question by countering with another question... Why buy a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk if you don't intend to fire hotrod .45s out of it?
Seriously, they're massively overbuilt for .45 Long Colt, so why would you choose such an absurdly big/heavy Revolver if all you intend to shoot are Standard Pressure loads which any other revolver made in the past century can easily outlast you on a steady diet of?
Heck, even if you absolutely love the Ruger brand and have to have one in .45 Long Colt, they offer the New Vaquero, which has the traditional look/feel of the legendary Colt Single Action Army, unlike the overbuilt Blackhawk which looks much blockier by comparison and weighs much more.

Not recessed.

Elmer talked about hitting an outhouse at 600 yards with the .45 in an article that I remember. Said his holdover was 34 feet.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Well I shoot 45-70 BPCR at 800, 900 and 1000 yards. The rifle is a C Sharps Winchester High Wall with a 32" barrel. With the long range target sights, I can hit the black maybe 4 out of 10 times. With no wind, I go up to maybe 7 out of 10. At 1000 yards, the target is just a white speck with a black dot for a center. If that "writer" can hit 6 for 6 with a handgun at 1000 yards, he is without a doubt the best marksman there is.