May your Holidays be merry and bright, gun safe full of new toys and moisture free.

I’m trying to work out a load primarily for a pig hunt. I was thinking along the lines of 300gr XTP bullet backed by 22-23gr of H-110. If you do have your own recipe I’d greatly appreciate you sharing it with me. But my real hesitation here is this: how strong 25-5 really is? Can I push that bullet as fast as the Ruger guy would or I must stick to the Colt SAA loads?

Take a look at this.

Linebaugh's Custom Sixguns - The .45 Colt - Dissolving the Myth, Discovering the Legend

John Linebaugh has forgotten more about .45 Colt handloading than a lot of people ever knew. He is not an engineer and does not have extensive testing equipment on hand, but he deals with people on a routine basis that have it, and is well respected within his field.

As with any other data, all of it is subject to at least a million individual variations that he or no one else can control, so naturally you want to use the data you see with due caution.

For my own purposes, I would shy away from any heavier load in the Model 25 than you really need for the job at hand. Of course any .45 Colt loads beyond the 25's capability need to be kept strictly away from it. Since, unlike 44 Special and 44 Magnums, all 45 Colt cartridges look the same, I always made it a practice to never use certain, heavy bullets in my M25s, so I would know immediately if the cartridge contained one of those easily recognized bullets, it was not to be fired in a Model 25.

(Edit) Sorry to give you the wrong link above. This is the correct one: http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=12 All I can say in my absent-minded defense is the one above is good reading too.

King,
Welcome to the forum!

This quest is one that I have been on for a little bit myself.

I have a Ruger 45 Colt convertible, Colt & ACP, and a Puma 45Colt rifle.

For the Ruger and the Puma, I have been following closely the "Linebaugh" loads although, not with that heavy of a bullet and not with a jacketed one either.

I cast. My loads for the Ruger are a Mihec copy of the RCBS 45-270-SAA HP version driven at 1400fps. From the rifle I am attaining right at 1800fps.

With all of that being said, I have yet to run them through the M25 -7. Many, including Brian Pearce, John Linebaugh and others say that my firearm will take those kinds of loads. I have yet to run them through it though as it is a "new to me" firearm.

This was covered in a thread that I started here: With 45 Colt's like this, who needs a magnum anything?

It is a long thread but you should read it all.

Personally, I have shot 4 hogs with a 44Mag with a 240gr XTP @ 1800fps from a Marlin 1894 CS. I can tell you this, and I shot one right in the eye, there is little need for anything else.
One hog, I shot at a bad angle. Left front to right rear. @ 50 yards or so, the 240gr XTP went all the way through and broke the rear leg in two. It was a "smallish" pig @ 200# or so, but still.

In my M25 -7 I had to modify my rear sight just to be able to shoot a 240gr LSWC @ 1000fps so it would be POA/POI @ 25 yards. If you try that heavy of a bullet, with a ton of recoil, you may experience what John Linebaugh talks about, "Smith & Wesson doesn't put a tall enough front sight on their handguns!"

There is a good article in Handloader #246. It talks about 3 level of loads for the 45Colt. 14,000psi, 20,000psi and 30,000psi. The loads are available on LoadData.com too. A subscription is pretty reasonable. Check them out.

I have run 24 grains of H-110 under a 265 grain Lyman 454424 in two of my 25's, one a 4" 25-5, the other a 5" 25-7. That is a stout load, and recoil is about on par with any full power .44 mag load. It will easily kill the biggest hog that ever walked too.

This is what I got over my oehler 35P-
25-5 w/4"=1125 fps@ 15'
25-7 w/5"=1131 fps@ 15'

The cases tapped right out, and the guns are still in one piece.

These are cast bullets and slide down the bore a lot easier than a jacketed bullet will, with less pressure, so I'd back off on your charge by another 4 grains from your lighter listed charge before trying them, then work up slowly to about your starting charge listed if all is looking good and safe.


