45 long colt ammo

J

jag2

New member
I don't shoot my Colt SAA too often, a little more oomph than I like. Shot it today with some Freedom Munitions 255 gr rounds and it seemed pretty strong.
I know some companies tend to make strong loads, are they one of them? I'd like to find a softer round.
 
Remington brand ammo is about the weakest factory ammo I’ve fired in any caliber... Don’t know if they make any 45 Colt, but if so you can bet it will be watered down.
 
If you don't reload (45Colt was the whole reason I got into reloading) then I would look for some cowboy action branded ammo (750 FPS). Companies like Fiocchi, Black Hills & HSM all make ammo for the games and it is usually loaded a bit slower so its easier to get back on target faster. Look on a site like Midwayusa.com they will list the ammo and the speeds they are running at.
 
Other than maybe .38/.357, .45LC is probably the most popular caliber in Cowboy Action Shooting. That means that pretty much every company that makes Cowboy Action loads makes a load in .45LC. The cowboy ammo is downloaded target ammo meant to minimize recoil for easier and more accurate follow up shots. If standard ammo is a little more than you want, the cowboy loads are probably the answer.
 
I load but had 10boxes of Win Cowboy that I shot up. Very mild and accurate. I don't have
SA 45Colt anymore. Shot up the CB loads in a couple m25-5 S&Ws.
 
Looks like cowboy is the way to go. This is the only caliber I don’t reload. I just have the one Colt and don’t plan on any more and only shoot it a couple of times a year. Thanks everyone.
 
My apologies to the OP but I find this thread depressing. What a sad outcome to such a historic and powerful cartridge.

Although the 45 Colt was loaded with a number of powder charges in the 19th Century the weakest of those was 28g of black powder behind a 250g bullet. This was the military load before they adopted the 45 Schofield round, with the same powder charge in the smaller case behind a 230g bullet.

The original load of 40g and a 255g projectile proved to be too much for the army but it was sold on the civilian market initially and re-introduced in the mid to late 1880s. Other civilian loads were 32g, 35g, and 38g.

The 38g and 40g loads pushing 250-255g bullets at over 900 fps, were the most powerful handgun cartridge available in the US until the introduction of the 357 Magnum in 1935.

Compared to that history the so called "cowboy" loads are something of an embarrassment.

YMMV,
Dave
 
Dave T:

Lest you remain depressed, know that I load some veryhealthy .45 Colt cartridges.

My pet handloads utilize the 255 gr. SWC at about 900 F.P.S. And I once had a 350 gr. bullet at around 1200 F.P.S. This for a hunt that never materialized.

Ya think I like the .45 Colt?







Bob Wright
 
Bob,

Those 300g hand loads would make my 70 year old arthritic wrists hurt, not to mention that middle knuckle. Duplicating original black powder loads is bad enough that I limit myself to about 50 rounds an outing. Sure do like the billowing clouds of sulfurous smoke and all the flames though. And hitting a steel plate or gong is very satisfying.(smile)

Dave
 
You mean like this 25-5?

attachment.php


Don
 
I took a Ruger Vaquaro 45Colt with dies, mold, ect. The mold was RCBS 270g SWC. It was not fun to shoot with a stiff load. I have had a good many 45Colts over the years and all of
them did well with traditional 250g RNFP cast bullet. The first S&W m25 I got many years ago is a 83/8" gun. At the time the only 45 mold I had was for this bullet. It is still tuned for this bullet at 850fps and has been for 45yrs. My other 25s are set up for 242 WC at 750fps.
Neither load is unpleasant to shoot.
 
Thanks Dave T. & USSR! :cool:

Yep, meant to type '25-5.' Yes, blued 4" N-frame six shooter - .45 Long Colt.

That's a thing of awesomely beautiful right there, USSR! Thanks for posting that pic!
 
That Freedom Munitions jacketed load is actually pretty tame, but it's the 255 grains at 800 FPS that's giving you grief. A lot depends on what barrel length you have, but a 7.5" SAA weighs about 2.31 lbs. You'll feel a 255 out of one of 'em. A 255 LRN at 860 FPS out of a 2.75 pound revolver recoils at 8.2 Ft-lbs.
It's actually "Reload using cast bullets and 'Cowboy' loads."
A lighter bullet will give you less felt recoil. Alliant's site gives several cast 230 grain loads for .45 Colt on their Cowboy load page that'd do nicely. Plus several cast 200 grain loads on their regular Pistol/Revolver page that'd also do nicely.
No barrel lengths given on the 'Cowboy load' page. 5.5" on the other page.
 
Although the 45 Colt was loaded with a number of powder charges in the 19th Century the weakest of those was 28g of black powder behind a 250g bullet.
Click to expand...

I think you are off just a tad in how much powder was in those military loads.

45ColtBenetPrimedBox02_zps0e1df06e.jpg





These were the old copper cased Benet primed loads. They look like a rimfire from the back, but they are centerfire. The crimp near the rim held the internal anvil plate in place. That is one of my reloads on the far right.

45ColtBenetPrimedBox03_zps73800f6e.jpg




One of the reasons the rounds were downloaded is some of the malleable iron cylinders could not take the full 40 grain load. Once Colt went to mild steel cylinders the problem went away.
 
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