The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Revolver Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 3, 2013, 04:41 PM   #26
spacecoast
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
Quote:
I would just like to point out from spacecoast's two data charts above why so many experienced shooters prefer cast bullets over jacketed.
Please note, the charts were removed by the Staff, to view the information go to Hodgdon's reloading data center (www.hodgdon.com (http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp), choose Pistol Loads... .44mag or .45 Colt and specify H110 as the powder.
spacecoast is offline  
Old March 3, 2013, 09:13 PM   #27
Poindexter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 2, 2009
Location: Interior Alaska
Posts: 154
Like stevelyn I too have had trouble lighting H-110 between about 0df and +25dF.

I personally sold my magnum and bought a Redhawk in .45Colt so I cold fool with a bunch of powders other than H-110.

I like all three of Universal Clays, HS-6 and TiteGroup from shirtsleeve weather down to -30dF.

The 270 SAA ought to be a terrific bullet against anything on two or four legs likely to be encountered in the lower 48, cast at about BHN 12-15 and driven to about 900fps with any of the three powders above.

I fooled a little bit with a 315gr cast Keith style SWC over the weekend. Hodgdon was expecting about 850 fps out of their test barrel with a smallish pinch of TiteGroup, so likely 650-700fps muzzle out of my 4" Redhawk. Pretty stout without over working the primers.

I am still looking for my bear load, but the nice thing about a capacious case like the .45Colt is it can get a lot of work done without having to lean on H110/Win296/H4227.
Poindexter is offline  
Old March 3, 2013, 09:23 PM   #28
Cheap 870
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 12, 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 159
The question was hard hitting 45 colt loads.
You can down load 45colt or a 44mag.
I probably have 550 44mags loaded with 6grs of Titegroup with a 240gr. cast.
And 450 45colts loaded with 5.5grs. of Titegroup with 255grs.
Cheap 870 is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 04:36 AM   #29
stevelyn
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 19, 2004
Location: Fairbanksan in exile to Aleutian Hell
Posts: 2,655
Quote:
The 270 SAA ought to be a terrific bullet against anything on two or four legs likely to be encountered in the lower 48, cast at about BHN 12-15 and driven to about 900fps with any of the three powders above.
I'm also thinking it'd be a good bullet for GP up in the interior too. I'm laying in supplies and equipment now for casting after studying under the expert tootledge of one of my buds who casts. The RCBS .45-270-SAA and the Lyman 255gr Thompson design are the two I've settled on for now.

For my purposes out here on the AKPEN, I'm still going to stick with the 330gr Stoners.
__________________
Stop Allowing Our Schools To Be Soft Targets!
http://fastersaveslives.org/

East Moose. Wear Wolf.
stevelyn is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 06:34 AM   #30
riddleofsteel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 18, 2000
Location: above ground
Posts: 1,558
When I buy all the components my go to load for most all big game is the Leadhead Keith style SWC at 270 grains sitting on top of 10.5 grains of Unique in a Starline case. I get right at 1100 fps and great accuracy out of my 4 5/8 Ruger Blackhawk. Very good terminal bullet performance from a purchased cast bullet.
__________________
For him there was always the discipline of steel.
riddleofsteel is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 08:18 AM   #31
Sport45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 25, 1999
Location: Too close to Houston
Posts: 4,196
Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly booger
I like H110 for bullets weighing more than 250gr..one of my pet loads was 22gr under a 300gr hard cast flat nose....you should expect about 1200 fps. This is a mazimum load and very hot.

296 is a good powder for lighter bullets in the 225 range. try about 26 grains, which will give you about 1450 fps ...also a handfull
Don't you find those two powdres work equally well the other way around as well?
__________________
Proud member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association. Registered and active voter.
Sport45 is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 12:58 PM   #32
Colt46
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 25, 2002
Location: Campbell Ca
Posts: 1,090
It's very easy to accomplish hard hitting

Any heavier than standard bullet at 900-1000 fps will whack the bejeesus out of just about anything on the other end. A great bullet is the 270 grain SAA from RCBS. It drops a bit heavier than stated weight and will do it all without excess powder, recoil or wear on your gun.
With a better bullet design even standard weights and velocities will hit harder than most handgun bullets.
Colt46 is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 07:04 PM   #33
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Hard hitting .45 Colt Loads

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevelyn View Post
For my purposes out here on the AKPEN, I'm still going to stick with the 330gr Stoners.
Yeah, have to agree with sticking to the heavy bullets. You are definitely in heavy bear country!
wyobohunter is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 07:32 PM   #34
Poindexter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 2, 2009
Location: Interior Alaska
Posts: 154
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevelyn
I'm also thinking it'd be a good bullet for GP up in the interior too. I'm laying in supplies and equipment now for casting after studying under the expert tootledge of one of my buds who casts. The RCBS .45-270-SAA and the Lyman 255gr Thompson design are the two I've settled on for now.

For my purposes out here on the AKPEN, I'm still going to stick with the 330gr Stoners.
I don't disagree. I tried a bunch of bullets, and added a Vaquero to my stable lately. I am loading a 230gr Truncated Cone to 750fps for steel target matches, the 270SAA to about 900fps for general duty including camping in interior Alaska, and still looking for a heavier bullet to take into the mountains if I go north into white bear country or south into salmon fed bear country.

I really like the 255gr Keith style SWC, but I can do so much more with the 270SAA (eg 9month CCW in town only versus year round CCW in town and open carry sidearm in the out of town); I can't justify loading and stocking both.

