I just lifted one of these lead launchers off the board here and I'm new to .45 COLT. Xtreme has free shipping this weekend and they have .451" 255gr plated. Will these work, or do I need something larger in diameter?

Probably but if you will often have better results with 0.001" larger bullets when going plated.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Regarding diameter and plated bullets... it may be necessary to try a few of the .451". Plated bullets are more like a hybrid; they're not really the same as a .451" jacketed bullet, but they may work. I think most .45 Colt jacketed bullets are .452", which should be fine, whereas cast should be .452", though I've always found larger more accurate.

Plated bullets don't necessarily conform to accepted norms. Perhaps smarter folks who use plated bullets on a regular basis will offer better advice.

It seems that after S&W did away with the pinned barrel and went to the "alphabet" serial number prefix they got the cylinder throat size problem settled. I veiw the nominal size to be .452" jacketed, plated or lead. Just fer grins a quick and dirty way to see if you may need an a bigger diameter bullet is. Open the cylinder with empty chambers, point it straight down, drop a .452" bullet only into each chamber, if they fall through and bounce off of your toes you may need to play with some .454" lead bullets. However get a small supply of a bullet you are interested in and see how it shoots, if it does well get some more, if not try another size perhaps. Some guns with really oversize throats shoot well with .452" anyways especially with jacketed bullets!

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Stay safe people!

Hornaday 250g XTP bullets for this caliber are 0.452" in diameter. It says so on the box. Their 230g XTP bullets are intended for 45 ACP and are 0.451". I look for 0.452" bullets for my 45 Colts.

The original owner, Scattershot, was kind enough to share with me that the throat dimensions are .4525. I assume I'm going to need some .453's. My two go to suppliers, Missouri and Bayou, only offer .452". Can anyone recommend a good source .453" slugs?

Already got my brass and conversion kit ordered, just need slugs

Edit:
Has anyone tried these guys?
dardas cast bullets: .45 Caliber 255 Grain Semi-wadcutter Bevel Base 500 Count

May be difficult to find .453" bullets, but would probably be worth the trouble to try .452" and .454".

I've had good luck with 230 grain round nose bullets plated from Xtreme or Berrys

This is the same as the .45 ACP bullet I use in the semi-autos.

These are soft plated lead and shoot better than the heavier cast or more expensive jacketed offerings.

If you load for the .45 ACP you may already have the bullets you need for your gun.

It's worth a try.

BLM

I have purchased bullets from Dardas, although not the specific bullet
you mention, and I think they are hard to beat. Compare their prices
and shipping fees with other online sellers and see for yourself. They
also give the buyer a choice of dia which other sellers usually don't.
Their bullets look great and their packaging is very secure.

I've tried these, & several other weight bullets from Xtreme in my M25-13. Their 255gr TCFP avgs. .4516" dia. & they've worked fine.

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Since those Xtreme bullets are plated you don't need to go that large, as you would if they were cast lead, since you're not having to worry about blow-by eroding the base or forcing out the lube.

Xtreme's 230gr HP (Heavy Plate Concave Base w/Hollow-point) averages .4526" diameter. They've worked good in many different 45's that I've loaded them in. These don't have a cannelure but I use a taper crimp even on the bullets with a cannelure. I seat them to a OAL of 1.600" in the 45 Colt cases & they shoot good.

Even their 225gr TCFP worked fine in the 45 Colt. Purchasing the 225gr, &/or 230gr, gives me bullets that work well in either my 45 Autos or Revolvers.

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Waiting for the break of day

I usually shoot a home-cast bullet in .45 Colt, the Lyman 454424, about 260 grains of ex-wheelweights. I used to size some to .452 and others .454, but that often left me lacking what I wanted to load at any particular time. I now size all of them to .454 and they shoot in the small throated guns as well as the large throated guns, both Colt and S&W.

Yep, that's exactly why I was asking. Just wanted to hear some good new about the actual product before pulling the trigger. Thank you!

I bought the .453's from Dardas. We'll see how it goes.