45 Colt load Unique

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wiiawiwb

New member
I've been loading 250 and 255 cast MBC bullets for my Ruger SRH 454 Casull Toklat. I'd like to move up to a 300 cast bullet from MBC but having trouble finding a load for it. I can't find anything in my Lyman's 44th or 49th editions.

I'm not looking for anything nuclear. I'm loading with Unique and HS-6. Hogdgon shows a starting load of 9.0 and a max of 10.0 for a jacketed bullet.

Does anyone have a load for Unique?
 
I shoot .45 Colt in a Red Hawk. When I get a projectile/powder combination without data, I do the following:


Factory Duplication load x [(Factory Dupl. Bullet Wt.)/(New Bullet Wt.)] = starting charge.

MY factory duplication load is 8.0/Unique/255 SWC. So,

8.0 gr. x [(255 gr.)/(300gr.)] = 6.8 gr. So MY starting load would be 6.8/Unique/300gr. Cast.

I think someone else suggested 7.0/Unique/300, and I would have no problem with using THAT as a starting load.

Take note of a few things:

1.) I made this approximation using a large (for pistols) capacity case, with very modest working chamber pressures.

2.) MY approximations will be loaded and shot in a Ruger Red Hawk, while your revolver is a Ruger SRH. Both revolvers are strong enough for the .44 Mag cartridge, so a slightly boosted .45 Colt load isn't going to wreck them.

3.) I approximated cast bullet to cast bullet. Had your projectile of interest been jacketed, I would have tried to approximate from loading data using jacketed bullets.

4.) This approximation is NOT fool-proof. Take a step back and see if the approximation you calculate seems reasonable, and check it against any appropriate information, or with someone who is more experienced than you.

5.) Like someone's signature line on here says, "If you don't know what you're doing, DON'T!" Ask around until you get a better feel for the task at hand.
 
My brother is a good shot with a handgun.
I loaded him some 300 gr 6 gr Unique for 45 Colt and at 25 yards it looks like a rifle group.

I tried 2400, but that was not good at all.
 
Unique is a good powder for the 45 Colt.

The Lyman CB Handbook 4th lists the following:

300 gr cast Unique start 4.8 gr Max 6.1 gr.

Of course these loads are based on the max pressure of 14,000 psi.

With your revolver, the max published in the same book for the 454 Casull is 14.0 gr Unique.

So, you have quite a range to play with. Just don't use the 45 Colt brass for the higher charges if you go there.
 
Would I roll crimp at the top crimp groove or the lower crimp groove just below it?

ht_45_silohouette.jpg
 
Just don't use the 45 Colt brass for the higher charges if you go there.
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I see the myth is still floating around.... You sure can use standard .45 Colt brass for all your loading needs from 0K (kind of useless) to 30K+ psi (ROLs).
 
rclark
Just don't use the 45 Colt brass for the higher charges if you go there.
I see the myth is still floating around.... You sure can use standard .45 Colt brass for all your loading needs from 0K (kind of useless) to 30K+ psi (ROLs).
Click to expand...

I agree. In a 410 with 0.29" thick chamber walls I have shot 454 double loads with large rifle primers.... with longer OAL and .458" 405 gr bullets... it was probably ~~80kpsi.

That means the small rifle primer in 454 Casull brass is probably just a gimmick, but the proprietary cartridge money is no joke.
 
Do yourself a big favor and go here, and read Dissolving the Myth.

Your shooting a revolver that will handle the loads listed at the very bottom with no issues. My standard hunting load out of my Redhawk uses the HS-6 load for weights from 260 through 300, depending on the actual bullet I am using. Same load shoot great with them all.

Also while your catching up on some reading do a search on the 45 270 SAA. It should bring up a link to a Wolf Publishing partial PDF that has a LOT of data listed for that particular bullet. That bullet is EXCELLENT in both the 45 Colt and in the 454 depending on the alloy. Even loaded to the upper loads for the Colt it should give you good service in your revolver.
 
My favorite load is a 275gr Hunters Supply LFN under 10gr of Unique for 1057. My youngest used this load to poke a 150# hog in the face and it formed a new anus on the way out. Just found some 285gr SAA from Matt's Bullets. Brian Pearce has written extensively on this bullet. His son used this bullet and a moderate load of Longshot to take a Black Bear at 40 yards. All six shot blew threw the chest. Can't wait to try it.
 
