45 long colt

krsmith58

krsmith58

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forum Members,

i have been buying ammo anytime i go someplace that sells ammo for quite sometime. had to slack up a bit recently do to storage difficulties .

i traded into a rifle and have a "deal" made for a Smith in 45 Long Colt that is supposed to happen Tuesday. i have been seeing a model 25-3 125th anniversary package Smith in local classifieds and have convinced myself that i really need it.

the 45 LC is a caliber that somehow i have not had in all these years. i got a little ammo in trade and am looking to buy more. question is how much higher is 45 ammo compared to pre shortage. finding a little, but they are really proud of it. just curios about price before shortage. thanks. krs/kenny ray
 
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I went to reloading it since (pre pandemic) I could hardly find it and it was a little over $1.00 a round.

Today the best I have seen is $89.95 ($1.80/round) for 50 rounds. I've seen some boxes at $110.00+.

Hopefully it will drop in price, but I don't hold out much hope.

Good luck.
 
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45 Colt is a very easy caliber to load for but if you buy the 25-3 to use as a shooter, suggest to measure the barrel / cylinder to determine the best diameter bullet as that model is known to have issues in that respect. Should find info here through search.
 
45 Colt

Here the price of 45Colt pre-Covid/shortage,
I'd look every once in a while, was roughly
anywhere from .80 cents to just under
$1.00 per cartridge.

I've been reloading for many years. Currently
a box of 50 is just under $9.00/box.

The Best to you on getting that S&W Mld 25
45Colt and your future Endeavors.
 

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ken158 said:
45 Colt is a very easy caliber to load for but if you buy the 25-3 to use as a shooter, suggest to measure the barrel / cylinder to determine the best diameter bullet as that model is known to have issues in that respect. Should find info here through search.
Click to expand...

Ken, i had thought about offering it up for trade. maybe some member would like to add to their collection of unfired Smiths. the rifle is an uberrti copy of winchester 1873, also unfired. if i can't find new homes for them their unfired status is in danger.

i have read on here the issue with cylinders. that is part of my reasoning on not buying it sooner.

here lately my deals for the next day i have off haven't worked out. we'll see. thanks, krs/smith
 
My experience with S&W 25's in 45 colt is that the front sight is too short . Even with the rear sight screwed all the way down it still shoots high with the std 255 gr cast bullet with moderate loads of Unique (8.5grs ) . Paul
 
cowboy4evr said:
My experience with S&W 25's in 45 colt is that the front sight is too short . Even with the rear sight screwed all the way down it still shoots high with the std 255 gr cast bullet with moderate loads of Unique (8.5grs ) . Paul
Click to expand...

Change your loading. I am shooting a Colt Model 1909 U.S.Army. The load that I use duplicates what the War Department ordered in 1909. A 250 grain bullet at 750 FPS. I duplicate this with a cast 250 grain bullet with 5.6 grains of Bullseye. Works for me in my 25-9 also.

If you have to use Unique use 6.4 grains.
 
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I bought a new M625-9 in 2006. I have never purchased a factory round for it, nor fired a factory round in it. I have a few different bullet molds for it, the heaviest being a Lyman 255 gr SWC. They work fine, and I have never run out of sight adjustment.

My handloads cost about the same as shooting 22 LR.
 
AJ said:
Change your loading. I am shooting a Colt Model 1909 U.S.Army. The load that I use duplicates what the War Department ordered in 1909. A 250 grain bullet at 750 FPS. I duplicate this with a cast 250 grain bullet with 5.6 grains of Bullseye. Works for me in my 25-9 also.

If you have to use Unique use 6.4 grains.
Click to expand...

I likewise shoot a Colt 1909 (I have two of them, see below). I prefer my .45 Colt loads for mine to be on the light side, and usually use a 200 grain Lead FP bullet with 6.5 grains of Bullseye or 700-X. I have never bought a factory round of .45 Colt. I started reloading the .45 Colt using .45 ACP dies (resizing about half the length of the case), but later bought a used set of .45 Colt dies cheap at a gun show. I also have a Lee Loader in .45 Colt (also bought cheap at a gun show) just for portability, but it is slow. I occasionally use it if I have only a few rounds to load. There is an interesting story about the early history of the M1909 .45 round being loaded at Frankford Arsenal. The first propellant they used was 4.5 grains of Bullseye (the M1909 .45 cartridge was never loaded with black powder) behind a 250 grain bullet. It seems that their powder charging equipment didn't work too well with Bullseye and it sometimes threw overcharges which damaged revolvers. Frankford had duPont develop a suitable bulk smokeless propellant called RSQ (rescue) that loaded much more reliably in Frankford's equipment, and that was what the M1909 cartridge was normally loaded with during most of its production life at Frankford. Until the late 1930s, RSQ in canister form was sold to reloaders. I have seen RSQ - it looks very much like Pyrodex, its granules are nearly spherical in form.

BTW, for those who may not know, the M1909 .45 round uses the original full length .45 Colt case but having a larger rim diameter to provide more positive extraction for use in the M1909 revolver (which can also use the .45 Colt cartridge). It was never loaded commercially, only by Frankford Arsenal for military use. Individual rounds are uncommon as Frankford's production was very low by military standards..
zjDZ8i5.jpg
 
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Factory .45 Colt ammunition has never been inexpensive. Not like 9mm and .45acp, they don’t manufacture enough.
If a person plans on shooting that cartridge more than just occasionally reloading is the only affordable answer.
The upside is you can also reload cheaper ammo for your other guns. Kind of a hobby within a hobby. 😎
 
I have been loading 45 (Long) Colt since 1975. My boolits are from saving lead for years (free), my primers and powder are pre-covid (have a multi-year supply) and my brass was once fired bought back in the early 1980's.

