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  #1  
Old 01-22-2012, 07:38 PM
BearBio BearBio is offline
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Default 41 Long Colt

Can anyone direct me to a reliable supplier of lead bullets for the 41 long colt? I found one but he seems to have trouble responding once I placed my order. I'd like the hollow base, lead rather than the heeled bullets, if possible.

For those not in the know, the 41 colt takes an inside lubed bullet of a weird diameter. The hollow base expands to grip the rifling.

Factory ammo can run from $50.00 to as much as almost $100 per 50.
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Old 01-22-2012, 10:01 PM
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The bullet you are looking for is Lyman 386187. It has been out of production for 30 or more years. Either sign up on the Cast Boolits forum and see what you can find or watch on the auction sites, particularly E-Bay, and you may find a mould. You are going to have to start casting for this one.

You might try the Buffalo Arms site, they may have something.
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Old 01-22-2012, 10:30 PM
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About a year ago (maybe more) Handloaer's Mike Venturino had an article on loading for the .41 Colt, I believe he listed a couple of suppliers, you may want to see if you can find that issue online.
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Old 01-23-2012, 12:22 PM
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Don't know if you have this article but I found it while trying to learn about the 41 LC. Still know nothing but you may find it helpful.

Reloading the 41 Long Colt.
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Old 01-23-2012, 02:55 PM
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Have you checked Midway? It's been awhile since I've looked but I think they had both a heel and hollow base bullet available for the .41 Colt.

Lee makes a rifle FCD, (for the .375 H&H I believe), that is very close to the dimensions needed to seat a .41 Colt heel base bullet. One of these days I was planning on altering one to see if it would work, but anyone is more than welcome to give it a try first as my "one of these days" are really backing up.
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Old 01-23-2012, 04:05 PM
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Yep, the original load in the .41 Colt was a heeled bullet(like a 22lr) with outside lube. When companies started going inside lube they had to use a soft lead hollow base bullet so it'd expand to fit the rifling. Seems like if you're a handloader it'd be a fun little ctg. to play around with.
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Old 01-23-2012, 04:37 PM
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What size bullet is it that you are after??
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Old 01-24-2012, 03:30 PM
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Buffalo Arms has some for a reasonable price.

In general, you need a 401 diameter with an inside lubed (reduced diameter) or a 38 caliber hollow base.
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Old 01-24-2012, 05:16 PM
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Talking .41 Colt

A few weeks ago I took my old .41 Colt New Navy out for a spin at the range. My shooting partner and I had identical .41s and I had a 50rd box of BP loaded with heel bullets made by G.A.D. I also have 300 of the cast bullets from G.A.D. They will cast any size or caliber that shoots, sometimes it will take 3-4 weeks to get you order filled but they have never disappointed me. If you haven't tried them, google G.A.D. and give them a call. They will also load the cartridges with BP for you. They specialize in obsolete calibers and loads.
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Old 01-24-2012, 06:11 PM
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I saw GAD and will likely call them tomorrow. Then see how they compare with Buffalo Arms on the service. Only "gripe" is you have to call, can't order on line.
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Old 01-24-2012, 08:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ombesb View Post
What size bullet is it that you are after??
The factory heel based bullets were .410" while the factory hollow base, inside lubed bullets were .386".

Early guns were made to shoot the heel base bullets and had a bore of about .409 or so. Then when the ammo was loaded with the hollow base bullet, Colt started making the barrels bored to about .392 I believe. This made it easier for the .386 dia. bullet to expand to fill it properly, but they didn't want to make them sized to fit the hollow base bullet because people still shot the larger heel based bullets and this would drive the pressure up too far.
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Old 01-24-2012, 08:58 PM
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The guy that runs G.A.D is a bit low tech. I usually buy 300-500 bullets or a combination to save on shipping. He also sells the brass. I shoot a lot of odd caliber guns, ie; 25-20, 32-40, 38-40, 38-55, 32 colt, 38 colt, 44 Webly, etc.
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