Reloading 45LC with 185gr and Hodgdon H110

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ColtRice17

Inactive
alright, I have a Henry Big Boy 45LC and am set up to reload with rcbs dies Hodgdon H110 and Hornady xtp 185Gr JHP bullets. what I want to know is how many grains should I start out with since no loading guide I have found shows loading a 185Gr bullet, everything I see starts around 225Gr. also being as there is no lube/ crimp ring on 185Gr bullets where would your crimp end up at?
on my first test round without primer or powder it went well and when I crimped the brass around the bullet it blew out the side of the casing, but if I adjusted the Die to set the bullet in far enough that the brass rolls around the end of the bullet then everything looks good but I want to know will that cause a case head separation or a build up of too much pressure?

Thank you for any and all advice in advance.
 
My Hornady 10th only has 185 XTP in the 45 Auto section with diameter of .451 I believe 45 colt uses .452 don't know if that makes any difference but no loads for 185 gr for 45 colt

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Welcome to TFL.

since no loading guide I have found shows loading a 185Gr bullet, everything I see starts around 225Gr.
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That's likely because H110 is a very slow burn rate propellant and is not suitable for the application.

45 Colt is not a high pressure cartridge. H110 is basically designed for Magnum chamberings - like 357 and 44 - and those corresponding pressures. And even in those chamberings, it is strongly recommended to stick with heavy bullets when loading with H110.

Low pressure; light bullets; not good for H110. I would recommend moving to an intermediate burn rate range propellant. HS-6; AA#5; Unique; Power Pistol; BE-86; that sorta stuff.
 
redford1 is correct, those 185 XTPs are meant for .45ACP. While you can still use them in .45 Colt, without a cannelure and the velocities they are intended for, you probably should load them @ cowboy levels. Without a cannelure to crimp into you are risking bullet setback in the carbine's tube magazine during recoil. Again, a reason to keep velocities and pressures low. You will not be able to this with H110/W296. Hornady makes a multitude of .45 bullets more appropriate for loading a .45 carbine. New reloaders should do research before buying components to avoid confusion like this. Statements like this make me feel you need to do more research before attempting to reload......
on my first test round without primer or powder it went well and when I crimped the brass around the bullet it blew out the side of the casing, but if I adjusted the Die to set the bullet in far enough that the brass rolls around the end of the bullet then everything looks good but I want to know will that cause a case head separation or a build up of too much pressure?
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Potential Danger

More than H110 being merely inappropriate, it could be dangerous. When you load H110 down to .45 Colt pressures it is know to extinguish (squib out) occasionally. This leaves a bullet stuck in the barrel, and if you fire the next shot into the obstructed bore and it doesn't squib out, that can destroy your gun. But even if you didn't have that happen, you would have to use large charge weights and a lot of unburned powder would go out the muzzle and the gun would get very dirty. I know one fellow who was unaware of the ignition problem but who luckily didn't experience a stuck bullet, nonetheless found cartridges hard to extract and fresh ones hard to chamber after a while. This was due to the powder not pressurizing the case well enough to seal the chamber, so powder grains were blown into the space between the case and chamber wall, and wedged in there.

If you don't have any magnum revolvers and if you can't return the powder, give or sell it to someone who can use it for its intended purpose.

.45 Colt was changed from .454" to .451" somewhere around the end of WWII, IIRC. The .454" bullets are for older guns made to the older spec. The problem is that because .45 Auto bullets are also .451", folks expect the .45 Colt will automatically shoot those, too. We'll, you can make it do that with Trail Boss powder for CAS loads. But there are a lot of powders that won't be usable in it for the purpose.

Go to Hodgdon's site and look up the bullets and powders appropriate for the cartridge you have.
 
I use 45 Auto bullets in my Colt all the time but I would not recommend it in a Carbine at all. I use a Redding Taper Crimp die but that is really only safe in a revolver.

As for the H110, that not a good choice as has been mentioned already. I like Trail Boss and Tightgroup but be careful with Tightgroup as you can quadruple charge the 45 Colt with it and kill yourself or others if you are not careful.

IMO the best bullet for the 45 Colt is a 250 RNFP at around 1000 fps in the 7.5" Vaquero. Would be more from the Rifle of course.

Have fun.
 
The older black powder revolvers used bullets that are slightly larger than .451 diameter. Most modern chamberings of 45 Colt use .451 diameter jacketed bullets.

I don't know if your gun can withstand the pressure of H110 consistently. Those loads are recommender for Ruger and Contenders specifically.
In a tubular magazine you have to use bullets with a groove for a crimp. It keeps the bullet from being pushed into the cartridge under the spring pressure. Seating your bullet deep enough to crimp over the ogive not only won't prevent the bullet from being pushed farther into the case but you are starting out with less space by seating the bullet that deeply. That can cause higher pressures.
There are tools to put a groove on the bullets and a swage type crimper can be used to crimp into bullets without the cannelure. To be safe you need to use a crimp that keeps the bullet from backing into the case.
 
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