Author Topic: 45 colt powder ? (Read 1043 times)

lostarrow · « **on:** February 24, 2012, 11:11:11 AM »

I'm a hunter , not a shooter.
I've used a BC 45 colt for 3 years.
I don't reload, but a retired friend loaded me about 25 rounds from components he had on hand.
His load: hornady 240 gr. XTP mag, 12.5 gr unique.
It's accurate @ 50 yards & devastating on deer at close range, (20,30,35,60 yards)
I'm down to 5 rounds, he says it works, why change.
If I change probably would change powder, before I buy any advice?

tacklebury · « **Reply #1 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:16:18 AM »

Well Unique is what I mainly load for my Blackhawk loads. If I need really high power outta the pistola I use H-110, but for my .45 Colt Classic Carbine, it's Reloader7 all the way. There was some recent discussion and links to data in a recent post, so I'll just redirect you there. Been a lot of discussions on this caliber.

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,252108.0.html

kynardsj · « **Reply #2 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:26:59 AM »

My 20 inch 45 LC Encore loves the 250 gr XTP's over 25.0 gr of Lilgun. About 1700 FPS from this rifle and very accurate. With that much Unique behind the XTP you're running over 30,000 cup. Mine is a max load of Lilgun and is running 29,900.

Ranch13 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:39:20 AM »

I'm not a big fan of unique for loading that heavy.I do load it for standard pressure loads tho.
Bludot or 2400 seem to be alot better for the high velocity stuff, have had some reasonabl success with lilgun.

cwlongshot · « **Reply #4 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:46:36 AM »

My long time 45 Colt rifle load has been a Speer (Or Sierra or Hornady) 300G SP and a max charge of WW296 powder over a CCI 350 primer. Its acounted for dozens of deer. I used the same load in my Contender pistol and chrono'd it at 1300 fps. Its closer to 1800 from the 20" marlins and lil BC.
One my pop shot was complete end to end penatration. Bullet entered next to the anus and exited the brisket a full three feet of penetration... She tipped over onto her nose and rolled over.

Beware of the 250 HP's at top velocities, remember the 45Colt is a lo pressure and lo velocity round. Most all bullets of hollow point are designed to work at or around 1000 fps. Not the nearly 2000 atainable with some loadings. Stick with the XTP MAG offerings or the 300 SP bullets for deer sized game.

CW

kynardsj · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2012, 12:03:18 PM »

CW is right about the 250 XTP's acting foolish when you hotrod them. I took two deer with mine last season. This is from a large doe at about 45-50 yards. The core kept on going but this was just under the skin on the exit side. The second was a buck at 91 yards. Full pass thru on him. I shoot them because they're accurate in my rifle and I have a lot of them. May change to something else later, in fact I have some 240 XTP Mags loaded to test when the weather breaks. I would shoot the 300's but just like the little bit more range I get with a lighter bullet.

Swampman · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2012, 12:22:12 PM »

Unique is the best.....Cartridges like this work best with cast lead bullets.

kynardsj · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2012, 12:38:22 PM »

I really wanted to shoot cast in mine but four different weights of cast over different powders that shoot great in my Rugers grouped terribly in my rifle. The 250 XTP's will touch at 100 yards if I do my job. I went with what I had that worked the best.

LONGTOM · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2012, 12:45:51 PM »

Try Hodgson HS6.
It has been a very accurate load in every Ruger Blackhawk we tried it in along with 3 Win model 94s and a Rossi.
One of the 94s was a 16" trapper and it even managed to keep 3 inside 1.5".
The load I used is 12.5gr behind a 255 gr bullet.
Never checked velocity out of the rifles but it clocked 1045 fps out of my 5.5" Custom Blackhawk.

LONGTOM

kynardsj · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:00:06 PM »

I agree with Swampman about the Unique and cast bullets for the 45. I know there are other powders and other loads out there that people love but all my Rugers shoot very well with Unique. My play loads are 250 gr RNFP over 9.0 gr Unique, supposedly a factory duplication load. All the rest, 255 gr Keith style SWC's, 265 gr CPWFNGC's, some 282 gr SWC's I got from a member here and some 320 gr GC's I got from a local guy sit over 10.0 gr of Unique. Don't know the fps but they're all accurate from three different Rugers. I've been reloading for 36 years now and Unique has always been a part of my stash. I do experiment with magnum powders from time to time and used to hotrod stuff with H110. Lilgun is doing very well for me right now.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:12:51 PM »

Hodgdon lil'gun data +1gr for 250gr XTPs used with the 250gr Gold Dots or SST/FTX will get you 1900+ fps, loading them a bit long @ 1.9XX" helps.

Tim

kynardsj · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:24:29 PM »

Tim, have you took any critters with the SST's ? I wondered about trying them or the flex tips but wanted controlled expansion and didn't know how they would do. Reminds me of a ballistic tip.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #12 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:33:51 PM »

250gr SSTs and FTXs are the same bullet, the FTX is loaded in the 450 Bushmaster, Hornady lists it for 900-2300fps MV depending on which section of their manual you look at, rifle or pistol.

Tim

kynardsj · « **Reply #13 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:35:50 PM »

Reckon I'll have to own a box. I've read that a standard bullet seater for 45's will not work well with these. Any recommendations ?

quickdtoo · « **Reply #14 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:46:20 PM »

You need a seater plug with a hole in it to center on the ogive of the pointed bullet, Hornady seater dies work best for me, but you can get custom seater plugs from the mfr at varying cost depending on die mfr, or make you own with epoxy or drill the center out if it already has a center point to enlarge.

