45 Colt powder charges...
- Thread starter bjm42
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Schlitz 45
New member
45 Colt was why I started reloading. I started out using Tight Group simply because they had a max load for 45 Colt listed on the label of the first pound of powder I bought.
Lately I’ve been using CFE Pistol with great results & the guns seem to clean up easier as I shoot copper plated bullets 99% of the time.
Lately I’ve been using CFE Pistol with great results & the guns seem to clean up easier as I shoot copper plated bullets 99% of the time.
This is what I use in my 25-5 Smith with excellent results at 25 yards. A lot of sooty cases but no leading so I'll deal with the soot.
Bill
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Dover View Post
8.0 Unique and 250 lead bullet has been pretty much the "standard" .45 colt load for a hundred years.
I played around with Unique in my 25-5 as well, and found until you got up above 8.5gr you didn't have enough pressure to eliminate the sooty cases. That's why I use faster burn rate powders that operate at a higher pressure level for the same velocity loads.
Don
Originally Posted by Ben Dover View Post
8.0 Unique and 250 lead bullet has been pretty much the "standard" .45 colt load for a hundred years.
I played around with Unique in my 25-5 as well, and found until you got up above 8.5gr you didn't have enough pressure to eliminate the sooty cases. That's why I use faster burn rate powders that operate at a higher pressure level for the same velocity loads.
Don
Mike Irwin
Staff
I have a Smith 25-5 4".
I load Universal behind a 255 lead bullet to replicate traditional velocity for the load. Never seen any need to take it any higher.
I load Universal behind a 255 lead bullet to replicate traditional velocity for the load. Never seen any need to take it any higher.
Mike Irwin
Staff
"Ah, Mike, those are tough to find."
Tell me about it. I looked for it for over 10 years before I finally found it. Turned away from multiple 6" ones.
I finally had to order it, praying that the pictures were showing what I was actually going to get, from Gun Broker or a similar site.
Guy I got it from was an undertaker with a sideline in selling the guns the widows of the guys he buried didn't want. He said one of the most common questions he got was "What do I do with Charlie's guns?"
So he got his FFL and started brokering them. He took a small bit and the widows got fair price for the guns.
Unfortunately mine didn't come with a box, but my God was it in beautiful condition. Barely a drag line on the cylinder. Apparently everyone at the gunshop where I had it shipped wanted to fondle it.
Tell me about it. I looked for it for over 10 years before I finally found it. Turned away from multiple 6" ones.
I finally had to order it, praying that the pictures were showing what I was actually going to get, from Gun Broker or a similar site.
Guy I got it from was an undertaker with a sideline in selling the guns the widows of the guys he buried didn't want. He said one of the most common questions he got was "What do I do with Charlie's guns?"
So he got his FFL and started brokering them. He took a small bit and the widows got fair price for the guns.
Unfortunately mine didn't come with a box, but my God was it in beautiful condition. Barely a drag line on the cylinder. Apparently everyone at the gunshop where I had it shipped wanted to fondle it.
Pathfinder45
New member
There are a lot of good powders... in times of shortage, if you can't get the powder you love, then it's good to know which powders you can make do with. I agree with the tip about slower powders for that 1873 Winchester as long as they are suitable to the pressure limitations of the rifle. Thus, for that rifle, I would avoid W-296 and H-110. But IMR-4227 is a lot more flexible across a wider range of pressures, so it would be worth experimenting with.
Mike Irwin
Staff
No, the owner made sure all of the employees were extra careful with it and that they wiped it down thoroughly.
It was a really good shop.
It was a really good shop.
Like Mike Irwin, I also use Universal Clays for my .45 Colt loads. I shot some just 2 days ago in my Winchester 1894. I load 9.0 gr. of Universal under a Laser-Cast 250 gr. LRNFP.That loading is very pleasant to shoot in both the 1894 and in a Ruger Vaquero. And it's accurate to boot. It doesn't fill the case up, in fact it leaves a lot of space, but I haven't found that it is position sensitive in the case.
I had a few years of running the .45 Colt at top end, matching or slightly exceeding the .44 Mag. Got tired of that. For over the past 30 years my .45 Colt load has been 10gr Unique under a 250gr SWC. Clocks just about 1100fps from my 7.5" Ruger and is slightly under the listed max load in the old Lyman books (which used a Colt SAA as the test firearm).
And, while there is plenty of recoil, its not so bad as to be punishing or painful, for me, at any rate. Not so with my full house .44 mags, unless I'm shooting a Desert Eagle
)
If you're shooting a S&W or a smaller lighter SA I'd recommend a slightly lighter charge, 8.5-9gr will do fine, just as it has for well over a century...
And, while there is plenty of recoil, its not so bad as to be punishing or painful, for me, at any rate. Not so with my full house .44 mags, unless I'm shooting a Desert Eagle
)If you're shooting a S&W or a smaller lighter SA I'd recommend a slightly lighter charge, 8.5-9gr will do fine, just as it has for well over a century...
My cabinet has been pared down to 2 .45 Colt revolvers, Ruger BHs in 4-5/8" and 7-1/2". I only have one load that I settled on long ago to be used for every/any thing. That load is 18 grains of 2400; this is the same cast bullet powder charge that I shoot in my .44 & .41 mags. Accuracy is all I could ask for and plenty powerful to boot. Actually I do use two different cast bullets, a 245 grn rn and a 260 grn swc. Only some 10 to 12 fps separates the two slugs. Velocity in the shorter barrel runs around 1060 fps and 1260 fps in the 7-1/2" barrel. I've taken a good bit of small game with this load. Squirrels don't offer enough resistance to cause expansion and hits simply result in entrance & exit slits. On deer size critters more damage would be likely; but I don't know, not having tried the load on deer.
The Happy kaboomer
New member
I run 8.5 grs of Unique behind my 255 gr cast swc's in my 45LC revolvers and rifles. I standardized on this load many years ago.
Ike Clanton
New member
My heavy 45 colt load is 9.2 - 9.5 grains of CFE Pistol with a 255 gr GT bullets hollow point. I get just over 1000 FPS in my 5.5 BH and great expansion. I’ve shot the 9.2 load in my SAA clone with no problems but haven’t shot the 9.5 (.3 over max) but I can’t imagine it’ll have any issues.
chris downs
New member
Would this be a consideration for "cowboy" pistol loads? thx.