Bullet choices for a 45 Colt carbine

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FoghornLeghorn

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Winchester 1873 with 16 inch barrel.

I was told 300 grains is too heavy.

Someone else said they use 230 grain.

How about 225 grain flat point? I can get those if I don't wait too long

Max distance is 100 yards. Powder is 231 or Titegroup.
 
Bullet weight won't matter as much as the profile. Round nose or round nose flat points will probably feed better than semi wad cutters or truncated cones.
 
Hawg said:
Bullet weight won't matter as much as the profile. Round nose or round nose flat points will probably feed better than semi wad cutters or truncated cones.
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This poster over on CASCity .........
https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=65326.0

............ says he wouldn't recommend 300 grain.

He also says,
toggle Link rifles DO NOT play well with Semi-Wadcutter bullets. A Toggle Link rifle WILL jam alot with SWC
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I was initially planning to use SWC since that's a flat point. But I won't try SWC now.

I would try lead but in 40 years of shooting, I can't remember any lead bullets that didn't leave leading. The measures I had to go to, to clear the lead, were more harmful to the barrel than simply firing higher pressure jacketed bullets.
 
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"...the profile..." Doesn't matter as much as what you're doing with it.
The 16" barrel will reduce velocity a fair bit too.
In any case, plated bullets use cast bullet data.
"...I can get those..." That's important these days. A 225 will do nicely.
As I recall, historically, the .45 Colt load used a 250 grain RN.
"...truncated cones..." Feed like hot dam in a 9mm or .45 ACP pistol. Still a case if what you can find.
Hodgdon's site doesn't list any .45 Colt rifle data. The 300 grain hand gun loads Max at 730 FPS out of a 7.25" barrel.
 
Winchester 1873 with 16 inch barrel.
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when that rifle was designed, lead bullets were all there was. And, it wasn't offered in .45 Colt until modern times, the .45 Colt ammo of the day wasn't felt to have enough rim for reliable function. Today, that's not the case.

I don't know about Winchester designs but I know why SWCs don't "play well" in Marlins, its usually a slightly misaligned round on the carrier allowing the "square corner" of the bullet (right above the case mouth) catching on the edge of the chamber. The "fix" for this is operating the lever at the right speed, and if it hangs up, not forcing it forward, but backing it off, so that pressure if off the jammed round, which then (usually) fall back into line to be chambered normally.

Using flat point or truncated cone bullets is fine, if they don't have the SWC shoulder to hang up on.

Overall length is important. Rounds that are too long will not feed from the tube through the action. Some guns are more picky about this than others. Generally speaking, at or slightly below listed max length should work. Too long rarely does and too much too short can cause issues as well.

My experience with lead bullets in over 40 years of shooting is that when the lead alloy, velocity and fit in the barrel are all properly balanced they don't lead to any significant degree. But when any or all of these factors aren't correctly balanced with each other, they do lead, and can lead badly.
 
In these days of limited powder choices, I’d recommend a 225g or maybe 240g round nose flat point bullet for 231 (a very fast powder.) Going heavier, I think slower powders like Unique or 2400 would be the choice. When you get to 300 g (which I would only use for hunting, what throw that huge chunk down range at paper?) then something in the H110 speed. You want a round nose flat point or truncated cone design for good feeding and safety in your tube magazine.

Cast bullets are still available by contacting the small casting shops you can find via Google.

Hornady XTP... I’d use the lightest cheapest ones.. 225g I think. They’ll get on paper and use little powder.

Things will settle down and we will be able to get powders again to experiment with accurate loads. In this time of shortages though, cast bullets don’t lead your barrel excessively if used properly.

Driving cast bullets too fast OR too slow can lead to leading. Too slow and the bullet does not obdurate and seal, hot gasses blowing past the walls.

Oh yes, hardness. It’s cheaper for bullet casters to cast a bit too hard so the bullet is easy to handle and ship without denting. A proper cast bullet is a bit softer, requiring more care in manufacture. The small shops do a better job at Cowboy level load hardnesses.

That’s a whole thread right there.
 
My solid favorite RNFP bullet for the 45 Colt is the Lee 452-255-RF.

2015-11-009.jpg


https://www.thesixgunjournal.net/maplewood-bullets-lee-452-255-rf-for-the-45-colt/
 
I agree with Sarge; I cast the same ones myself. The two powders you mentioned will work if that's all you have...something slower would be better.
 
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I really like that bullet too. (and the .358 bullet just like it) See if you can find some Herco powder, it plays well with cast bullets and it's very bulky. I like to say it's Unique with longer legs.
 
Pathfinder45 said:
I agree with Sarge; I cast the same ones myself. The two powders you mentioned will work if that's all you have...something slower would be better.
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I just today found two pounds of Vihtavuori N330. Their reloading data website uses a 6 inch test barrel and for a 200 grain bullet has a starting load as 8 grains for 876 fps.

Their max load is 8.6 grains for 978 fps.

On my 2019 burn rate chart Titegroup is #15. Bullseye is #13, so that tells me about how fast Titegroup is. Win 231 is #29, Unique #32, and N330 is #35.

Maybe N330 will be a go-to powder for the 45 Colt as it's touted as being both clean and mild.
 
zxcvbob said:
I really like that bullet too. (and the .358 bullet just like it) See if you can find some Herco powder, it plays well with cast bullets and it's very bulky. I like to say it's Unique with longer legs.
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Yeah, I don't know what's up with Alliant powders. In the past couple of months I've been able to score different brands of powders, but no Alliant. There is some E3 available, but I have no use for that.

It's as if the ammo manufacturers all use Alliant.
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
This poster over on CASCity .........
https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=65326.0

............ says he wouldn't recommend 300 grain.

He also says,

I was initially planning to use SWC since that's a flat point. But I won't try SWC now.

I would try lead but in 40 years of shooting, I can't remember any lead bullets that didn't leave leading. The measures I had to go to, to clear the lead, were more harmful to the barrel than simply firing higher pressure jacketed bullets.
Click to expand...
If you do get leading a piece of Chore Boy copper scrubbing pad wrapped around a bronze brush will get it out without damaging the barrel. Just make sure it's pure copper and not copper plated. I use a lot of cast bullets and I don't get much leading except with certain guns. You can push pure lead up to 1000 FPS without leading. Clip on wheel weights are good for .44 magnum pistol loads without leading. Or you could use powder coated bullets if you're worried about it.
 
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