250grain can some one tell me which is better? Thanks!

Whichever shoots best in your gun.

What are you trying to do with it?

My preference is always for the flat point bullets, which I believe to be better for transferring impact energy to the target.

Round nose bullets can penetrate more efficiently because they offer less resistance in the target media.

That's my theory anyway.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

This would be for shooting targets and a hog or two or three. They are destroying my property. I have other firearms for that as well, just wondering about lead round nose or flat nose out of a revolver or a riffle?

The best for your purposes would be the 250 or 255 grain SCW design. The second best would be the RNFP and the worst would be the RNL.

For light hunting I would use the flat point or even better, a 255gr LSWC bullet.
I like the SWC because the sharp shoulder cuts right through the flesh and does all the damage.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Flat and wide is going to do more to a pig than round nose. Some rifles (I'm assuming lever action) get temperamental with SWC. Some run them just fine.

For feral pigs, round nose would be the worst choice of bullet profiles. Flat point would be a second choice, best choice would be a semi-wadcutter style, preferably with a large flat point (meplat) and a sharp edged shoulder.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Not simply a small flat spot on a RN bullet but I prefer a Semi-Wadcutter
( SWC ) design with a nice large Flat (meplat) spot .
Elmer Keith thought about 70% to 75% of the bullets diameter was about right for the flat nose , today some designs are even wider , (WFN) these are called Wide Flat Nose .
The large flat transmits energy better and hits harder , than a round nose .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

No. All we can give you is opinions, and they're no better than yours...

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Pisgah

I use one very similar to this but 10 grains lighter.

454-251-WC-AC5 2 Cavity PB | NOE Bullet Moulds

Full wadcutter, cuts beautiful holes in whatever it hits.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

It depends on the load (velocity) and your skill level. Properly placed a 250 .45 Colt at 750 fps will do the job no matter the bullet profile. You'll have a greater margin with any .45 bullet at 1100 fps, or a .243 to .30 caliber rifle. Good luck in your decision.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I would use a lever action rifle on hogs. That pretty much means a flat point projectile since the round nose ones are dangerous in the magazine. A Keith SWC would be my choice.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I would get some wadcutters in same weight range. I have 242gr Lyman.
You can run them at same velocity as standard 45Colt 250 cast. They definitely put the whack on deer. They also drop their blood pressure immediately, especially on a thru & thru. Probably not best if you are going to be shooting 100+yds.

Flat nose.

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Thanks for the info. I'm old, but for some reason have never owned a firearm that shot 45 colt. That's why I was asking. I just bought a S$W 25-5 45 Colt but interested in a "real 45 colt single action" and a Henry riffle lever action to go with it.

Looking at ammo it is very expensive, which I don't understand. A lot of round nose has some kind of black coating. What is that all about?

45 Colt has always been expensive. That's why I started reloading 45 years ago. Many of the bullets that you can buy are powder coated. Sometimes it's black.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

FP lead round nose is the best idea for cowboy rounds. LSWC is the best for hunting loads. I handload my .45 Colt rounds. Too expensive to not handload. I use standard powder and bullet company loading details. No jacketed handloads. The .45 Colt was never a jacketed round. The .45 ACP is, but that's a different universe.

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Heavily armed old man.

I recommend the flat point over the semi-wadcutter in the lever action, at least until you are 100% certain that the SWCs will feed smoothly 100% of the time with 100% reliability. When a follow up shot is needed while hunting, that is not the time to figure out that the SWC catches the edge of the chamber.
In a revolver, SWC all day every day. But not in speedloaders.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

PRACTICE!

For decades we shot PPC with full wadcutters and used speedloaders, on the clock. I still use full wadcutters in my edc and moon clips. Switching to SWC is like greased lightning.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I would opt for a 270 grain Keith wide nose SWC (semi wadcutter) shown here on the left.

The wadcutter on the right would be my choice. Especially, if around 260 grains for the long Colt or 240 for the ACP. A full wadcutter needs no expansion, penetrates well and if you need more than six, PRACTICE!

Practice reloading and shooting!

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

The projectile on the right is actually a Wide Flat Nose, 325 grain hardcast. It will absolutely do the job on any hog with ease, but so will the Elmer Keith designed wide nose SWC shown on the left.

