45 Colt Powder

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zipspyder

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Question for you 45 colt guru's. I have a rather large amount of BLC2 powder (for .308 and .303) and was wondering if anybody has tried some 45 colt loads to shoot out of a lever gun? I know its for rifles but hey thought it worth asking...
 
I've done a few crazy experiments over the years but I would not try this one. I doubt it would be dangerous but it would be a waste of time.
 
Hey Zip, I load 45 Colt ammo for both rifle and revolver since 1976. Name your arms that are 45 Colts, along with barrel lengths, and I will be happy to recommend some appropriate powders. Your BLC2 is excellent for 30-30 Winchester, but not at all appropriate for 45 Colt.
 
Come on, all I need is one of you to say all good, go for it, LOL. :D

I knew it was a long shot but could one of you explain why it is a bad idea? To slow, to fast, can't load enough powder to pressure, etc...? Just trying to learn.

PS: Thanks for the offer Pathfinder45. I have a Pietta 1860 Army 44 with a colt 45 cylinder I shoot cowboy loads out of and a Rossi Puma M92 20" barrel (pre safety catch) in colt 45. I use the Puma for max standard pressure hunting loads. I'd like to use Unique powder but my LGS doesn't carry it. My preferred hunting bullets are lead wide nose in 255-275 grain.
 
BL C2 is a rifle powder which I understand to have originally been used in .303 British contract ammo by WW. Far too slow burning for any revolver.
 
Your Puma will take any load that is safe in your 1860 conversion; in fact, the 1892 action in modern steel will safely handle much higher pressure. But if hot loads for the Puma wind up being fired in the Pietta, it will probably turn it into a grenade on the first round. I strongly caution those folks who have more than one 45 Colt, to only load ammo within the limitations of their weakest firearm in that caliber. The construction of the 1860, with it's open top framework, will be considerably weaker than a full-framed revolver like the 1873 Colt SAA, which itself, is not as strong as a Ruger Blackhawk. If you really want higher performance from your Puma, I suggest that you trade out of your Pietta, (so that you no longer have it), and get into a Ruger Blackhawk, or the original Vaquero, (not the New Vaquero). Until then, keep your loads especially mild in deference to your Pietta. If you simply must have hot rifle loads and still keep the 1860 conversion, order some Starline nickel-plated cases from Midway and load all your rifle loads in that and dedicate your yellow brass to mild loads. Make no exceptions and you can stay safe. Heck, just lose the Pietta and get a Blackhawk, for safety's sake.
No Joke; I really mean it.
 
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I knew it was a long shot but could one of you explain why it is a bad idea? To slow, to fast, can't load enough powder to pressure, etc...? Just trying to learn.
Click to expand...

In general terms, it's a burn rate /pressure /case volume thing. Some powders are simply not suitable for some uses,

Consider this, I took a quick look through an old Lyman manual (1970s) which lists Ball C2 for many cartridges, and the smallest case where they used BLC2 was the .222 Remington, and the lowest charge was 23.5gr.

Every other round where that powder was used had charge weights in the 30+gr range, all the way up to 70gr in the .458 Win Mag.

It may be that BallC2 is simply horribly inefficient with too small a charge volume. I don't know for sure, but some powders are like that, below a certain volume, they do not burn correctly or completely.

Now, you could, maybe fit 23gr of BallC2 into a .45 Colt case, but then, IF IT WORKED, you COULD have the same kind of pressure you get from that amount of powder in a .222 Remington, and that is something you don't want to shoot out of ANY firearm made to fire the .45 Colt!!!

Too slow a powder usually means incomplete and erratic burning, and CAN do really strange things, including possibly detonating. And as far as I know, there is no way to tell what it will do, with absolute certainty. It may be a calculated 1 in 10,000 chance, but if the 3rd round you shoot happens to be that "lottery winner" then you are a loser.

I once got a couple pounds of 8700 powder in a trade deal, its a very slow powder, intended for big magnum rifle cases. I didn't have a big magnum rifle case, but I did fine ONE set of loads for that powder in the .45-70, so I thought, why not??

loaded 5 rounds, just to test, shot them from a Marlin 95. All bullets exited the barrel, but they were weak. Partially burned powder visibly streamed from cases as they were ejected, and the action filled up with "golden dirt".
(at that point, I was done with that idea..;)_

Can't (and won't) say Ball C2 would do this in a .45 Colt, I just don't know. I'm telling you this as an illustration of ONE of the things that can happen when the powder is too slow for the application chosen.

Sorry, but BL C2 is the wrong powder for .45 Colt.
 
Thanks for the info those who helped. I pretty much figured it wasn't good idea but needed to ask. Special thanks to 44 AMP for the explanation.
 
For the Rifle loads I use IMR-4227 and AA-9, both of which can be used in revolver loads, though they are slower burning than would be ideal and work best at higher pressures than your conversion revolver should be subjected to.
 
Try 8.5 grains of Unique with a hard cast 250 or 160 grain Keith SWC.
I think you'll like it.
Use the BLC-2 in a rifle where it belongs
 
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