I just went and dug out my issue of Handloader # 217, which has what I consider the single best article ever written on loading the .45 Colt, by Brian Pearce (whom I consider the best writer in the business today). He doesn't list any loads for jacketed bullets at safe pressure levels for the 25's (23,000 psi in his opinion, though he is well aware that Linebaugh suggests an even higher limit of 25,000 psi as a safe working level), but he shows one load for the 305 grain Lyman 454629 GC bullet. 21- grains of H-110 PLM primer, and shows he got 1051 fps from a 5.5" barrel, gun not specified in the load data, but I happen to know it was a Blackhawk.

Skip is right-
you really need to get a subscription to either Loaddata.com, or Handloader (or both). That goes for most anyone who is a handloader in all actuallity.

I would think a 250gr XTP clocking around 1000fps would be adequate for most any hog shot properly at handgun ranges. You are talking about 555 ft/lbs. of energy. I would first look to crafting a load for a bullet that shoots accurately in your gun, rather than try to pick a particular bullet and try to make it work in your individual gun. While H-110 is a great powder, it's not going to be real efficient in a 4" barrel. I'd choose a somewhat faster powder. I'm assuming you have a chronograph, as you appear to be determined to venture into 45Colt+P territory.

Great references for good hunting loads in the 25-5 above, especially the Handloader articles!

One of the main things with a 25-5 is to make sure the bullet fits the throats to maximize accuracy. As most know, some of them had bigger throats. If you have to squeeze a .455+ hardcast bullet down to .451 barrel diameter and you have really close tolerance on the barrel/cylinder gap, I'm not exactly sure if it may present a pressure problem or not. Most of that work is done in the cylinder and, although not exactly a weak point with the 25-5, that's where you gotta be careful. It isn't a Ruger. With a jacketed bullet most of them will be undersized for a big throated gun anyway, so the main consideration is the cylinder strength and as already stated you really want to stay under 23kpsi. Lower is better.

I like the RCBS 45-270-SAA bullet in mine. It shoots quite well. The big Rem .455" swaged 250gr bullets fit the throats better but the long bearing surface of the 270-SAA helps in the accuracy department. It's a good bullet that penetrates well and opens up a big wound channel at moderate velocities.

I like the classic 21.0-22.0 grains of 4227 in mine for a little over 1050 fps (21Kpsi), or even better for me accuracy wise has been 9.5 gr of Power Pistol for just under 1000fps (20kpsi range). The slight difference in velocity between them is probably negligible as far as the bullet performs. Those loads, btw, are discussed in the Handloader #246 that smith crazy referenced that was dedicated specifically to the RCBS 45-270-SAA bullet. They weigh in around 280-282grains. The other reference, Handloader #217 does indeed have one of the best discussions of matching 45 Colt loads and pressures to specific gun types to be found anywhere.

Find what shoots most accurately and you should do OK.

Edit to add: for your original stated bullet choice, a 300gr Hornady XTP, I'm not really sure you could drive it fast enough **safely** in a 25-5 to be pleased with its performance. I would give thought to going the cast bullet route or drop back to a 250 XTP. Of the two, I would prefer the heavier cast bullet driven faster for better penetration than the jacketed one.

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" I said, good DAY! "

VA,
The throat issue is a good one to point out, especially for warm loads in the 25-5, and I neglected to mention that, so I'm glad that you did.

Whenever we are speaking about 25-5's we need to point that out, since loads worked up in a loose throated gun (those that run .455" - 458") will almost certianly show much higher pressures in a gun with proper throat dimensions of .452".

Having oversized throats may alleviate some pressure issues, but it'll do nothing for accuracy. Matching the bullet as close to the throats as is possible is very important if you want to hit much of anything.

Fortunately for me, my 25-5's are .4525"-.453" depending on which chamber it is (throats that vary from chamber to chamber and are actually checked with precision plug gauges are far more common than is realized), and my 25-7's are .452".

VA- your edit was what I was going to mention as well.

OP-The 300 XTP will work more like a flatnosed cast bullet at those speeds, so you may as well use one.

