25-5 Question

[45Smashemflat]

Ok, so, lots of varying commentary regarding the throats on the 45 Colt chambered 25s. Locally, all I can find are LRN “Cowboy Loads.” I have a couple of boxes of Hornady Leverlution for a Marlin I own. I do not cast, but this ammo situation is leading me back to reloading. Locally, I’ve found .451 and .452 jacketed rounds. I do plan to get access to some pin gauges to measure the revolver I have.

So, my question is, once I know the dimensions of the throat, how do I choose a projectile?

 

[M29since14]

Lead bullets, I would size to fit the exit bores of the cylinder. Jacketed, use whatever shoots best.

 

[Muley Gil]

Generally, hard cast semi wadcutter bullets do well in .45 Colt. Mostly, a .454" diameter bullet over 8 grains of Unique will group fine.

Jacketed bullets will usually shoot good, but aren't needed for paper punching.

 

[Drm50]

I shoot 2 bullets in 45Colt, the traditional 250gr RNFP which I cast with
50% lead 50% Wheel Weights and 5% tin by weight of alloy. The other bullet is Lyman Button Nose WC 242gr. cast lead : 5% tin. Using these
250gr in m25-5 & Colt SAA at 850fps. The 242gr WC is run at approx
725fps and used in m25-5 & M25-2.
The S&Ws do well at .452, Colt at .454. Both 25-5 & 25-2 do excellent with the soft wadcutter and no problems with leading at target velocities. The only leading problems I ever ran into was with Speer swaged lead bullets.
At target velocities they leaded terrible in same revolvers that shoot my soft cast bullets perfectly.
Have shot several brands of cast and have had no issues. I don’t hot rod my 45s I have 44mags. On subject of jacketed bullets in 45s I can’t comment because I have found most 45 revolvers perform well with the 250gr cast if sized right. Have mold for 270gr SWC, 200gr RN that I never use anymore. I do have 230gr RN that is for 45acp & 45ar which I do use.

 

[Hair Trigger]

I use a lot of plated 250 grain bullets from Everglades Ammo. I'd stick with .452" for the .45C for better neck tension, and roll crimp them.

If you save the brass from those LeverRevolution cartridges, keep them separate from any other .45C cases you get (Starline makes excellent brass). The LR case is a tiny bit shorter than standard .45C brass, and it's just enough to change the load data. The Hornady manual has loading data for the 225FTX bullet that's in the LR case and it has warnings not to exceed or reduce published loads. Trim length for "regular" .45C is 1.275 (max length is 1.285") The LR cases trim to 1.215". The reason for this is the FTX bullet when seated gives a longer OAL.

I've used the LeverRevolution ammo in my Henry Big Boy as well as my M25-5 and Uberti SAA, but since I started reloading for .45C I only use my own loads. The plated bullets I use, along with some JHP bullets, are flat on the nose and work well in tubular magazines and are great for the two revolvers I have in .45C.