Best powder for 45 Colt

44Steve · Oct 30, 2014

Hi, Steve here. I am looking for the best bulky powder for use in a lot of different 45 Colts. I am loading for my self along with some less experianced reloaders. After over 30 years of reloading , i still use 2400 in my 44s. I will be reloading 45 Colt for the first time.

gaijin · Oct 30, 2014

2400 works well in less than full house +P .45 Colt.
My go to is AA9 for moderate loads (250 gr. +- bullet @ 1050-1100 FPS from a 4" barrel). It meters great.
I do use magnum primers (in spite of AA's recommendation to use standard) because I'd had erratic ignition, hang fires and major extreme spreads with standard primers.
For "Ruger only" loads I use H110.

Cpo1944 · Oct 30, 2014

I use Trail Boss and I really like it. It is quite bulky, so the danger of a double load is almost nil, because it would overflow the case. I use a 5 g load under a 255 g lead rn and it is very pleasant to shoot. Not too much noise or recoil, its actually a "cowboy action load".

mtgianni · Oct 30, 2014

Three levels of 45 loads all mean different powders. For me light loads get Red Dot, medium get Herco or Unique and Ruger loads get AA9.

NRA DOC · Oct 30, 2014

Red Dot and Unique

Using a 250-255 grain lead or lead plated bullet I think it is hard to beat 6 grains of Red Dot for lighter loads and 8 grains of Unique for medium loads. A stouter load that I have grown very fond of is 14 grains of Vihtavouri N105 powder, just over 1000 fps and as clean and accurate as I have seen.

twobit601 · Oct 30, 2014

Unique or Trailboss are the two I have used. Unique for hunting / defense.

JBnTx · Oct 30, 2014

I've used Unique with 250gr LSWC bullets for the past 30 years.
Never saw a need for anything else.

gen3guy · Oct 30, 2014

Personally, I'm very conservative when loading this caliber. I consider a 250 gr. projectile at 850 fps to be plenty respectable. I use Unique almost exclusively for my standard loads. For my "Ruger only" loads I use AA #7. There is plenty of load data out there for both. I never push the limit on this caliber. If I want to make a lot of noise and miss the target, I'll shoot my .44.

johnnyflake · Oct 30, 2014

I pretty much use Unique for .45 Colt exclusively.

250/255gn Cast over 7.5gn of Unique for about 750fpt

or

250/255gn Cast over 9.0gn of Unique for about 850/900fps

For Ruger Only & Light Rifle Loads I go with

250/255gn Cast over 19.0gn of 2400

DFrame · Oct 30, 2014

jack oconnor said:
I use Trail Boss and I really like it. It is quite bulky, so the danger of a double load is almost nil, because it would overflow the case. I use a 5 g load under a 255 g lead rn and it is very pleasant to shoot. Not too much noise or recoil, its actually a "cowboy action load".

I use a somewhat similar load of 6 grains Trail Boss under a 200 grain RNFP. Mild "Shoot all day" load thats easy on the ears and the equipment.

fredj338 · Oct 30, 2014

Trail Boss is good for light lead loads. Unique works for me for gp loads, 2400 for heavy Ruger loads. RedDot is a sleeper choice in 45colt. I used #s & #s in CAS. You can get to factory equiv & it is pretty bulky.

growr · Oct 30, 2014

What about good old FFg Blackpowder? The original!!

johnnyflake · Oct 30, 2014

growr said:
What about good old FFg Blackpowder? The original!!

It's Too Dirty, Too Smokey & it Smells Bad!

Pisgah · Oct 30, 2014

Lots of good choices. I use 9.0 gr. of Unique with a 255 gr. SWC for my "standard" loads, a hefty dose of 2400 for my "Ruger-and-M92-only" load.

David R · Oct 30, 2014

255 gr and 9.0 Unique since 1990 in my model 25-7. 900 fps.

I shot it yesterday at the indoor range with Bayou coated 250 gr rn ( for 45 auto it says)
They were stout shooting one hand and I noticed muzzle flash. Still 9.0 unique. I have only chronographed my cast lead bullets, I have not tested the HI TEK (spell?) for velocity yet. Its on my list.

The lack of smoke was great indoors.

David

scattershot · Oct 30, 2014

Unique is pretty much the classic powder for the .45 Colt.

Goldstar225 · Oct 30, 2014

Mostly Unique though I have been testing out Power Pistol for a while.

arjay · Oct 30, 2014

8 gr of unique or a case full of black powder.

Vulcan Bob · Oct 30, 2014

I've found that Power Pistol works very well in the .45 Colt. Check out Brian Pearce's articles in Handloader magazine for some good info. His article on the Ruger mid frame .45 Colt has some very good standard pressure loads.

J. W. · Oct 30, 2014

HS-6 is my standard .45 Colt powder. 13.0g with a 250/255g bullet makes an excellent general purpose load with a MV of approximately 925 FPS.

When I want some big boomers I load up 23g H-110 with a 255g Keith hard cast. Should be pushing close to 1100 FPS.

I use both of these loads, albeit the H-110 load sparingly, in my 25-13 Mountain Gun. The data is from John Linebaugh.

Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

Best powder for 45 Colt

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