.45 Colt(long Colt) loadings

T

Tinbucket

New member
I'm wanting to develop a fmj bullet in the 20 grain range, 1000fps and clan burning powder.
My books and on the net all I find is a lot of 250 and 250 and a few 300 grain lead bullets with a smattering of fmj but none with canelur.
And every already loaded round is from 636 fps to 800fps, with some exceptions of over a dollar a round Lehigh and Barnes and a couple of others.
The reason, or one of them, that I reload is to save money.
Can't do much shooting at .55 to over a dollar a round.
 
A quick check of one of my old Speer manuals shows half a dozen powders that will get you 1,000fps from a 5.5" Colt with a 200gr bullet.

I do wonder what an FMJ gets you that a hardcast lead doesn't in .45 Caliber and at that speed??

Midway shows at one jacketed 200gr with a cannelure, I think its a HP.

Faster powders tend to be cleaner burning, but I use Unique and lead slugs, so less than the cleanest possible doesn't bother me.
 
.45 Colt

Yes, if you know of a 20 grain bullet, it was supposed to be 200 grains, of course, if you know of a 20 grain bullet I'll give it a try in front of some C4 maybe. :) then again maybe not.
 
I've used 200 grain Speer JHP bullets, (Remember the flying-ash-tray?) almost 40 years back.... But now, I mostly use cast bullets that I pour myself, in my 45 Colts. The cartridge built its reputation on lead bullets of 250 or 255 grains at around 850-950 fps. And that's mostly what I shoot. If I wanted it to be much less than that, I would probably get a 357 and use a lot of mild loads in it. Somehow, I fail to understand why anyone would want to make their 45 Colt behave like a 38 Special. On the other hand, there are those that want their 45 Colt Blackhawks to equal a 44 Magnum. That's a lot easier for me to understand.... The 44-40 uses a 200 grain bullet and compares pretty favorably with the 45 Colt. The extra 50 or so grains of lead in the 45 Colt produces somewhat more penetration than the 44-40. If you really want to reduce the costs of shooting a 45 Colt, you will reload it with bullets you cast yourself. Further reductions in costs of shooting can be achieved by switching to a smaller caliber altogether; like 38 Special or even 22LR that you don't even reload. Jacketed bullets for a revolver, especially in 45 Colt, are way over-rated. Believe me, I've been down that road, shot a lot of both jacketed and cast bullets. The very best bullets I've shot in my 45's, are the ones I cast myself. Did I forget to mention that they are the cheapest, too?
 
In addition to the bullet being a bit lite for .45LC, I don't think any clan will agree to be burned during the OP's R&D process. :cool:
 
.45 Colt

I need to get more practice with the .45. The prices of half dollar to well over dollar round preclude that..

Not interest in hot loads, have some. I have one with 30 grain slug at 1400 fps, and it is not as hot as a few commercial loads.
I won't shoot it again in the Vaquero.
I'm 68 and a little soft because of age.
A light fmj bullet with cannelure and cleaner burning bullet and no lead spray, at perhaps 1000fps, would seem the ticket, and cheaper of course.
I'm not into casting as other things always seemed to take up the money and time.
So that is what my inquiry is/was about.
There are quite a few Cowboy action Shooters and they go through a couple thousand rounds some weekends.
I've talked with a couple, that shoot second and third generation Colts and one that shot first generation, so 800.00 to a 1,000.00 for ammo is no problem for them.
I need the best load, at a price, not including brass, of .35 or less.
 
Well, the cheapest bullets you can buy will almost certainly be conventional cast bullets with a wax-type of lubricant. They do smoke some, which I don't find objectionable since I usually shoot outdoors. Lighter bullets will save you a small amount of money, but I still think you should go with 250 grain bullets. A step up in price, but still below jacketed bullets, are plated bullets which I am sure you would like. I have used them with good results, and probably will again in the future when I happen upon them at a compelling moment. However, my current and long-time favorite bullet is the Lee 255 RF that I cast myself. I also have used Hornady 250 XTP's, but they ain't cheap.
I had good results with these: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...liber-452-diameter-250-grain-plated-flat-nose
But you might prefer these: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...liber-452-diameter-250-grain-plated-flat-nose
The cost difference between them is negligible.
I'm 61 and I also shoot a Vaquero a lot. I hear you about those really heavy loads. The hottest loads that I currently inventory and don't mind shooting, are running 250 grain bullets at 1,200 fps. I think I am done with anything hotter. My preferred wilderness load uses that Lee 255 grain at 1,075 fps. My most often shot ammo is running about 850 with the same bullet; it's a nice comfortable load like petting the kitty, yet it's still a 45 Colt and I will not go any lighter.
I use several powders. I can't think of any more economical than Titegroup. I like it a lot, but it has it's limitations. What powders do you have to work with?
 
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Rainier Bullets sell 200 grain round nose in .451 diameter. They are listed for 45ACP but they are the same diameter as they sell for 45 Colt. see here:
http://www.rainierballistics.com/products-leadsafe-copper-jacket-bullet/
These are plated bullets and not jacketed but Rainier says you can use the same data that is used for jacketed bullets. They will not leave lead in your bore and you can use a gentle roll crimp if needed. The bullets are completely plated - better than FMJ because even the base is coated. They are less expensive than jacketed bullets and from everything I have heard they are as accurate as anything else.
 
Missouri Bullets coated bullets or X-treme plated bullets are about 12¢ each, and with fast powder can be loaded for about 18¢ per cartridge.
 
Not judging sir, but since you have reached 68 years and don't cast you can expect to be .45 Colt poor. Your half buck + per round costs me maybe 8 cents, or so and my time. Plus I have three or four bullet designs including a hollow point gas check that expands when given a dirty look with 6 Brinnel hardness. Sorry for gloating, don't know what commercial cast much less jacketed goes for and don't know how to get cheap shooting without casting.
 
It is gonna be hard to find that kind of bullet made for the 45 Colt.

I can see your reasoning behind it.

I you was me and I was wanting to load some good loads cheap, and with the velocities that you are wanting, I would use a cast bullet.

They are all over the place and not expensive at all compared to jacketed bullets.

Matter of fact when the 45 Colt came out, what was it loaded with for many, many years???

It still is today and it shines with cast bullets.

With Bullseye and Unique, you can get close to 1000 loads with a pound of powder.

If you do go with cast bullets look at some coated ones. Red River Bullets sells 200 gr powder coated bullets 500 for right at 50 bucks.

Missouri Bullet Company has the same thing at the same price.
 
It still is today and it shines with cast bullets.
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Yep. None of my .45 Colt revolvers have seen a jacketed bullet. Even my .44s ... .357 ... and .etc... do not need or is fed jacketed bullets. I prefer to shoot the 250g RNFP for general use and 255 SWC for the woods. As for powder ... well, take your pick Unique, Universal, 20/28, Red Dot, Green Dot, 4227, HS-6, AA#5, True Blue, Power Pistol, Black Powder, etc. Just to mention a few. All perform well.


45 Long Colt
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Only because there is still a segment of our population that still don't know the difference between .45 Colt, .45 ACP ... And .45 Schofield.... :) . Even behind the gun counter... So marketers do what they have to do....
 
I have a lot of guns, but one of my favorites is my Ruger Vaquero 45 Colt with 200g - 255g hard cast and some Titegroup.

They are just plain fun to shoot and very deadly as well.

:)
 
Only because there is still a segment of our population when they see some one say Long Colt they must "correct" them.:D
 
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