newby reloading 45 colt

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mojoracing

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So I did my research and developed a few test loads that will be fired from two different weapons. The first is a new vaqero and the other a brass Henry big boy, both in 45 colt. I loaded up some new winchester brass with cci large pistol primers, 250 grain .252 copper plated berrys flat nose bullets. All of them I put a light roll crimp on using my rcbs 3 die set. I used Unique powder as I found many people recommending it for the 45 lc. I started at 8.5 grains of unique and went up in half grain increments to 11 grains. In the vaquero, I only fired the 8.5, 9.0 and 9.5. At 10 yards shooting off hand, the 9 grain and 9.5 grouped better. I will say that the 9.5 had a pretty good sized muzzle flash so Im assuming the extra powder of that load was probably a waste in the 4.75 barrel. From what I read, 9,5 is probably pushing the envelope on the vaquero and was wanting to get a few opinions.
When it came to the rifle, I fired all the different loads and the groups all got tighter as the load got larger with the 11 grain load grouping best followed by the 10.5 which was only negligibly larger. Looking at uniques load chart, it looks like they say 11.3 grains is tops. Although they dont give two different loads for ssa and ruger like other manuals do. Noslers manual reads differently again and only gives loads for jacketed hollow points. Barrys bullets does not give load charts. I was wondering if anybody had any similar experience and could chime in. I guess I would like to have a load that would work well in both guns but with the rifle grouping best at 11g, I dont think it would be advisable to run those through the vaquero. Also wondering if anyone has any chrono data or estimate as to fps on the 11g load through the Henry. Seems like that would make a good load for whitetail. I checked all brass and primers and there was no sign of high pressure on any of them. I also loaded an extra round in the rifle that I did not fire and after 5 shots checked the COAL and the measurement had not changed on any of the loads. Im pretty happy with the unique so I would like to keep using it. Thanks in advance for your replies and please excuse anything that may be a "newby" question or something I missed or mis stated.
 
If the Ruger is a New Vaquero model, you should stop (as you did) at 9.5 gr. of Unique. I'm not sure if the Henry is rated for higher than standard 45 Colt pressures. If not, it too should be limited to 9.5 gr. of Unique.
 
If you are looking to maximize your velocity, then a slower powder than Unique will work best. Herco, HS6, Accurate #5 or #7, LongShot all work very well in 45 Colt.
 
There is no better powder than Unique for your revolver. However, there are some powders that will work just as well in your New Vaquero while enhancing the performance of your rifle. Try some Accurate #9; if that is too slow-burning for your revolver, try Accurate #7. Your rifle will shoot the same ammo faster than your revolver; but with the faster burning powders you will only gain a little bit of velocity, perhaps 100-150 fps; however, with slower burning powders like AA-9, you will probably gain around 300 or so fps, and even a bit more if you are using IMR-4227.
I do recommend that you make it your goal to only load within the pressure limitations of the weakest firearm of the same caliber. While there are some effective tricks that a lot of us have used to keep our hot loads away from guns of the same caliber that were never intended for it, the surest method is as I mentioned, to only load ammo that is safe for all.
 
The Henry is indeed capable of handling the hotter loads. It is the same receiver as the 44 mag. Pathfinder, I agree that the best solution would be to have a load that works well and is safe for all guns I own in that caliber. I guess what I am trying to achieve in the rifle is to get somewhere between 1300 and 1400 fps. The plated bullets I am using say they are good for up to 1200 fps but many guys report no issues up to 1400. I think Im just trying to satisfy too many criteria with just one load. I want an easy shooting accurate load for the revolver for target practice and possibly cowboy action shooting while also having the same load work well in the rifle and pack a wallop for hunting out to 100 yards as well as be useful for CAS . I think I will just have to develop two loads, one for CAS and one for hunting with the rifle. How high can I go on the unique in the rifle without any problems? Again, Im new to this so I may be approaching it the wrong way.
 
I use 8.9 Unique with a .454, 250 gr RNFPPB bullet from Lucky 13. The gun has big throats, but the point is that about 9.0 gr Unique works well. I use 8.9 because that is what the closest Lee disk yields (1.18cc).

That is a long way from a cowboy (CAS) load though. I expect it should run fine in my Henry Big Boy, but the gun is pristine, and I just never shoot it. I can't use it in Classic Cowboy anyway, which is likely the only time I would step up to 45 caliber. Rifles bore me except in SASS and the lever action. Admire those who love their rifles and even like to hunt with them...that's just not me at my stage in life.
 
My 10 grain load, under a 285gr RCBS SWC, runs at 1057, so you're hitting 1100 with a 11 grains & 250. My son used this load to shoot a 150# hog eye to exit at right ham. 9 grains is a lot more comfortable to shoot and still runs over 950.
 
Hog hunting with the Henry sounds like a great time! Kind of what I'm thinking about. Deer and hogs. Is it possible to get 1300 to 1400 out of that 250g bullet with unique? Real gun, why the .454? I can see the expansion in my cases when I seat the .452.
 
Real gun, why the .454? I can see the expansion in my cases when I seat the .452.
Click to expand...

That is what the throats measure and the largest diameter I found to purchase. Leading was significant until I got these bullets. My 45 Convertible is an older one, 7 1/2 NMBH. Fun to shoot. In talking to Ruger, I found no joy in the prospect of getting a new cylinder. I got a smart alecky answer that their techs don't sort through measuring cylinders. How hard or time consuming could that be? I might get a custom shop to work on it someday, but I would rather get along instead of having it gone for a year.
 
I thought it would be good to mention that the powders H-110 and W-296, which are actually the same powders, are not good powders for use in the New Vaquero because they only work well at pressures that are way beyond what the New Vaquero was designed for. They work fine in my original Vaquero, but only in loads that are hotter than I like to shoot. They are much less flexible than other powders and need to be used at or near full pressure only. Thus, I am done with those two. This is why I like AA-9 and IMR-4227; there is a wider range to play with. There is another powder that looks very interesting for the purpose of getting the most velocity out of your New Vaquero and adding a substantial boost in your rifle, and that is AA-5744. It's a powder that I haven't tried yet even though I've burned a wider variety of powders in 45 Colt that all other calibers combined. The down-side of using the slowest suitable powders is that you will have to use twice as much powder or more to gain a modest velocity increase over what Unique delivers. You can only get a little over 1,000 fps with 250 grain bullets within allowable pressure for your revolver using optimal powders. Where you have the most to gain is with your rifle. Fast burning powders may gain as little as 100 fps from revolver to rifle. Unique will double that and the slower burning powders will progressively gain more in the longer barrel as the burn-rate slows and charge weights increase. Some of the slowest burners may gain nearly 400fps. I'm running a 4-5/8" revolver and a 24" rifle for those comparisons. As always, a well-placed hit is better than a high-velocity miss.....
 
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