hot load for 45colt (ruger)

[michael thornton]

looking for a good hot load for my 45lc blackhawk, i have 240 gr jhp, should i use new brass? just wanted to load a few for hunting, i have always loaded my 45 lc at about 900 fps just want to see how she does with a ruger only load. thanks mike

 

[Steve C]

looking for a good hot load for my 45lc blackhawk, i have 240 gr jhp, should i use new brass? just wanted to load a few for hunting, i have always loaded my 45 lc at about 900 fps just want to see how she does with a ruger only load. thanks mike

Get a loading manual and use the Ruger only data. Asking on the web without checking against published data isn't ever a good idea.

I was in a gun store a couple weekends ago when a customer brought in a Ruger .45 BH with 1/2 of cylinder removed and a bowed top strap. Claimed his son and a "friend" borrowed it to take shooting and it KB'd on them. Didn't know what they where shooting or what happened but any fool could see it was an overcharged round. There are careless accidents in hand loading and then there are the people who alsways want to one-up the manuals.

 

[mkk41]

Yep , most manuals have two sets of data. One for Colt SAAs and replica and S&W 25s and one for Rugers , Freedom Arms and other modern revolvers and Contenders. I like the LoadbooksUSA single caliber manuals. It has data from all powder and bullet makers. The info is a bit dated as it does not have a few of the newer powders.

 

[michael thornton]

i was hoping for some loads that others have used with good results, no i wouldnt just up and use a load from someone off the net, i guess what i should have asked was best powder, i use 2400 but h110 or 296 might be better, thanks guys mike

 

[Dennis The B]

Try these sites on line. They have several loads suitable:

Alliant Powder - Home

ACCURATERELOADING.COM

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Get a copy of Handloader magazine #217. It has the best article written on the subject in it.
I have owned both Blackhawks, and a Redhawk in .45 Colt. They will take some very stout loads (especially the Redhawk).

Hodgdon reloading manual #26 has some good recipes in it, as well as several of my Hornady, and Speer manuals. The Sierra manual that I have, has several loads listed for the Blackhawk with their 240 JHP.

Guns magazine from July 2001 has an excellent article by John Taffin on handloading the .45 Colt for several differnt platforms, including the Blackhawk.

All of these articles list 2400 with several different bullet weights and styles.

 

[steveno]

quite a few years ago I bought a 4 5/8 blackhawk (aluminum grip frame) in 45 Colt and I tried some of the blackhawk only loads. to say that there was a LOT of recoil is an understatement. later on I bought a sst version of the same gun and the recoil wasn't a heck of a lot better. after that I decided that if a 250 grain bullet at 850 fps couldn't solve the problem , then I needed to get a more powerful gun like a 41 mag. I now have a 25-5 and I will stick with the same thinking.

 

[Marshal Too Sweet]

45 Colt +P Load Data - Handloads.Com


This is a good source.

 

[shovelwrench]

Dennis B's loads are'nt what your looking for, they're on the blackpowder/ standard SAA loadings.

Marshal Too Sweet's loads might very well be viable, but unless you can verify them in a loadbook, or are experienced enough to know.(by referencing load books)

Look for loads listed for rifles or contenders, these loads are safe for the blackhawks. Just remember, work up to max.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

The loads listed in the various sources I listed above are all pressure tested loads, with their pressures listed.

 

[Paul5388]

Marshal Too Sweet's loads might very well be viable, but unless you can verify them in a loadbook, or are experienced enough to know.(by referencing load books)

All of the loads we posted have been checked to be published somewhere. That was the main reason we quit taking anymore load data, it was too time consuming!

Many of the loads linked to by Marshall Too Sweet had the source posted with the load, so one could just use those, if there was any doubt.

I recently shot 12.5 gr of SR 4756 with a 270 gr LSWC in my .45 Colt H&R Carbine. It's a Lyman 45th Edition standard pressure load for 255 gr LSWCs, but I used a heavier bullet in a stronger gun.

 

[lafayne]

There is plenty of info available for stout loads in the Ruger SA .45.
I recommend the Bisley for the heavier loads due to the steel construction which adds much appreciated weight and a larger grip to distribute recoil.

