.45 Colt Loads--Please argue with me!

[greenrivers]

Well, I just finished another 150 rounds of 265 grain Kieth style bullets sitting on top of 6.5 grains of Unique. They will be shot in New Vaqueros and though I know that they are light loads, they shoot accurately, give great penetration, and are very easy to manage. What more do I need? I don't have a chrony so I have only a guesstimate of velocity, but does it matter? They are my cast air cooled wheel wts. and are not going to expand much anyway. The almost full diameter meplat is what is working for me. As the price of components is a factor now, I would love to hear what others are using and have proven for themselves.

[mdi]

I don' see nuttin wrong with that! I'm not a 45 fan, but a .44 nut and I have my favorite shootin' load of a 250 gr. Kieth over a mid range load of Unique. Emphasis on shooting. After 40 or 50 heavy rounds of magnum ammo, I'm just about done...

[shot1]

My standard Colt 45 load is with a Keith style 255ish gr SWC and 9 grs Unique. That is a max load for 1873 style Colts but is a pussy cat in a Ruger. Now for cast bullets in RUGER loads I like the same bullet cast pretty hard with 20.5 grs WW 296 or H-110. Very accurate and POWERFUL.  With your load you should be in the ball park of 650 to 700 fps out of a 7 1/2" barrel. About like a full house 45 Auto Rim load would be.

[Luckyducker]

The load I have been shooting in my Bisley Vaquero 45LC is a Leadhead brand 270 grain Keith style SWC over 9 grains of Universal Clays.  I used to shoot some Unique but it was just too dirty and although Universal won't stand up to the white glove test it sure is a lot cleaner than Unique and behaves very much the same.  I think I might try to kill a deer with this load next fall, that is if I get a close enough shot because iron sights and old eyes don't do so well at longer ranges anymore.

[greenrivers]

I am lucky enough to own a 44mag, 45's, a .454Casull as well as a Colt single action in .22. So I can match the handgun to the game. The Vaquero and Montado were bought to be all around constant companion woods and field guns. Plinking,  dispatching or as needed emergency shooters. It takes almost daily practice to maintain accuracy with heavy loads but even beginners do well with a .22! Somewhere in the middle seems right. Not tiring, fun shooting that seems to make the stores of ammo disappear. Glad to hear that there are others out there fighting that "bump it up and test it" syndrome and have instead gone to testing other products like the Clays. How and why have you adopted the loads mentioned?

[Land_Owner]

Clays, 700X, and Unique here, 225 gr., 255 gr., and 330 gr. HP (soon), BHN ~12, cast SWC's in both 7.5" barreled Ruger Blackhawk and buffalo Classic Handi-rifle.  So far, loads that function well in the Blackhawk do not obdurate well to the chamber wall in the Handi.  The powder charge is not reaching its performance pressure in the Handi-.  I am searching for an interchangeable "in between load" that functions well in both guns without wrist-wrenching performance from the Ruger, which to the hottest published loads is a "tame cat" to shoot all day thanks to that manageable "plow handle" of a pistol grip designed by Sturm, Ruger & Company.

[shot1]

Land_Owner, If you want to really control the wrist wrenching of your BH get you a Hogue grip. It turned my BH from a beast to a pussy cat with heavy loads. With the stock type grips the BH would flip back and roll in your had and hurt the web of my hand and it HURT. Put on the Hogue grip and no more roll back into the web of the hand. The pistol just raises up in recoil ready to be brought right back down with a cock of the hammer with the thumb on my non-shooting hand to the intended target. You do not have to shift your grip on your shooting hand at all when using a proper two hand hold.

[greenrivers]

Shot1, I have a .45 Colt load that I use in my .454 Super Redhawk that is a 300 gr. bullet over H110. On a big hog it entered at top of nose and exited behind the ribs. More than enough for any game and very accurate.
+1 Luckyducker, there's a scope on this one and my Hornet.

[greenrivers]

Land Owner, have you slugged your bores and Handy throat? I recently lapped one of my sizing dies out after slugging a bore and improved accuracy a great deal. You may be able to match the throat on the Handy and still use the same bullet in your Blackhawk.

[Land_Owner]

Not yet.  I just received, today, my RCBS Lube-O-Matic.  It is almost out of the box (if I wasn't here writing text I could finish) along with some sizing dies and punches.  My intent is to now slug the chambers and barrels of 45 ACP, Colt, .357, and .380 auto.  Probably should have slugged them before purchase of sizing dies.  Cart before Horse in that.  I had been shooting varieties of OP lead castings, that is Other People's.  so far, a few have registered as "keepers" in the die size I purchased.  Research continues.

[CherokeeT]

greenrivers - sounds like you have a fine load.  If you are happy, stay with it.  My mid load is 268 Keith (my cast) and 7.0 gr of 231.  I have a lighter load for SASS use using 230 RNFP and WST powder, about light 45 ACP level.