Thank you all for your prompt replies, web links and suggestions. It’s going to take me some time to read it thru, assimilate and hopefully come up with a few respectable loads to test. I must admit that I’ve been reloading for quite some years now – all kind of rifle and some pistol calibers -
.45 Colt is my first! Any suggestion on a die selection?

The Hornady New Dimension dies, and RCBS are good, as are those made by Redding etc., but the RCBS brand carbide dies are my favorites for most all loading, rifle or handgun.

Don't forget Dillon, they are no better than the others except in the Dillon presses. Then again if you want to load very high performance (MAX) loads, be careful with progressives.
When you work on the fringes each gun, powder.primer,case and bullet can have very different maximums.
Good luck.

I can tell you this, a 300gr XTP does not open up going 1350FPS, and hitting a large deer at 40yds. They are plenty accurate enough from my gun though, a Ruger.

The .45 Colt doesn't need any special load to deal with hogs. A 250-260 gr. Keith SWC at 850-1000 fps will kill them just as dead as anything else.

A charge of 23.0gr H110 is over the Max recommended charge for a Ruger/Freedom Arms revolver on the Hodgdon site. I wouldn't exceed the starting charge weight for those revolvers in your S&W M25. The starting charge is 21.8gr H110 with a 300 gr bullet and that might be a bit much for your revolver.

The Hodgdon site has data for a 260gr Nosler Partition bullet. You might want to go with a lighter bullet like the 260gr Nosler or 250gr XTP for added velocity and penetration. (although you might not want to use a HP bullet on pigs)

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Very good thread and info. My favorite load is 255 gr LSWC over 8.1 gr of Unique, Winchester large pistol primer. It will punch a half inch hole through most medium size game animals.

Haven't seen Power Pistol mentioned yet so here's one. RCBS 255-KT, drops at 270gr with my alloy, over 8.5 Power Pistol with Federal 150 primer with a full roll crimp in Starline case. Out of my 4 5/8" mid frame Ruger Flat Top it averages 904 fps with good accuracy. Shoots well out of my 4" 25-5.

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Stay safe people!

For magnum loads like that stick with a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk, or similar built-like-a tank gun from another manufacturer. Magnum loads are likely to loosen up your S&W or even blow it up. You might do just as well with a lead semi wadcutter and driving it around 900 fps.

Dead 5 years and it came back to life. I will stand by what I said then.

I have a 25-5 with a 4" bbl and I load 13.0 HS-6 with a 250 Lyman SCW cast out of Lymans #2 and I am getting 1025 fps. I am sure you could shoot through a hog with no problem.

I want to load a 265 grain hardcast keith bullet over 13 grains of Hs6, would that be OK? Any reply welcome.

I shoot nothing but reloads and have tested a wide variety extensively in a wide variety of 45 Colt S&Ws, 25-5s and 625s, and Ruger single actions. Of all the loads tested, the best was and still is the Laser Cast 250 grain RN FP over 8.5 grains of Unique. It is extremely accurate in all the guns I've fired it in, 1" to 1.5" groups at 25 yards; it's a very consistent load at about 950fps out of a 4" barrel with low SD/ES; it's easily controlled especially for followup shots; and the cases fall out of the chamber indicating the pressures are well within the tolerance of the cylinder. I'm so sold on this load I don't experiment with it any more. I save that for the high pressure loads in my Linebaugh Ruger Bisley in 45 Colt. With it I'm in a whole new realm of pressure and performance.
Keith

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Keith Herrington

Is the advantage of a 300 grain bullet over a 250-260 grain something real or something perceived to be real? If the heavy bullet is more accurate, that's a real advantage.

Yep, that load falls within the recommended 23k psi pressure limit of your N frame. I have used it and John Linebaugh highly recommends it.

Don

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NRA Cert. Reloading Instructor

9g Unique and a 255g RNFP gives me 900fps which is just right IMO.

You can do a lot with that and it does not stress the revolver or the shooter.