275 grain 45 colt load

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littlephil

New member
Hello all, this Saturday I will be acquiring a new to me 45 colt Blackhawk. I've got dies, cases, bullets, and two different powders already. However my problem is, that I can't find any load data for the bullets and powders that I have. I have 275gr fp bullets from hunters supply. The powders I have currently are red dot and 2400. Before I bought the bullets, I checked my manuals and online and found numerous loads with both powders and a variety of bullets. It wasn't until after I bought these (they were in stock and in my price range) that I realized 275gr must not be a real popular weight. I've only been able to find a few loads, all of which used powders that weren't in stock anywhere near me when I checked last. So as for my question (finally), can anyone suggest any loads based on what I have? I'm not looking to hunt Godzilla with these, I just want something that'll take deer and black bear and still be fairly pleasant to shoot. Thanks in advance for any help or comments.
 
Hodgdon has a variety of cast bullets on their website. If not 275's, then use their 300 data. I currently load 250 cast over Power Pistol for my "every day" load. AA#5 is another good choice. If I were hunting, though, I'd just go with a knuckle buster load of H110. Hodgdon has those on their site.
 
Thanks for the reply, I knew you could use data for the next size up bullet, but I didn't realize you could used data for that big of a gap. I did finally manage to find some data for a 280gr bullet and 2400, but it came from another forum. It showed loads of 15, 16, 17, and a max load of 18gr. They claim that this is a "tier 2" load, or +p at 23,000psi. Does this sound about right? They also showed a max load of 21gr for the "tier 3" load, but I have no interest in going that high. Thanks again for the help.
 
Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook lists loads for 270gr and 300gr SWC with Red Dot, but not 2400. Alliant lists only one lead bullet load (250 gr Speer swaged) with 2400. But keep in mind, both Lyman and Alliant publish only standard pressure loads for the 45 Colt.

For something with more thump, it would be wise to find some published load data and buy some bullets that match that data. Western Powders (Accurate and Ramshot) are about the only ones publishing higher pressure 45 Colt cast bullet data. Of course, that means using one of their powders instead of Red Dot or 2400.

John Linebaugh also has some load data on his site for higher pressure 45 Colt loads that may offer some insight.
 
In the 45 Colt, I have found that 2400 and AA-9 perform nearly the same on a grain-for-grain basis. Compare from different manuals and decide if you want to use the same data, within reason, of course.
 
I shoot a 270gr WFN cast bullet loaded with 12grs of HS-6.
I could go hotter on the powder but from my 5&1/2 inched barrel Ruger Blackhawk the above load has a velocity of 1100 FPS.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
7.0 to 7.5 grains of Red Dot should give around 900 fps and be pleasant to shoot. I've shot 18.0 grains of 2400 with 300 grain bullets, so should be safe with your 275s. Pretty heavy recoil with the 18 grain load, but about 1100 fps.
 
Wow, thanks a bunch for the replies. From what I've seen so far, the 45 colt seems to be a handloaders dream. I've seen so many powder and bullet combos it'll make your head spin. :eek: I'll have to check into what's been suggested so far, and I'm sure I'll eventually get some other powders and bullets as I can find em. Most places near me don't have a real good selection of either and I can't afford to buy enough powder at one time to justify paying the hazmat fee to ship it.
Thanks again for the advice, I think I'm really gonna fall in love with the old 45 just like everyone else who owns one. :rolleyes:
 
For light, accurate, target loads, you are going to like the Red Dot. I have some 2400..... I like the burn-rate of it, but found that with Hornady 240 grain bullets, it had tremendous muzzle flash, though it shot accurately. In its class, I much prefer AA-9. The 45 Colt has been my one and only centerfire handgun round that I've reloaded for since 1976. I've tried a lot of different powders over the years, so I have some opinions on propellants. I have come by some great deals on powders and been given a lot of powder to the point that I have stopped buying it. My favorite powders for this cartridge, from fastest burning to slowest burning are: Titegroup, Unique, HS-7, AA-9, IMR-4227. If I could only have one powder for 45 Colt, it would probably be Unique, though the discontinued HS-7 is very excellent as well, especially as you go up in power. There are several other very good powders that I no longer use simply because I am out of them and have plenty of others I need to use up before buying any more. There is one other powder that every 45 Colt really ought to try at least once: The original, real, black powder, preferably in fffG granulation. A compressed load of black powder under a 255 grain cast-lead bullet is impressive for power and accuracy. But then, you really ought to clean your gun.;)
 
Do a net search for "RCBS 270 SAA load data". This should bring up a nice write up with three tiers of load data for a 270'ish grain bullet. If you use the starting loads and work up slow looking for accuracy you should hit several right off the bat.