A stiff load of IMR 4227 and a 265-270 bullet hits hard on both ends.

 

[lafayne]

There is plenty of info available for stout loads in the Ruger SA .45.
I recommend the Bisley for the heavier loads due to the steel construction which adds much appreciated weight and a larger grip to distribute recoil.

A stiff load of IMR 4227 and a 265-270 bullet hits hard on both ends.

 

[redlevel]

I believe the first "Ruger and Contender Only" load data was in the Speer #9 book in the early 70s. Mine is at home now, but I believe the recommended load was 10 gr Unique behind a 250 or 255 grain swc for 1000 fps from a 7.5 inch barrel. I recall there is a picture of a shorter barreled Blackhawk, maybe 5.5 inches, with the caption, "velocities in the shorter barreled guns were within 50 fps of the 7.5 inch guns."

I adopted that load as my very own, and 35 years later, it is still just as good as gold. Now, I actually load down by about a grain, using a Lee dipper that is supposed to throw 9.2 grains of Unique, but actually throws about 8.8 or 8.9 grains. That is a very pleasant load, and it will hole a 165 lb Georgia whitetail just about every time, nine times out of ten dropping him in his tracks, from both the Ruger or a Model 94 Trapper Winchester.

Here is a direct quote from John Linebaugh:
John Linebaugh's Gunnotes
My wife and I have shot around 4 Mule Deer and a dozen Antelope with .45 Colts. The loads ranged from 260 Keiths at 900 fps to 250 gr. JHP at 1500 fps. While the JHP always knocks a 1" hole through game they don't drop any quicker than the .45 caliber hole made by the cast slug at 900 fps. In these cases of ours, shots were made from 90 to 130 yards.

Here is my unaltered Old Model Blackhawk from 1973, I think.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Redlevel- That is a nice old Blackhawk.

 

[shovelwrench]

All of the loads we posted have been checked to be published somewhere. That was the main reason we quit taking anymore load data, it was too time consuming!

Many of the loads linked to by Marshall Too Sweet had the source posted with the load, so one could just use those, if there was any doubt.

So Handloads checks all their posted loads? I don't see it saying that anywhere, just a disclaimer. So if a user posted load is from a manufacturer, why is'nt it referenced as such.

I understand that a lot of them are powder mfr. loads, and show as such.

I do use Handloads quite often.

 

[Paul5388]

The concept of "published" covers a lot of ground and sometimes we had to dig pretty hard to verify a load.

When the poster didn't specify where the load came from, we had to check our manuals and see if anyone had that particular load listed. Sometimes there was only a substitution of a magnum primer that was different from what was published. Then we had to determine if it was compensated for in the load presented to us.

Wildcat loads were especially difficult to track down.

Sometimes the Admin would make notes in addition to what was presented for us to include in the load data. Here's an example under .38 Special +P.

158gr LSWC 13.5 gr 2400 1,301 fps CCI SP guest
This is one of Elmer Keith’s tradional loads. The Oregon Trails Laser Cast bullet was seated in the upper crimping groove with a taper crimp.

Admin note: This is a very hot load that should only be used in 357 Magnum revolvers

Email author: Paul5388
See all of Paul5388's loads

I didn't make that Admin note and it should have included N frames, i.e. .38/44, and that large frame Colt like the M1917.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

There are many "Ruger only" loads based on
WW296, H110, AA#9 and several other slow powders published in nearly every good loading manual. The earlier referenced articles on 45 Colt loads by Brian Pearce in Handloader are also recommended.

If you are considering heavier bullets than 240gr, also look for load data using Hodgdons Lil'Gun. It isn't the best 45 Colt performer for standard bullet weights and short barrels, but excels above all others with heavy for caliber bullets, delivering top maximum velocities at the lowest pressures and great accuracy as well.

 

[fredj338]

I think every reloading manaual has a Ruger/TC only section for the 45colt. I run 250gr-300gr lead bullets in mine o/ healthy charges of 2400 or H110. I prefer 2400 because I can go up or down, the H110 is pretty much max effort. The lates SPeer #14 shows a max 21gr of H110 or 20gr 2400 under a 250grGDHP.