Reloading 45 colt

Wendy,you reference a guy casting with a lead zinc alloy.I suggest you get additional information if you do take up casting.
I'm not a casting expert.Buying good cast bullets is too easy,but I do have it as a back up plan.
Anyway,I have been cautioned to NOT allow zinc to contaminate my lead supply.I was told it would greatly compromise the casting properties of the lead.That could be bad if you alloy up a 50 or 100 lb batch.
I do not have experience or source to back it.Just a buddy who has cast jillions of bullets.
Tin is a great alloy,a classic.One source is lead free solder.You can buy ingot tin.It makes for great casting quality and harder lead.A 1 to 20 ratio is classic.
Antimony is another additive that increases hardness.It is present in linotype metal,maybe reclaimed lead birdshot,and there was some in wheelweight.
If you get lead pipe,sheet lead,X-ray shielding,etc,it will be pure,dead soft lead.Excellent for muzzle loaders.Not so much for bullets.Needs some alloy.

If you can sweet talk your local tire shop out of wheelweights,buy them cases of beer or slabs of ribs or?? Treat them good!!
Wheelweight is good bullets,as is.
 
I started loading .45 Long Colt in 2010 when I finally found one of my bucket guns -- a 4" Model 25 S&W. I could have had multiple 6" 25s over the 10 years+ that it took me to find the 4", but I like 4" tubes.

I load with Lee dies almost exclusively, and have had excellent results over the years.

My chosen bullet for now is a hard cast 255-gr. lead flat point. They're so hard that they barely deform when they hit a dirt embankment.

Chosen powder charge is 7.5 grains of Universal, for right around 900 FPS.

Most of my reloading is done with WW 231, but I didn't want to use 231 in the .45 Long, because the amount of powder is so minuscule in the huge case. Universal gives a much better case fill (but still not all that great).

Accuracy is very good, more than good enough for me.
 
For generations the metals used by home casters for bullet alloys have been lead, alloyed with tin, and antimony. EVERYTHING ELSE is a CONTAMINANT!

Some contaminants (type and amount) do affect bullet performance when firing. Some only affect performance when casting (fully filling out in the mold, etc.)

Most of my reloading is done with WW 231, but I didn't want to use 231 in the .45 Long, because the amount of powder is so minuscule in the huge case.
Click to expand...

I use Unique in the .45 Colt, my load levels fill the case nearly halfway. I have used Bullseye, 231, etc, and those tiny charges seem lost in that huge case. A double charge is difficult to spot, and one needs to be extra careful checking.

Tiny powder charges can result in accuracy issues, if the powder isn't in the rear of the case next to the primer.

For plinking, I simply point the muzzle up, before firing, old timers (if they had the problem) often used filler or a wad (paper) Cream of Wheat works, and I've used it in the rifle equivalent (10gr powder in a .45-70 case).
 
I very, very, very, very, VERY, VERY, VERY much dislike Unique.

Always have. Meters like crap, filthy dirty.

I will give it kudos as probably the single most versatile powder ever brought to market, though.
 
I recall having a LazerCast reloading book.I don't know where it went.Or,maybe this is in the red Accurate manual?

Anyway,IIRC,they advocated Nitro 100 for the 45 Colt

I never tried it,but it was about the big black powder designed 45 Colt case and load density.Nitro 100 is so fluffy they only fit 12 OZ in a normal pound can.

When I had a 45 Colt Uberti,I messed around "sighting in" by trying loads.
Sights shot poa using a 250 or so gr cast Keith and HS-7.Nice,accurate load.

Too bad they discontinued HS-7.I read there is some Win powder equivalent,but I did not write it down. (Son in law now has the Uberti.He may have saved my daughters life with it.Honeymooning in the cascades in a van,someone slid the side door open on the van in the wee hours.He produced the Uberti,the invader enthusiastically departed.Good SIL!!)
 
As I mentioned previously, Hodgdon's HS-7 is an excellent powder for 45 Colt using 250-255 grain cast bullets, I get outstanding results with a bit higher velocity than listed by Hodgdon; my loads are running 1050-1075 fps, where they list it at 900 for a 250 grain jacketed hollow point. I have been told that it is the same powder as Winchester 571, (also discontinued), and the sample of 571 that came to me would concur with that. It looks the same, loads the same, and shoots the same, so, I guess its true.
 
In defense of Unique (not that it needs any)

Meters like crap, filthy dirty.
Click to expand...

compared to water, it meters like crap. Compared to crap, it meters like water!

OK, yes, flakes aren't quite as smooth as balls, but compared to IMR sticks, flakes are a joy to meter...

And I use it for cast bullets. Filthy dirty is part of the experience! :rolleyes:
 
OK, yes, flakes aren't quite as smooth as balls, but compared to IMR sticks, flakes are a joy to meter...
Click to expand...

