Too many .45's

[greenrivers]

There must be others with the same problem. I have too many .45Colt loadings for differant classes of firearms. Loads that have been developed for use in a .454 Casull can not be used in a New Vaquero, etc.. Although I have them labeled clearly, what if I were not here to select the propper load for the right rifle or handgun? What have others done in this situation?

[spinafish]

I usually color the primer with a Sharpie..I use red for the hot loads and  blue for really mild loads..and just leave it natural if middle of the road..

[243dave]

What I do is load my high pressure loads to a OAL that will not fit into the colt clones.  Cylinder length on the cowboy guns will be shorter than blackhawks/redhawks, so the long high pressure cartridges for my trapper and blackhawk is to long to fit and function in the uberti.  I'm not sure of the cylinder length of the new vaquero as I've not had one to measure but I believe that they are short like other colt clones.  This works well for me to make sure one of my boys never loads up a high pressure load meant for my trapper or blackhawk into one of the colt clones.
Dave

[Grumulkin]

I have one 45 Colt load.  I figure if it's good enough for Bob Munden it's good enough for me.

[greenrivers]

Some really good ideas. I do like the OAL idea as it allows me to load for much higher pressures in my SRH as well as the model 92 without worry for the single actions. I believe I will adopt this method as well as the color code for primers. Both are easy and safe effective methods. Wish I had thought of them. I have kids that are busy living there lives and not able to spend the time reloading with me, but enjoy both hunting and shooting. A trend towards one caliber can lead to disaster if not controled effectively. Hopefully these guns will be used and enoyed long after my need for them is over. (I know that engraved, fire blued Colt with the real ivory grips is waiting for me in the next go around. But not soon!) Time to do some research on cylinder length as well as function length in the rifle.

[Lloyd Smale]

only 454 brass goes  in my 454. I load my 45 colt ammo at many differnt levels. I usually load enough to at least fill a coffee can. I put them in coffee cans labled for what gun that load works best in and only take one of any caliber to the range at one time. No way to make a mistake doing it like that.

[243dave]

Another thing to keep in mind about using OAL is the bullet you use because of where the crimp groove is located.  For my high pressure loads I use the 300gr XTP MAG, not the regular XTP.  The regular 300gr XTP has two crimp groves and can be loaded in the short cylinder pistols if the top crimp groove is used, if the bottom crimp grove is used it'll be too long for most 45 colt pistols such as the colt saa and clones and some rifles too.  The 300gr xtp mag is a long bullet and its single crimp groove makes for a long OAL and is too long for the colt saa also.  This bullet has an extremely thick jacket and is designed for 454 velocities and is my favorite in my winchester trapper where velocities reach to around 1600fps, a velocity where the regular 300gr xtp over-expands and don't always exit on deer if a shoulder is hit or a quartering shot is taken.  Using OAL is a sure way to avoid accidents but it takes a bit of measuring of cylinders, measuring cartridge OAL, and searching for the proper bullet with the proper crimp groove to allow loading the cartridge to have a long length, so it may not work for you depending on the bullet you use.  For me it works out nicely because I love the 300gr XTP MAG for my high pressure loadings and reserve the regular xtps and cast bullets for standard pressure loads.
Dave       

[greenrivers]

As it is cool here today, spliting wood was the order of the day so I did not get the chance to do any cylinder measurements. But they are calling for rain and that means back to the reloading bench. As you mentioned Loyd, properly labeling is a must, but if for some reason we are not there to guiide the choice, I want to insure no one grabs the wrong combo. Most non reloaders would think that .45 Colt loads would fit a same marked revolver or rifle. Even though ninety percent of my bullets are cast, changing OAL seems like an extra measure of safety ad should be easy to do.  If the cylinder won't turn, they can't get hurt. You have a good point about the .454 and using only that brass, that would leave just the model 92.

[huntswithdogs]

When I got my 45, I went thru my reloading books to see what kind of stuff I could load. Because it's a Blackhawk, I have some stuff that's hot, some not. The HOT stuff goes in a RED box, marked accordingly. I also have  green and blue boxes. These get marked(labeled) IE "target" also. Some of the guys I know who have more than one kind of 45 Label the boxes as to which gun they belong. If someone can't read the labels, they don't have any business messing with a handgun(at least in my house).

HWD