My standard 45LC load is my cast 250 gr SWC pushed by 8.5grs of Unique. Works well in all my 45LC pistols and rifles. I too have ton or so of WW's and powder and primers that were bought cheap and stacked deep. Plus on my personal range I have mined the berm and recovered lead to make into new bullets........Some of that lead has been down the barrels several times.
.45 COLT AMMO
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ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I have quite a bit of W231 too but not 24lbs. I have been using it up and have only 10lbs and an almost full 11th pound in use. I use it in most of my range handgun cartridges like the 32 Auto, 38 S&W, 9mm, .38 Special, the 45 ACP and maybe others I can't think of right now.
I'm down to only 4lbs of HS-6 so I will have to be careful going forward. I don't load shotgun ammo but I've heard HS-6 works extremely well in heavy field loads and buchshot loads. I might be switching over to W572 to replace HS-6 but I will need to do more testing before I dive in. It does work well in the 45 Colt but I have yet to put W572 and HS-6 head to head in the 45 Colt.
Cdog
Member
A year or two back I found a 4lb jug of W572 on the shelf at a local shop. It was priced @ $64.
I didn't know much about it, but saw the burn rate was in my range. Paying cash, $64 brought it home with me. I've been quite pleased with its performance in everything I've loaded.
I hope to see more data become available. I contacted Hodgdon. They were polite enough, but basically told me not to expect expanded data for W572 anytime soon.
I didn't know much about it, but saw the burn rate was in my range. Paying cash, $64 brought it home with me. I've been quite pleased with its performance in everything I've loaded.
I hope to see more data become available. I contacted Hodgdon. They were polite enough, but basically told me not to expect expanded data for W572 anytime soon.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I'm surprised since Hodgdon usually tries to pump out the data for their new powders so that they catch on. I sometimes see W244 and W572 on the shelves recently whereas there is no W231 or W296. They seem to concentrate on the newer powders of course to get them known. The newer powders are cleaner and easier to manufacture and burn cleaner too. I wouldn't be surprised if in the future W244 replaces W231 and W572 replaces W540 (HS-6). Mind you, I'm not saying that will happen anytime soon.
Biggfoot44
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As Alwslate mentioned above , Brian Pearse has published a ton of .45 Colt data at multiple pressure levels . Many of his SAAMI level loads exceed 900fps ( with cast 255 & 270 ).
Unique is a classic powder for
45 Colt . But there are other powders that can duplicate the performance of the heavier Unique loads at lower pressures .
7.1 to 7.2 of 231 is a good load , that essentially duplicates the ( non- Cowboy) factory loads of +/- 850 fps .
572 is similar to Blue Dot .
Unique is a classic powder for
45 Colt . But there are other powders that can duplicate the performance of the heavier Unique loads at lower pressures .
7.1 to 7.2 of 231 is a good load , that essentially duplicates the ( non- Cowboy) factory loads of +/- 850 fps .
572 is similar to Blue Dot .
AJ
US Veteran
I have two revolvers chambered in .45 Colt. One is a S&W 25-9 and the other is a Colt Model 1909 U.S. Army. For both I use 5.6 grains of Bullseye with a 250 grain cast slug. Being that the 1909 is 113 years old I shoot that load so as not to overstress the gun, also the load works well in the S&W.
I fell in love with the .45 Colt cartridge some 30+ years ago. Unfortunately, the classic Colt SAA style guns don't get along with me.However, I dearly love the S&W N-frames in that caliber. I currently have 4 of them plus a Navy Arms/Uberti Schofield.
The classic .45 Colt load is a 250-255 gr lead bullet over 8.0-9.0 grains of Unique. This generally runs in the 800 to 900 fps range. I loaded 8.5 for many years, but due to my age and powder availability have cut back to 8.0 now. There's still plenty of power there for whatever your needs may be.
The Model 25 is stronger than most people think. While I caution against magnumizing the .45 Colt, the Model 25 can handle loads up into the +P range quite well. I have loaded some pretty heavy bullets to 1000 fps without any ill effects.
But then considering that the standard velocity .45 Colt will go completely through the average whitetail deer, I see no reason to push my .45 Colt loads anymore.
Agreed. I've loaded 250 gr bullets to 1500 fps Model 92 carbines before, and it'll deliver 1060 fps and 625 ft pound and 150 yards with a +/-4" trajectory, but the recoil is a bit fierce and the case life is very short.
.45 Colt is a black powder era cartridge and Colt designed it for maximum capacity and performance in their SAA revolver. Since it used a rod ejector and they never p,Anne's for it to be used in a lever action, they didn't use the normal tapered and slightly bottle necked case you see on the .44-40, .38-40, etc.
Those features were used on those other rifle/pistol cartridges to facilitate extraction from a black powder fouled chamber. The bottle necked helped seal the case against the chamber sooner to reduce fouling and the tapered case body meant the entire case was out of contact with the chamber as soon as the case moved back at all.
They didn't bother with that on the .45 Colt as capacity was the priority and with rod ejection fouling wasn't supposed to be a big concern.
However, Colt ultimately cut a .007" taper in the chamber to create the same effect as a tapered case, suggesting fouling was a bigger deal then they'd anticipated.
That .007" taper is still found in modern .45 Colt chambers. With high pressure loads, brass life can be very short. With 32,000 psi loads you'll start to see spider cracks after 4-5 shots in a case. At 21,000 psi you might get 7-8 shots.
The lower the pressure, the longer the brass will last, so if you don't need the velocity, why load it that hot?
