Good N frame Unique 250gr 45 Colt load

SLT223

SLT223

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I just shot some .452 250gr LRNFP rim rock bullets over 8.5gr of Unique. Wasnt too impressed. The Starline case didnt obturate and accuracy wasnt impressive. Im guessing pressure was a little low. 9.0gr of CFE had better results. What are you guys running in your model 25’s for Unique loads?

....I have 8lbs of this stuff...i need to figure out some good loads :)
 
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Get yourself a 20 gage O/U shotgun and start busting Clays with it. Once you are good and hooked on the sport you'll find yourself getting a reloading press and in no time at all you'll be shopping for another 8 lbs. bottle of Unique. Because it's a fantastic powder for loading 20 gage shotgun loads.

Note, I do NOT recommend Unique for handgun loads due to it's poor metering quality and 6 Sigma variation of +/- 1/2 grains. Due the math and you will find that is a variation of +/- 5.5% with a 9 grain charge weight. What is perfectly fine in a heavier charge for a Shotgun is borderline unsafe in a lighter handgun charge. The ONLY traditional Shotgun powder I will load handgun ammo with is Longshot and that is only because no other powder I have tried is as effective at building distinctly HOT SD loads in the 40 caliber. BTW, it meters with the exact same SD as Unique so when loading with Longshot I hand weigh and adjust every single charge.

So, what do I use for handgun loads. For 9mm/38 caliber range loads I will use either Vihtavouri 3N37 or Accurate #2. BTW the 3N37 is a sort of slow powder so I use this for heavier bullets. For the 125 and lighter bullets I'll use Accurate #2. For Larger calibers I like Accurate #5 and it's a fantastic powder for building hot 45 ACP loads (as in a 185 grain Gold Dot rolling along at 1050 fps).

In your case I would suggest that you pick up a pound of Accurate # 7 and give that a try. If you want to kick the energy up a bit try Accurate #9. Both powders have a 6 Sigma spread of +/- 0.1 grains which is excellent.
 
Thanks scooter. All noted on the sporting clays. I'm already on that wagon, just don't load for shotgun. I've had good results with Unique in .357 brass lately. I have had this 8 pound container for 5 years now because powder would go all over the place with my dillon measures. For reasons I cant explain,, Unique was the only powder that did this. I tried it again last week and didn't have that issue, so I've been messing with it again. I'm not seeing big variations in charge weights, but I agree on the metering. CFE runs like water compared to Unique...as do many other powders. I don't plan on replacing the large container once I'm done with it.
 
I've never tried CFE-P in any of my 45 Colt loads, I kinda have a love-hate relationship with it. I do use it in other calibers though with largely good results.

Unique dispenses fine for me as I use a RCBC ChargeMaster. I like it & I don't have any complaints with it.

With a 250gr L-SWC-HTC, or plated bullets, 9.5gr & 10.0gr/Unique grouped the best for me in my 25-13. Both are (+)P loads, <20K psi.

Power Pistol works great too, either 10.0 or 10.5gr, with the same 250gr bullets above. Both (+)P loads, <23K psi.

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For light loads, I use 6.7 grains of WW231 under a 200 or 230 grain soft lead bullet. I used to get 185 grain LSWC/HP's for ACP from Star Bullets of Indianapolis (they went out of business about 15 years ago) but that bullet over the 6.7 231 load was fantastic. Those bullets would hit a steel plate and open up to the size of a silver dollar, and look like a Daisy (the heal of the bullet would be dead center and sticking out 1/16 to 1/8 inch! Never got another bullet to do that. I have 500 on the shelf and I can't bring myself to use them up!

Ivan
 
rockquarry said:
What is a 6 Sigma?
Click to expand...

Probably not exactly related to this discussion as I don't think anybody has checked their dispenser variations to that degree! (All charges will measure to the desired weight 99.999 (and then some) percent of the time....)

Usually associated with "black belt" and "green belt" training to eliminate manufacturing defects. Corporate jargon and all that, anymore. Derived from statistical analysis methodology.