While I am a fan of Unique, it is a bit fast for the heavier bullets (or boolits) in high end .45 Colt or mid range .454 Casull. HS6 works well in this category, but needs to be used at pressures above what traditional .45 Colt allows.

I've settled on BlueDot for use in mid range .454 Casull and high end .45 Colt loads. One of my favorites for .454 Casull is the RCBS 270SAA cast in WW alloy, sized .452, CCI400 primer, and 17 grs. of Bluedot. This load yields 1200 fps. in my Ruger SRH. For use in .45 Colt brass, I back off to 13 grs. of Bluedot and it chronographs 1000 fps.

If I was using the coated bullet you picture, I'd probably reduce the above powder charges by a grain and seat to crimp in the second crimp groove.
 
In my 4-5/8 inch barrel Cimarron model P 45 Colt I was using 8.5 grs of Unique topped off with a cast 255 gr SWC.
Velocity was 945 fps accuracy was good.

Then I went to 9.5 grs of Herco (ran out of Unique) with the same bullet and same gun for a velocity of 923 fps and the accuracy was excellent much better then with my Unique loads.

Then I went to using 12 grs HS6 topped off with a 270 gr cast WFN bullet for a velocity of 1050 fps, accuracy was excellent, this is the load I now prefer and use.
 
Mike / Tx Do yourself a big favor and go here, and read Dissolving the Myth.
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Overall we can dismiss the myth that the .45 Colt case of modern solid head manufacture is weak.

Something will stop a work up.
There are a lot of things that could happen before the 45 Colt case in a handgun gives up.
Very painful recoil is one of them.
That case is probably good for ~ 80kpsi, the 454 revolver ~80 Kpsi, sticky cases ~ 40kpsi?, and my shooting hand has had enough recoil at ~22 kpsi.

I can shoot a 44 mag case in a revolver to it's full potential. I cannot shoot a 45 Colt case in a revolver to it's potential. It just hurts too much.
 
A very accurate, consistent and powerful load in a strong 45 Colt such as your Toklat is a 300 gr bullet over 13 gr. of HS-6 with a magnum primer. It gives about 1000 to 1050 fps depending on barrel length, with controllable recoil. This load is fine in Blackhawks, so no problem at all in a 454 SRH.
 
I see the myth is still floating around.... You sure can use standard .45 Colt brass for all your loading needs from 0K (kind of useless) to 30K+ psi (ROLs).
Click to expand...

If you read and understood the OP has his handgun as a Redhawk chambered in 454 Cassull which is capable of developing loads of over 60K CUP, you can understand what I said.

Sure, the Blackhawks can handle 30K PSI with no problem.

I will not chance a load for the Cassull using a 45 Colt case.

You try if you wish.
 
It didn't even occur to me to try loading .454 loads in .45 Colt brass or that the OP was thinking of it :) . When I load .45 Colt, I know it is good to 30K in my Rugers. My woods load I think is around 20K (13.0g HS-6 under 255-260g SWC).... which is plenty for anything I may run into around here. My 14K loads are generally what I load ... So .454 pressure loads was far far far away from my thoughts when thinking of .45 Colt brass usage :D .
 
I'm not looking for anything nuclear. I'm loading with Unique and HS-6. Hogdgon shows a starting load of 9.0 and a max of 10.0 for a jacketed bullet.
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As long as your bullet is up to the task (and a MBC BRN 18 cast bullet certainly is) you can go with jacketed data, as cast bullets will generally run the same load with a higher velocity and a lower chamber pressure. Considering you are shooting in a 454 Casull, you can safely start with listed 45LC max. with no need to work up.

While 45LC brass lacks the re-enforcements of 454 Casull brass, it is easily strong enough for way beyond any published 45LC load and is comparable to 44mag brass.
 
I don't reload 454 Casull yet and have used brass lying around. I've always wondered if it made sense to trim the 454 Casull case to 45 Colt length and use it for stout 45 Colt loads. Mind you, I would not be trying to put 454 loads in it.

I wondered whether it would handle more reloads of stout 45 Colt loads or would it be wasting good brass.
 
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