Disagree with that very much.

I could never get Unique to meter worth a damn out of my Uniflow, my Lee or my Belding and Mull powder throwers.

IMR-4062, on the other hand? Metered a LOT more consistently.
 
(Son in law now has the Uberti.He may have saved my daughters life with it.Honeymooning in the cascades in a van,someone slid the side door open on the van in the wee hours.He produced the Uberti,the invader enthusiastically departed.Good SIL!!)
Click to expand...

I agree you have a good SIL, also I had the displeasure of looking up the barrel of a loaded 45 Colt, it's very intimidating.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
Reloaded about 1800 45 Colt rounds now.

I fire my 1873 SAA Evil Roy repro, and my 1873 Schofield repro, and my Henry Big Boy steel in 45 Colt. The pistols are loaded mostly with 230 plated SWCs, 7.5 grains of True Blue, and the lever gun with 19 grains of No 9 pushing 255 grain LSWC. I have found that Hornady brass is shorter than most other brass at about 1.235. I have no idea why. -Gunny T sends
 
I've used both Unique and HS-6 with great success with my Ruger Toklat. My favorite powder is 700-X which is readily available, at least where I live, and is cheaper than the other two.

Unique is dirty which is why I switched to 700-X which has become my go to powder for 45 Colt for medium loads.
 
Unique is dirty...
Click to expand...

Everybody's got their standards...

Mine are pretty low...;)

I shoot cast slugs. The lead smokes. The Lube smokes. The powder smokes. The way I see it, its supposed to do that!

OK, its dirty, it smokes, and it smells. OH, wait, that's ME! :rolleyes:

Yes, there are cleaner burning powders at certain load levels. Not especially important to me though.

after all, its smokeLESS (than black powder) not smokeFREE...:D
 
I got a chance to pick some unique up and I loaded 100 cases mui pronto using a Hornady chargemaster. Checked every load on balance beam and on another digital scale. It was more accurate than the hp38 or Titegroup. Titegroup was cleaner but I could not tell that the unique was any dirtier than the hp 38. I didn't even try to meter through manual powder thrower as the powder wasn't fine like the other two. I'm just a single stage loader and do it for enjoyment and relaxation so I'm in no big hurry and it sure takes some stress of of a long work day.
 
Unique

I love love love Unique since 1970. I never had a problem with metering in a Uniflow and even better with my Lyman Accutouch. I will confess that Bryan Pearce' piece on the 45 Colt has turned me on to Power Pistol.
 
I use Unique in my .44s -- just fits and works great. I've used it in my .45s too. Excellent 'all around' powder. I guess I've not found it that dirty. Of course I shoot only lead bullets across the board. See no need for jacketed. I've pretty much settled on Green Dot for .45 Colt general purpose loads behind 250g RNFP bullets. For my woods look, I move up to HS-6 under 255g SWC. Both loads are safe in all my .45s whether medium frame or large frame that I happen to pick up.
 
I'm currently experimenting with Hercules Green Dot, because someone gave me a couple of pounds of it. I haven't shot enough of it to get any strong feelings about it yet. I just loaded some 255 grain Lee RF hand-cast bullets over 7.5 grains of Green Dot for my Vaquero, but haven't had a chance to see how it will group on paper yet. Same story with SR-7625. I have come across so many powders for cheap or free that I will try them out knowing that they will at least be good for cheap plinking ammo.
 
I like something just a little bit slower for 45 Colt, because the case is so large. Herco and Silhouette both work beautifully in the big Colt, with great accuracy.
 
I have been reloading for the 45LC since 1972. It is our favorite pistol cartridge and my Son and I shoot them a lot. I started reloading 45LC`s with Unique and it shot very well for us, and did so till about 1999 when a friend gave us a 8 lb container of Win 231. We have used Win 231 ever since, with very good results. We reload and shoot 7gr`s of Win 231 with a 250 or 255gr hard cast LRNFP bullets in all of our 45LC Revolvers and Lever Action Rifles. We have found that the LRNFP Cast Bullets feeds better in our Lever Guns. We use this load for everything from Hunting, Cowboy Action Matches, Steel Silhouettes, Informal Target Matches, or just our all time favorite walking around plinking loads in both our Revolver`s or Lever Action Rifles. My Son and I have killed several good sized Pigs and a few Deer with this load without any problems whatsoever. Recoil is comfortable, accuracy is outstanding, case life is just superb for us, and it is cheap to shoot. Just what else could we ask for, so this load is our all time favorite 45LC Reload.
ken
 
I've got a clean, 6" Astra 45 Colt double action the way. There's little info on the web for these guns and it may have .454 throats; so I'm glad I ordered my last batch of Lee 452-255-RF in that size. The same revolver was offered in 44 Mag so theoretically at least, it should be OK with Tier II loads. Ought to make for an interesting reloading project anyhow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top