Author Topic: Good 45 Colt Target Loads... (Read 1081 times)

Patriot_1776 · « **on:** October 10, 2004, 05:21:54 PM »

Can anybody provide me with some info on good target shooting loads for the 45 Colt? I will be using a Ruger SRH 454 with a 7 1/2" bbl. I wanted to also inquire as to what would most likely be better for accuracy, a lead SWC, if so which one? Or on the otherside of the table, maybe say a 230gr. FMJ or some other jacketed bullet? My range for target shooting would be either 25 or 50yds, so I also wanted to know whether a lead or jacketed bullet would be more promising. Thanks in advance.

Patriot

P.S. I noticed one thing when I tried Speer's 250gr. LSWC; when I seated the bullets, I couldn't prevent the nose from being compressed slightly. Is there any way to prevent that from happening, or is that just the way it goes with lead?

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #1 on:** October 10, 2004, 10:38:03 PM »

some good loads are 8- 9 grains of unique or herco or universal clays.
there is no one swc that is more accurate then another every gun is differnt to what it likes. to avoid the nose crushing crimp with a factory crimp die in a seperate operation. Especially with something like the speer bullet that is real soft. Hard cast bullets usually wont give you that problem

Haywire Haywood · « **Reply #2 on:** October 10, 2004, 10:55:46 PM »

I've been using 7.2gr of W231 with a 200gr SWC for plinking rounds. When this is used up I'll be switching to a surplus powder that is the equivalent to AA#2 imp.

Ian

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #3 on:** October 10, 2004, 11:25:42 PM »

What Lloyd said with a little amplification. The Speers ain't cast. they are swaged and near pure lead. Home cast of wheelweight ot harder don't give near the trouble. You can mess up the nose quite a bit without hurting accuracy because the base is the steering end of the bullet. Most die makers make several nose punches. You can call and ask if a wide SWC nose punch is available for your dies.

As far as accuracy is concerned, the limit is more likely to be you than the bullet. Even the best of pistol shots use machine rests to test for accuracy. Cast bullets are a lot cheaper and allow a lot more practice. Even top flight match shooters only break out the match ammo for matches.

unspellable · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:31:04 AM »

I'd use 454 brass. Never liked short brass in long chambers. The 454 brass is not enough longer to detract from accuracy with light loads.

Here's the problem I ran into when loading cast bullets. The SAAMI specs for the 454 call for a very tight chamber as opposed to the rather loose chamber SAAMI calls out for the 45 Colt. I loaded cast bullets meant for the 45 Colt and then found they would not chamber due to the cast bullets being a tad larger than jacketed ones. The best fix would be to get cast bullets sized to the right diameter for the 454. The second best fix is to run the loaded rounds up the sizing die and squeeze them down to fit.

KN · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2004, 02:10:09 PM »

I've been loading winchester 230gr hardball rounds for mine using 10.5grs of win-231. And a Sierra 185gr JHP with 11.5grs of win-231. Both are great plinking loads that are not "volume sensitive" like most of the other powders seem to be. Accuracy is really good from my birds head vaquero. Velocity is around 1100fps. KN

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:03:25 PM »

Haywire Wrote:

Quote

I've been using 7.2gr of W231 with a 200gr SWC for plinking rounds.

KN Wrote:

Quote

I've been loading winchester 230gr hardball rounds for mine using 10.5grs of win-231. And a Sierra 185gr JHP with 11.5grs of win-231.

Thanks for the insight guys... But I would also like to know what your shooting distance is and the groups you achieve. Remember, I would like to get back into reloading my Colts for accuracy, as I stopped altogether for awhile. So I am interested in knowing alittle more about the results with your loads. Thanks.

Patriot

Mikey · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2004, 03:29:36 AM »

Patriot: 8 grns of Unique under a 250 gn SWC (keith style bullet) is a book accuracy load at about 830'/sec. I would use the same charge with a 255 gn swc. Most of your 45 caliber cartridges, the acp, auto rim and colt have the same barrel twist, 1:16, and from my older Lyman manual seem to get good accuracy from cast bullets at around 830-850'/sec.

You may not get that kind of accuracy from a fmj 45 auto slug as an accuarcy load for that bullet is 3.5 gns of Bullseye for only 622'/sec. I fully believe you can attain better accuracy from a cast bullet than from a jacketed one, or at least as good if not better accuracy.

For your seating problem with those 250 gn speers - you may need to bell the case mouth a bit more to get the bullet to seat more easily but yes, they are made of swaged lead and are softer nosed than a cast bullet is so you need to be careful with that. HTH. Mikey.

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2004, 08:09:17 PM »

Mikey Wrote:

Quote

8 grns of Unique under a 250 gn SWC (keith style bullet) is a book accuracy load at about 830'/sec. I would use the same charge with a 255 gn swc.

Sounds good, with one exception... Are these cast lead bullets, or are they just typical swaged lead SWCs? I gather you are talking about cast bullets because of the "Keith Style" description...Sadly, I don't cast my own bullets. I haven't time nor the desire to; I don't like the idea of dealing with lead that much. Also, I don't really have the resources to delve into the practice. It seems like another hobby, which I am not capable of at this time. At least though, I like the way the load sounds...Actually, I think there is a company that offers cast bullets. Anybody got a web address for one? Maybe my hopes aren't dashed for good on the issue of using cast bullets. I've heard they are really accurate, due to the consistency that can be achieved. Anyway, if there is any more info please let me know as I want to invest my money wisely. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Patriot

Mikey · « **Reply #9 on:** October 13, 2004, 04:09:07 AM »

Patriot: check out both Veral Smith, who offers cast bullets and Beartooth Bullets who also offers them. Both Veral and Beartooth offer very high quality cast, gas-checked bullets of excellent design. They are consistent in their sizes, accurate and very hard hitting. You will not be sorry you used them. HTH. Mikey.

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 13, 2004, 11:07:17 AM »

Just checked out the Beartooths...I think the bullets they have are pretty good, and I would like to buy a couple of boxes just for starters. One for the 45 Colt, and another for the 454. For the 45 Colt, you said the Keith bullet is a very accurate bullet for it. I think the 255gr. would be a good start. What I need now is a sort of min. & max. load for it, just to see what charge my gun likes most. Also, for the 454 I decided on the 355gr. bullets. I really don't know if there are any websites that offer cast bullet reloading info or not. I will check out the Cast Bullets Forum and see what they have. My chances of finding something like that may not be all too swift, so please post any site here as well. My other blindspot on cast bullets is, does leading occur with these even though they are much harder than plain swaged lead? Thanks for all your help guys on this issue. I'll most likely get started and purchase once I have more loading info about different powders, charges, etc, on hand. Once I do that and start getting to shooting them, I'll update this thread on my experiences with them.

Patriot

WD45 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 14, 2004, 04:40:40 AM »

I like 8 gr of Uniqe also under a 250 gr SWC. It shoots well in the Ruger and my rifle. On a suprising note one of the most accurate loads I found is 5.7 grains of 700X under the 250 GR SWC. I had some left over 700X from loading shotgun shells and figured I might as well burn it up. Glad I did :grin:

Patriot_1776 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 21, 2004, 12:23:47 PM »

Heres an update:

Box of "Oregon Trail Laser Cast" bullets arrived today. I ordered the 250gr RN FP BB, and loaded up 50rds. I started with Starline brass, and CCI (reg. large pistol) primers. Powder used was 8.4grs of Unique. I'm hoping to try them out this Saturday, at 25, and 50 yds. If all goes well, I'll post it here.

Patriot