I load a box of 50 for $3.00.

I don't ever remember buying even one box of factory ammo.

My loads are tailored to make my 25-5 with big throats shoot like a tack driver, and my loads for my Ruger Blackhawk have taken many a deer.

45 Colt is my absolute favorite cartridge, and making my own loads are what makes it even more fun...
 
.45LC has always been on the pricey side since it's not exactly a common chambering anymore, mostly just reproductions of old guns like the Colt SAA or Winchester 1892 and a few multi-caliber .410/.45 handguns like the Taurus Judge, S&W Governor, or Bond Arms Derringers.

Even the cheaper cast lead Cowboy Action Shooting ammo was relatively expensive, so don't be too jarred by modern prices nor lack of availability.

That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a classic S&W Model 25, nor would I shy away from .45 Long Colt as a cartridge due to the cost/availability of the ammo because it's a fantastic round that's lots of fun to shoot. It's got some very satisfying knock-down power (relax, I'm talking about steel plates here...) without the concussive muzzle blast, report, or snappy recoil of Magnum pistol cartridges in Standard Pressure loads, yet it's still quite powerful compared to other non-magnum cartridges like .44 Special or .45 ACP, boasting energy just shy of 10mm Auto in full SAAAMI Spec loads, and right on the heels of .44 Magnum in overpressure loads, but with substantially lower chamber pressures. So it's an extremely versatile cartridge which can be had in all sorts of energy levels, albeit the hotter overpressure stuff probably shouldn't be put through a Model 25, although some may disagree.
 
I always loved 45 Colt but didn’t get into it until 3 or 4 years ago when I bought a Ruger Blackhawk. I’d been into 44 magnum / special for 40 years or so but always wanted a 45 LC firearm. I had a 1st generation Vaquero at one time but never warmed up to it and sold it. Finally a few years ago I broke down and bought a new Blackhawk and fell in love with it. I soon had to add a Henry BBB and a Winchester 92 saddle ring carbine then bought a Cimarron Custer model. I really love the caliber and the guns and think my next acquisition will be a Colt SAA.

I’ve only purchased one box of factory. I chronigraphed 5 rounds and used it as a standard. Since then I added 45LC to my growing list of cartridges I load. Loading your own is the way to go. I load for mild plinking loads with mild recoil. Arthritis dictates how much punishment my wrists and hands can tolerate and I’m able to continue shooting regularly without pain by tailoring my loads to my needs. Besides comfort, better accuracy is possible and hand loading is much more cost effective. I load polymer coated 200grain and 250 grain round nose flat point lead and have been experimenting with Unique, 231, HS6, CFE pistol and Accurate N100NF. At the moment I like 200 grain bullets in my Blackhawk and Henry and like 250 grain in my Cimarron and Winchester. I’m finding N100NF to produce very light recoil and good accuracy. The other powders work well but produce heavier recoil and some are pretty dirty. My cost per round is around 18 cents each.
 
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If it weren't for Cowboy Action Shooters, .45 Colt ammunition would probably be much more difficult to find and far more expensive. It is one caliber that I very seldom find fired cases on the ground at any range. I have been fortunate to find fired cases for sale at gun shows (sometimes). If they are less than a quarter each, I will buy them. I think my best .45 case score at a gun show was some guy with a table who had around 100 fired .45 cases in a baggie laying there. I picked it up to look at the cases and he told me to just take them as he didn't want to return them home. I believe I have around 300 cases at present. That's enough. One more story - I have converted some .44-40 and .38-40 cases to .45 Colt by fire forming. Just load them then fire them in a .45 Colt chamber. It doesn't make much economic sense, but it's fun.
 
DWalt said:
If it weren't for Cowboy Action Shooters, .45 Colt ammunition would probably be much more difficult to find and far more expensive. It is one caliber that I very seldom find fired cases on the ground at any range. I have been fortunate to find fired cases for sale at gun shows (sometimes). If they are less than a quarter each, I will buy them. I think my best .45 case score at a gun show was some guy with a table who had around 100 fired .45 cases in a baggie laying there. I picked it up to look at the cases and he told me to just take them as he didn't want to return them home. I believe I have around 300 cases at present. That's enough. One more story - I have converted some .44-40 and .38-40 cases to .45 Colt by fire forming. Just load them then fire them in a .45 Colt chamber. It doesn't make much economic sense, but it's fun.
Click to expand...

Must be the difference in areas. I find .45 Colt brass on our range from time to time. Also if someone is shooting a .45 Colt and not keeping their brass our range officers will save it for me. I think the biggest problem is not many shoot .45 Colt. I see a lot of 9 MM & .38 Special, but not a lot of .45 Colt. Bought a bag of Starline brass when I first got my first handgun chambered in .45 Colt. I have several thousand cases and loaded brass now.
 
Ruger had/still have issues with the cylinder throats in their 45 colts. I always measured the throat and reamed out the small under size ones to match barrel forcing cone and bore.
 
The original black powder ballistics for the 45 colt was approximately 40 grs of powder with a 255 gr cast bullet on top . That load delivered 850-900 fps . 8.5 grs of Unique will deliver approx 850 fps which still just match's original ballistics . So I don't see the reason to down load it to 750 fps , or use a much lighter cast bullet when all I'm wanting is original ballistics . With both of the model 25's I've had , I ran out of sight adjustment before the POA = POI . This has been my experience with 2 / S&W 25's . OTOH , my OM Ruger Vaquero has the perfect front sight . It requiring no change / adjustment to height . Regards Paul
 
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