Also as mentioned above look up the article "45 Colt Dissolving the Myth" by Linebaugh and read through it slow and carefully. He has a LOT of detailed info in there on pressures as well as what one might be able to expect with even the low to mid range loads that his wife uses for hunting.

Hope that helps.
 
Still have 750 of those 275gr Hunters Supply bullets. Have use 10gr of Unique in two Blackhawks for outstanding results. Gave the first one to my youngest and shot a 150# pig at 20 yds. In below the right eye and made a fist sized hole going out the right ham. Have regularly shot through 8" pine trees with this load. Runs just over 1050fps. Easy recoil and magnum performance. Power Pistol is a little cleaner, but I just love Unique.
 
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Pathfinder, thanks for the info. Once I get moved and can get a dedicated loading room set up again (hopefully very soon) I plan on trying to find some unique at least. I've seen it in data for so many different bullet weights it's crazy. I also plan on getting some 250-255gr bullets and trying the black powder load as well, I love the smoke show of black powder and can only imagine what it's like from a sixgun.

Mike, I did a search and found an article from handloader magazine. Actually I found a couple, both were very helpful so thank you for the suggestion. I have read the Linebaugh article, but it's been a while. I do remember him saying that his wife uses a load that's definitely not top tier, but I don't remember what exactly it was. I'll definitely check it out again though.

Geaux, I'll definitely keep that info in mind. Like I said above, I definitely plan to get some unique (as long as I can find it) and maybe a couple others. I really like the power you can get from the old colt cartridge without having to magnumize it, I think I'm really gonna love this gun!

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I appreciate y'all taking the time to try and steer me in the right direction!
 
I really like the 44 magnum and even will recommend it to others at times, and have vicarious experience with it. It may even be a better choice than the 45 Colt for most folks wanting a large caliber revolver. But I have never owned one as the 45 Colt has always been my choice and does everything that I would want from a 44 magnum if I had one. While both cartridges are more versatile to the handloader, the 45 Colt is more so.
One thing I would recommend that you do with your Blackhawk, is to accurately measure the diameters of all six cylinder throats at front of the cylinder to be sure they are not undersize. A great many of Ruger 45 Colt revolvers had this condition which can impair accuracy significantly. I have heard that the most recently made Rugers have correct dimensions in this regard.
 
Thanks pathfinder, I actually used to have a sbh 44 mag. Really nice gun, but I hated the square back trigger guard. That thing would beat the crap out of my middle finger. This was before I was set up to reload, and I ended up selling it because I couldn't afford to feed it. I have also heard about the throats possibly being undersized, I just haven't got around to measuring them yet. This gun was bought brand new last year, and hasn't even had 50 rounds put through it yet. I bought it from a buddy of mine and he says it was accurate with the Winchester cowboy loads he shot through it, so we'll see. Thanks again for the advice.
 
littlephil,

I've loaded a lot of different 45 Colt loads with all types of powder and bullet weights from 200gr to 270gr.

I've used Unique I found it to be a decent powder I also found Herco to be better.

However for the ease of metering from a RCBS Uniflow powder measure, great accuracy and velocity HS-6 is tops for tier two loads.

For full house loads I would be looking at IMR4227 or H110, I also have on hand some VV110 I have not played with it yet but I've heard good things about it.

As stated the 45 Colt is a handloaders cartridge, there's a large selection of load recipes with different powders and bullet weights that work well together.

If you can do so, find as many different powders as you can and enjoy yourself handloading for the old Colt Cartridge.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
Thanks Hunter, I'd definitely like to try a range of different powders, but pistol powders are scarce around me for some reason. So far I've just bought what I could find, luckily I can use both of the powders I have for loading 357 and 38. Thanks for the powder suggestions, I'll have to check some other places sometime and see what I can find.
 
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