Tim

nicholst55 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 24, 2012, 05:49:50 PM »

Quote from: Ranch13 on February 24, 2012, 11:39:20 AM

I'm not a big fan of unique for loading that heavy.I do load it for standard pressure loads tho.
Bludot or 2400 seem to be alot better for the high velocity stuff, have had some reasonabl success with lilgun.

I haven't checked any loading manuals yet, but I am inclined to agree. The load cited with 12.5 grains of Unique sounds quite hot, and would probably be better/safer using a slower powder.

Ranch13 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2012, 06:34:24 PM »

Actually the 12.5 grs of bludot is shown on Alliants webdata as below maximum for the standard pressure 45 colt.
I've shot 12 grs of bludot with 250-260 gr cast swc bullets to know it's a good bit faster than the old standby of 9 grs of unique I've used for the better part of the last 40 years, and it's everybit as accurate .
The 12.5 grs of unique listed in OP is almost max for Ruger t/c load, it does not produce the same velocity as going with slower powder such as 2400,H110, or lil gun.
Another powder that some favor ( I never could get the accuracy from it) is Imr 4227.

Swampman · « **Reply #17 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:12:00 AM »

With lead bullets you can use more powder and get higher velocity safely.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #18 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:31:04 AM »

I tend to agree. The Handi-rifle will tolerate larger charges than the Ruger. For how long? I am not one to find out.

I am also not one to load stronger for the Handi- and potentially forget, then stick one in the Blackhawk. If that potential exists in my reloading regime, I reload to the lower, slower, manufacturer's recommended route.

cwlongshot · « **Reply #19 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:29:34 AM »

For a long time Unique was the only powder recommended for the 45 Colt! Then the New Frontier came out and was considered a bit stronger and people started experimenting. 4227 was found to be able to produse higher velocities and still be safe in these guns.

Today with the modern powders we can surpass anything done with those powders. But grey are still good choices for some. IMHO namely lead bullet shooters.

I like a heavy for caliber slug. I like the 300+ weights. I have a 325g mold with a wide flat nose that's awesome. But I tend to prefer jacketed. That 300 Speer is a nice compromise as its technically a plated bullet not jacketed. It's expansion is excellent from 1200-almost 2000. I haven't shot anything with them in the cassull to know if they will hold together at higher velocities. But I will gaurentys them to what you can get with your 45 rifle! I would think, 1600fps or so would be a pleasant to shoot effective velocity.

Good luckCW

Ranch13 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 25, 2012, 03:06:26 AM »

One thing to keep in mind when looking at load data , when you look at the velocity from combination x from a handgun, you can pretty much figure on velocity from the rifle being anywhere from 150-300 fps faster out of the rifle.
I found that with unique the fps gain was 150 fps , with bludot and 2400 types it was 200-250 , and with the really "slow" pistol powders the velociyt jumped 300 fps from the rifle.
The lack of a cylinder gap and longer barrel makes things much more efficient.

kynardsj · « **Reply #21 on:** February 25, 2012, 06:51:48 AM »

Beautiful day here in Bama so I went to the range this morning to test the 240 gr XTP Mags I loaded. I went with 26.0 gr of Lilgun and set them as deep as I could and still crimp in the cannalure. This put them very close to the depth of the 250 gr XTP's. Only had to fire one shot as the 240 loaded this way shot exactly where the 250 did. Only had 11 of these to test so I'm going to take the other 10 I have loaded on a hog hunting trip next weekend. Hope to see how well they expand when Porky steps in front of one of them.

gendoc · « **Reply #22 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:30:20 PM »

Quote from: Ranch13 on February 25, 2012, 03:06:26 AM

One thing to keep in mind when looking at load data , when you look at the velocity from combination x from a handgun, you can pretty much figure on velocity from the rifle being anywhere from 150-300 fps faster out of the rifle.
I found that with unique the fps gain was 150 fps , with bludot and 2400 types it was 200-250 , and with the really "slow" pistol powders the velociyt jumped 300 fps from the rifle.
The lack of a cylinder gap and longer barrel makes things much more efficient.

we tested with 230gr xtp's and 8gr's of 700x with great accuracy @ 1205 fps................

not our primary colt powder but, it works mitey gud !!!!!!!!!

reloaderman · « **Reply #23 on:** February 29, 2012, 03:45:22 AM »

Just my 2 cents.......... I'm using TiteGroup w/240gr lead bullets and it seens to burn cleaner then the others . My load is the one on the lable and it shoots great in my Classic Carbine!

Blackhawker · « **Reply #24 on:** February 29, 2012, 03:51:02 AM »

First and foremost; I would never shoot anyone's loads and would never offer anyone to shoot my loads either.
After that, the sky is the limit.

Doublebass73 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 29, 2012, 04:45:56 PM »

I've had good luck with 2400 and IMR-4227 in the 45 Colt Carbine. Unique also works well with 250 XTP's.

gr8ful · « **Reply #26 on:** February 29, 2012, 06:16:54 PM »

im shooting 300gr lbt wfn over h4227 in my bc muzzle velocity is 1550 fps and accuracy is great. this load is devestating on deer out to 100 yrds, maybe farther but have yet to try at anthing live past that.