The 325 grain WFN load is one that is designed for large game like elk, moose, large bear, etc.

Both of those projectiles are loaded in ammo I make. The 270 Keith SWC is loaded to 900 FPS from a 4&5/8ths" barrel, and the 325 grain is loaded to 1155 FPS.
Some have reported back on using the 270 SWC on hogs quite effectively, but I don't recall anyone actually catching one in an animal yet.

You could be on the safe side and use both!

Flat-nosed is safer in a lever gun than round-nosed, especially with hot loads. Personally, I load everything safe for an S&W revolver, but you get a lot more velocity from a carbine. Hard-cast lead (e.g., Oregon Trails) don't lead the barrel if 0.001" oversized.

Both were developed with accuracy in mind, over just trying to have the fastest load.

The 270 Keith is very easy to shoot well and in my Flattop shoots nice tight groups.



The heavy 325 grain also is a super accurate load. I actually pushed the bullet a fair bit faster, but the accuracy was not there. The top accuracy node was right at 1155 out of a 4& 5/8ths" barrel. Plus at that speed with that heavy of a bullet, there is not much on the continent that a person is not going to shoot clean through, so any faster is kind of pointless, and only makes the load harder to control.

Here was 4 shots at 25 yards:




I had walked down to the target, because I was not sure about where they were hitting. I was surprised to say the least.

The fifth shot was not bad either:



I was aiming for the green dot BTW.

My red dot was not regulated for the load, but it definitely showed the load's accuracy. It is a "Ruger large frame only/Freedom Arms Model 83" type load, not meant for Model 25s, Taurus revolvers, S&W Judge type .45 Colts.

Thank you for the additional information. I am familiar with both bullets but do not use either in the 45 ACP. Not enough powder space for the heavy stuff. The heaviest I use in the ACP revolver is the 454424 or similar. My preference is something right around 240 grains, either WC or SWC. Chugging along at 850-950 fps, they both hit like trains.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

In 45 Colt I prefer LSWC over LRN.

I liked a good 250 gr Lead semi wadcutter

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Wadcutters seem to be a popular theme on this forum. Since I am going to be using it in lever action and hand gun for now I bought 500 rounds of 250 gr LFN figured I can't go wrong with that, whatever I shoot it out of should work.

I bought 500 rounds of Sellier & Bellot for $360.00 including shipping. That seemed to be a good price, anyone have any input on the brand? Never heard of them.



At least I have 500 rounds of brass.

I have used S&B with no issues in 45 ACP. I happened on a vey good deal.

If you do not have reloading equipment, start looking now.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

No, but I have quite a few 357, 41, 44, magnum, and 45 Colt. I'll look into it. Thanks!

Kieth type in 250 and above loaded and tested in your revolver for accuracy. BTW read Mr. Kieths books, lot and lots of good information.

Most fans of Elmer Keith are quite familiar with his book "Hell I was there!".

However, he wrote an autobiography prior to this, simply entitled, "Keith, an Autobiography.".










 
Friend and fellow Forum Member "SuperMan" aka Bob, gave me the book as a gift. I kept it at my cabin which is in the very heart of Elmer Keith country in central Idaho.


This is book was signed by Elmer Keith to Bob in 1977, which makes it even more special of a gift to me.
It will always be a prized possession in my small collection of important books.

Bob has visited and spent a good bit of time at the cabin. He and I drove around and did some exploring in the same areas the Elmer Keith did, as well as did some long range handgunning.

We were however shooting .41 Magnums (Bob) and .44 Magnums (me) as well as some other cartridges for the most part.



BTW,

The Keith designed 270 grain wide meplat semi wadcutter is a very accurate bullet and the fact that it is still very popular today should be a solid indiciator as to its effectiveness.

I find that when driven at a moderate speed, such as 900 FPS out of a 4 & 5/8ths" barrel (as tested in a Ruger Flattop) it makes for an ideal all round load. Easy to shoot well, tolerable recoil, and excellent terminal ballistics.

Way back , 1990ish I dropped a wild boar with a Winchester 94 Trapper in 45 Colt. Used my reloads, 255 gr SWC and a moderate load of Unique

I can't think of any scenario in which a WC/SWC is not superior to a Round(ed) nose projectile.

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NHI, 10-8.

Sometimes you need a RNFP for smooth feeding in a lever action.