ETA: BTW, one of the first things my metrology professor passed along was that in order to guarantee a reading to the nearest +/-0.001" you need a measuring tool that measures to the next order of magnitude, i.e., +/-0.0001". Who among us has a scale that is good to the nearest 0.01 grain? I haven't seen one in ages , and it lived inside a glass case to avoid air currents.
 
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According to the reloading data chart from Alliant, 9.5 grains of Unique with a 250/255 grain LRNFP is max so I'd try stepping up to 9.0 and see what happens. They say 9.5 grains is the top load, so proceed cautiously.

I load 8.0 grains of Unique with a 250 or 255 grain LRNFP but I am shooting them out of genuine 4 3/4" Colt SAA's and am not looking to stress them as they are valuable to me. They are very accurate and that was my competition round when I shot SASS matches.

While I have heard of guys loading 10.0 grains in N Frames and Ruger's you're on your own with that as that exceeds what their max is.
 
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The classic load for the .45 Colt is a 250/255gr Lead bullet over 8.0 to 9.0 gr of Unique.
I loaded 8.5 grs with excellent results for many years. Since all I really do is punch paper, the last couple of years I've cut that back to 8.0 grs. Still works like a champ and more pleasant to shoot. :D
Don't try to hot rod the .45 Colt. There's no point to it. All it does is make more noise and recoil. At standard velocities the big chunk of lead it throws is more than enough to deal with anything you might possibly encounter. ;)
 
Thanks for all the replies gentlemen. Helpful as always! Not really looking to push the envelope for 45 Colt in the N frame. I have a redundant
supply of 29's and 629's for high horsepower :)
 
A 45 Colt cartridge loaded to the same pressure of a 45ACP cartridge, which are both in the same frame & cylinders, isn't hot rodding. Any one trying to compare .45 21-23K psi loads to .44 36K psi loads should take a breath.

A modern S&W 45 Colt, in good repair, can handle more than the 14K psi the cartridge is limited to, by SAAMI, because of older guns that can not safely handle more.

The OP found 8.5gr/Unique unimpressive, because it is, & asked for more handloading options. No one is suggesting making a Model 25 into a Model 29.

.
 
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I only use Unique-and I load the same bullet, but I go a little warmer-9 or 9 1/2 seems to cut in the after burner, but I have fired 45 Winchester Magnums out of my 25-5 and 9 1/2 with a 255 grain bullet can register at or close to 1000 feet as a creep up to 10 grains-that case is thicker toward the base, and that helps, but what I have read tells me that I am being very conservative with the 25-5. With the magnum brass-it is a sweet shooter at 1000 feet. A 255grain bullet at 1000 feet would have to be considered a potent round IMV.
 
Groo here
For the tec people.
BP has a pressure limit in the 45colt controled by the volume of powder.
35 gr [modern cases] will get you above 900fps in a 7 1/2 colt.
The pressure is under 14,000 psi.
BP is so much faster than smokeless that the pressure hits and drops quickly. this causes the bullet to "swell " and fit the chamber/barrel.
Smokeless is a progressive burn and builds with time.
This is why smookless is not for BP frames.
The pressure is the same but the time it is applied to the frame is greatly different.
Like with BP the frame does not have "time" to stretch where as with smokeless the pressure is applied longer..
With modern guns 255 hr CAST!!!!! can be driven at 1000fps
And stay under the 14000 limit.https://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/HL 246partial.pdf
 
I've pretty well lost interest in the .45 Colt cartridge, but used Unique for cast loads for about forty years. Toward the end of shooting this cartridge, I tried HS-6 and got slightly better accuracy at about the same velocities as the popular Unique loads. However, HS-6 is a very fine-grained powder, just the opposite of Unique, and it may tend to jam up some powder measures.
 
John Linebaugh's articles on the 45 Colt using a S&W 25-5 shed much light on the subject of caliber , pressure and the gun using his loads that were tested at H.P. White Laboratories . His work and writings are impressive . Regards, Paul
 
I get 835 FPS out of a 4 5/8" Blackhawk with that bullet and 8.0 Gr. of Unique. I'm very happy with it. I should note that it is one of the loads that I don't overthink in terms of accuracy. I just love plinking with it.

I have a 4" Model 25-5 also and it loves this load. Fun stuff!
 
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