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Author Topic: Light .45 Colt loads.  (Read 2218 times)

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Offline Holiday

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« on: March 20, 2004, 03:35:05 PM »
Howdy, all! :D  What is a good powder to use in the .45 Colt for light loads. I'm using a 200 grain bullet. I have used  6 grains of Unique, but I can't help but wonder if another powder would do better. Six grains gets lost in that big ol' case!  :eek:  By the way, this load is for my daughter. So all you fellow Soot Lords, I ain't gone over ta the other side!
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Holiday Hayes
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"Just a simple Cowboy, tryin' ta git along"

Offline California Lawdawg

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2004, 07:20:06 PM »
Howdy pard,

I've been using 5.5 grains of Winchester 231 powder behind a 250 gr bullet, which has a velocity out of a 5 1/2 inch barrel of 750 feet per second. It is a light load that she might like.


Lawdawg :D
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Offline ButlerFord45

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2004, 02:14:51 AM »
HOLIDAY!!???  Of all the people in the world I might have expected to say this to, you would have been the last I would have imagined!!!!

20 grains of FF, finish with corn meal or grits and seat the bullet!!!!

Start that child right!!  Let her grin twice!!


Your Suprised Pard,
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Offline Capt Hamp Cox

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2004, 06:04:25 AM »
Holiday,

Don't load for .45 Colt, but do load .38 Spc/.357 Mag, .38-40, .44 Spc, and .44 Mag for Cowboy, and have had really good results with Hodgdon's TITEGROUP for light loads all the way up to Cowboy max levels in all of them.  This powder appears to not be position sensitive at all, unlike some other powders with light loads.  If you check out the  data at:

http://www.hodgdon.com/data/cowboy/spc45lc.php

you'll note that TITEGROUP has the lowest pressure of all of Hodgdons powders listed.  As a bonus, it flows very smoothly through powder measures.  And, before you ask, I really don't work for or own stock in Hodgdon.

Hamp
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Offline Holiday

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2004, 07:45:55 AM »
Thanks for the info. I'm trying to get a set of .357/.38s for her, but it may be a while. Still, she likes my Rugers, and with a set of thinner "Gunfighter" grips I think she can handle them. Butler, don't fret. I'll have her shooting the Holy Black yet. I just figured she needs to SEE the target starting out! :-D
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Holiday Hayes
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Offline Capt Hamp Cox

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2004, 09:47:09 AM »
My wife, Texana Trueheart, shoots Ladies' Traditional class with, a pair of Vaqueros and an 1894 Marlin in .357, and a 20 ga Fox Model "B" and does well, considering she hasn't been shooting (other than plinking) for very long.  Really great when the lady folks take an interest.
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Offline Holiday

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2004, 11:09:27 AM »
Well, Miss Molly Morgan likes my Rossi 92 in 44-40, so I reckon she will be using that . I loaded up some ammo with 200 grain bullets and 6grains of Unique that she felt she could handle. The Hogdon site has a load for .44-40 with Tight group, so I may try that in this caliber. I have a birdshead gripped New Dakota in .44-40 as well. She can shoot this gun too, but I am somewhat worried that the light weight will prove a problem. I can get a light load, but it will still recoil a might. I don't want to scare her. She is really into CAS right now, so I don't want to spoil it.
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Holiday Hayes
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Offline LoLo, SASS #25643

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2004, 04:10:43 PM »
Hey Holiday, Jed uses 5 grains of Clays behind his 200 grain bullet. It shoots pretty good. Bushwacker told me about this load but it was 4.5 grains. I just upped it a half a grain to feel better about it. :wink:
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Offline Piney Woods

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2004, 04:27:06 PM »
Developed a mild load for my ex - 5.6 gr of Green Dot behind a 200 gr RNFP. She thought it was great. I still use it myself in the pistols. Gives me 685 fps out of a 5 1/2" Vaquero. Too mild for rifle use, tho'. For that I up the charge to 6.6 gr behind a 250 gr bullet for 980 fps.
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Offline Birddog 1