Besides a 250 gr bullet at 1200 fps in a Blackhawk isn't pleasant to shoot, while 800 fps is pretty enjoyable.
AJ
US Veteran
My loading is from the War Department contract for the 1909's. They wanted a 250 grain bullet at 750 FPS.
Steve W
Member
Palmetto State Armory has Ammoinc .45 colt for 39.99, l bought two boxes under a hundred delivered. About 93.00 if l recall. Thats the cheapest l seen.
I shoot 250gr RnFp cast in RCBS mold & 242gr BNWC cast in Lyman mold.
Both with 8.0gr of Unique. I cast the bullets soft 20:1 lead-tin. I can see no reason to go hot rodding 45Colt. Especially in DA revolvers.
They are much more pleasant to shoot than magnums and are plenty for anything but big bears. They will shoot through the average deer at 50yds
with either of above loads.
Both with 8.0gr of Unique. I cast the bullets soft 20:1 lead-tin. I can see no reason to go hot rodding 45Colt. Especially in DA revolvers.
They are much more pleasant to shoot than magnums and are plenty for anything but big bears. They will shoot through the average deer at 50yds
with either of above loads.
AJ
US Veteran
Reload. Granted I bought my components over the period of several years about 5 years ago, and go some on good deals I am running around $5.00 a box for .45 Colt. Will be more pricey these days. I load for three .45 Colt chambered guns, a S&W 25-9, Colt Model 1909 U.S. Army and a Pedersoli Colt Lightning.
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I have two Uberti SAA clones, a 7 1/2" Bisley and a Uberti '73 Winchester that like a 250 gr. plated FP bullet over 700X, a Pietta and two (2nd and 3rd gen) Colt SAAs that prefer a cast 255 gr. RNFP over W231, another 3rd gen Colt that much prefers a 200 gr. RNFP over W244, a 1902 Colt SAA w/2nd gen barrel and 45ACP cylinder because it doesn't like anything loaded in a.45 Colt case. I also have an 1875 vintage Schofield and an 1876 Colt that occasionally get shot with black powder. And yes, keeping track of all those loads is a pain, but to me it's worth it.
racoonbeast
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For some reason that I can not fathom, I do not own, and have never owned a 45 LC. I can't think of too many rounds that I have not owned over the years, but never actually owned one of these. I have always liked the thought of this round.
I think that the reason is that the last time I thought seriously enough about owning one (years ago when I was a kid) I went to my lgs and the price of the ammo almost gave me a stroke. So, I have kind of never really thought much about it since.
I now have a room filled with Dillon and RCBS presses as well as a set of dies and six or eight hundred empty cases that I got when a friend passed and left his reloading stuff to me. This thread has woke me up and got me to realize that there is absolutely no reason why I should not be blazing away with one. Time to find another appropriate gun. Shooting time is getting wasted by my sitting here.
I think that the reason is that the last time I thought seriously enough about owning one (years ago when I was a kid) I went to my lgs and the price of the ammo almost gave me a stroke. So, I have kind of never really thought much about it since.
I now have a room filled with Dillon and RCBS presses as well as a set of dies and six or eight hundred empty cases that I got when a friend passed and left his reloading stuff to me. This thread has woke me up and got me to realize that there is absolutely no reason why I should not be blazing away with one. Time to find another appropriate gun. Shooting time is getting wasted by my sitting here.
For some reason that I can not fathom, I do not own, and have never owned a 45 LC. I can't think of too many rounds that I have not owned over the years, but never actually owned one of these. I have always liked the thought of this round.
I think that the reason is that the last time I thought seriously enough about owning one (years ago when I was a kid) I went to my lgs and the price of the ammo almost gave me a stroke. So, I have kind of never really thought much about it since.
I now have a room filled with Dillon and RCBS presses as well as a set of dies and six or eight hundred empty cases that I got when a friend passed and left his reloading stuff to me. This thread has woke me up and got me to realize that there is absolutely no reason why I should not be blazing away with one. Time to find another appropriate gun. Shooting time is getting wasted by my sitting here.
I bought my first one in 1990.
It's attracted a 4 5/8" version;
A Model 1892 20" takedown rifle;
And a Rossi Model 92 20" carbine;
OP
Anyone use a .452 230 grain FMJ or 230 grain LRN for .45 Colt ?
I think I have a dozen or so boxes that I got from my great uncle when he passed. A couple are yellow and blue and red Western. Most everything else is Remington green box.
Got 1930's SAA generation 1 Colt to go with it
Got 1930's SAA generation 1 Colt to go with it
Ivan the Butcher
Member
While it will work, I don't because I use my 45Colt handgun and rifle ammo interchangeably. I have a Lyman 4 gang mold in that bullet. But prefer 200 gr RNFP. It also makes my lead go 15% further, at 5000 rounds a year that's 750 extra bullets.
The 200 RNFP with 6.7 231 is my standard 45 Colt load. By "Gamer" standards in Cowboy Action Shooting, it's a little heavy, a little fast and more recoil than the limp wristed want! However, it has flat out stomped everything it hits and is comfortable enough to shoot hundreds of rounds a day in any full-sized handgun! (Probably a little much for plinking with a derringer!)
I have friends with reproduction Schofields. We load 200 gr at 725fps for the guns in either length brass (Colt or Schofield). Those guns shoot that load to POA. BTW, while not advertised to do so, both my 1894 Marlin (CB) Cowboy Special and my two Rossi Model 92's will Cycle, Feed, Chamber, Fire, and Extract 44 Schofield. So, either diameter rim or either length brass is interchangeable. Recessed chamber SSA's and P&R Smiths are a problem.
Ivan
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