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LC 45
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2004, 08:31:15 PM »
I have a Ruger with the extra cylinder in 45 acp is it legale to use in this sport ? TIA
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Offline Holiday

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2004, 01:26:07 PM »
It sure is. Blackhawks with the adjustable sights shoot in the modern catagory. As to the .45 ACP cylider, there is nothing wrong with using it as long as you use lead bullets.
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Holiday Hayes
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"Just a simple Cowboy, tryin' ta git along"

Offline Dooly

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2004, 04:20:21 PM »
I hav eused Unique for the past 40 years-never had a reason to change though I'm sure that other Powders will do the job.
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Offline Camille Eonich

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2004, 05:32:03 AM »
I shoot Ruger birdsheads in .45 and started out with a 200 gr bullet (don't remember the charge).  Now I'm using 160 with 4.2 gr. of Red Dot.


This is a good light load.
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Offline 44 Man

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2004, 10:39:55 AM »
Holiday, if you are that worried about the recoil, just buy her a pair of Ruger single six .32's!  She will love them (and you!).  Just think, you won't have to ask her if you can buy a new gun, or sneak it into the house!  Good shooting.  44 Man
PS. I tried Titegroup, think you will like it.
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Offline Camp Cook

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #14 on: June 18, 2004, 12:30:04 PM »
I use 6.8 grs Universal Clays with a 200gr cast flat nose in my Ruger Bisley Vaquero's in 45 colt for my cowboy loads. I do get a little bit of unburned powder left in the cylinder now and then but have had no problems with this load. Very accurate as well. I took this load out of Hodgdon's cowboy reload manual.
My SASS alias is Slick Holiday.
Cam
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Offline JBMauser

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Light loads
« Reply #15 on: August 15, 2004, 11:26:32 AM »
I just got back from the range and I am going to pull all of my 45LC Clays loads.  I loaded 4.6 gr Clays under a 245 lead RN.  I shot a few a couple of weeks ago and it split a few cases.  I put them  aside and called Hogdon to question the loads.  They said they were fine.  I went out today with Chrony in hand.  Less than 400 fps!! and more split cases.  this load is way to light.   I tried tipping the gun up to settle powder - I do have to work on my crimp and that would raise pressure but not that much.  JB
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Offline HWooldridge

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #16 on: August 15, 2004, 03:17:24 PM »
I shoot 6.5 gr of WW231 and a 200 gr SWC with standard primers.  Don't have a chrony but it is very accurate.
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Offline Creede Kid

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2004, 02:33:28 PM »
I shoot Ruger RVs with a 200gr LRNFP and 4 gr of Titegroup with a heavy crimp.  This load chronos at 630 fps from a 5.5 RV, a dream to shoot.
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Offline Yukon Gold

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Tite Group Won Out
« Reply #18 on: September 24, 2004, 10:26:00 AM »
Just bought 2 consecutively numbered USFA-SAA's from Doug Turnbull Restoration.  So first thing I had to do was try a few different loads to see which shot best:

Loaded:

Unique
Red Dot
Clays
Tite Group

Unique and Tite Group shot the best groups for me,
Tite Group won out because it shot cleaner!

4.2 gr Tite Group
200 gr. RNFP

Shot like a dream!
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Offline Duck of Death

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #19 on: October 16, 2004, 07:29:23 AM »
4gr of TG a 200gr bullet and a case full of grits.  Low recoil, low SD and not position sensitive.

For those of you that don't think TG is position sensitive with light loads try this: barrel down and shoot, barrel up and shoot.
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Offline 107ch

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Light .45 Colt loads.
« Reply #20 on: October 30, 2004, 03:13:21 AM »
I use 4.5 gr. of red dot with a 160 gr. bullet. the lighter bullet kicks less than the 200 gr. because of the small amount of powder I use a magnum primer and a pretty heavy crimp, that way it doesn't matter where the powder is in the case when you shoot. The heavy crimp makes sure the powder is sending the bullet and not the primer. The wife likes these just fine. I don't think it kicks much more than a .22 mag.!
Dennis
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