Best of luck to you.
Poindexter is offline  
Old March 5, 2013, 08:28 PM   #35
GeauxTide
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 20, 2009
Location: Helena, AL
Posts: 4,415
Brian Pearce has an excellent article in the latest Handloader on loading the new Lipseys 45 Colt on the 357 frame. Keeping loads to 23,000, he developed loads around the 280 RCBS Keith style, BH of 15 for a velocity of 1048. His son shot a treed Blackie 6x at 40 yards. The bear was dead at the third shot and all bullets blew right through the chest with a couple of 3" exits.

I've got a large frame Bisley, but 275's @ 1057 are plenty for me. Unique and Power Pistol in 9-11 grains are all that's needed. If I want more oomph, I pick up my 44 SBH.
GeauxTide is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 08:26 PM   #36
Nanuk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 2, 2005
Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam.
Posts: 3,082
If you want that kind of pressure from a 45 Colt why don't you just use a gun designed for it like the 454 Casull?

It seems foolish to push the round beyond its safety margin.
__________________
Retired Law Enforcement
U. S. Army Veteran
Armorer
My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.
Nanuk is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 08:48 PM   #37
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Hard hitting .45 Colt Loads

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanuk View Post
If you want that kind of pressure from a 45 Colt why don't you just use a gun designed for it like the 454 Casull?

It seems foolish to push the round beyond its safety margin.
That kind of pressure is well within the safety margins if you use a Ruger Blackhawk or FA 97. The "Ruger only" loads are still well below 454 pressure.

45 colt (Ruger,FA,TC only load) Max load - cast performance 360 gr and 21 gr of H110 is 28,300 CUP

454 using the same bullet and a max load -
24 gr of H110 is 43,400 CUP

Pretty significant difference
Using the same logic one could ask, why drive a bullet from the 454 at those pressures when you could get a 460 S&W? Same thing, 460 S&W pushes with more pressure. Plus the 45 colt in Blackhawk and FA can be had in a smaller frame than the 454, which can be had in a smaller frame than the 460 S&W. It's all about compromise.

Super Redhawk 454 with 7.5" barrel weighs 53 oz
Blackhawk 45 Colt with 7.5" barrel weighs 42 oz

That is nearly 3/4 pound difference, also significant.
My 4 5/8" Blackhawk weighs 36 oz and is more powerful than my 2.5" barrel Super Redhawk 454 that weighs in at 44 oz. Guess which one I'd rather pack around the mountains?

Finally, the question was not "Why shouldn't I load the 45 Colt to its full potential and what should I get instead?".

Last edited by wyobohunter; March 6, 2013 at 09:20 PM.
wyobohunter is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 08:52 PM   #38
Cheap 870
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 12, 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 159
Sometimes you just gotta shoot some FULL POWER loads.
Cheap 870 is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 09:27 PM   #39
kimbers rule
Member
 
Join Date: November 3, 2012
Location: State of Jefferson
Posts: 95
If you want a fullhouse round, try buffalo bore's 300 grn. jacketed soft point. That'll wake you up in the morning. I shot a gun load of em and decided to let my friends shoot the rest of the box with an old model vaquaro. More power than I need.
kimbers rule is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 09:28 PM   #40
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Hard hitting .45 Colt Loads

Although the OP didn't specify I believe he was asking for hand loading information.

Last edited by wyobohunter; March 6, 2013 at 09:51 PM.
wyobohunter is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 09:45 PM   #41
kimbers rule
Member
 
Join Date: November 3, 2012
Location: State of Jefferson
Posts: 95
Your right. He was. Just keep an eye on your brass. If your loading it hot, you might only get one or two loadings out of it.

Last edited by kimbers rule; March 6, 2013 at 09:59 PM.
kimbers rule is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 10:32 PM   #42
stevelyn
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 19, 2004
Location: Fairbanksan in exile to Aleutian Hell
Posts: 2,655
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanuk

If you want that kind of pressure from a 45 Colt why don't you just use a gun designed for it like the 454 Casull?

It seems foolish to push the round beyond its safety margin.

The safety margin is about gun it's being launched from rather than the cartridge itself. The .45 Colt is still evolving from its blackpowder roots and the weaker SAA and the like revolvers it was originally chambered in.

With the strong revolvers such as the Ruger, Freedom Arms and such, loads for it can and have been developed to its potential.

They Ruger Only loads you find in the load manuals are set for the strength parameters of the Blackhawk. The Redhawk and Super Redhawk are even much stronger.
__________________
Stop Allowing Our Schools To Be Soft Targets!
http://fastersaveslives.org/

East Moose. Wear Wolf.
stevelyn is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 10:39 PM   #43
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Hard hitting .45 Colt Loads

Quote:
Originally Posted by kimbers rule View Post
Your right. He was. Just keep an eye on your brass. If your loading it hot, you might only get one or two loadings out of it.
Might is the operative word. With my favorite load I get at least 5. I do start inspecting cases more closely after 2 or 3 (I always inspect closely... Just more so).
wyobohunter is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 10:45 PM   #44
zxcvbob
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
Why? I've had case head separations in .357 Magnum when I was loading over 40Kpsi, but in a revolver they are more of a nuisance than anything else. I inspect my revolver brass for cracks at the case mouth, but that's about it. I keep reloading it until it fails.

OTOH, I wouldn't want a head to blow off in a rifle or a semiauto. I'm rather attached to my eyes and fingers.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth
zxcvbob is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 12:05 AM   #45
riddleofsteel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 18, 2000
Location: above ground
Posts: 1,558
The great thing about the 45 Colt is that you do not have to hot rod it to the point of failure to get great performance. This article opened my eyes many years ago and my loading and hunting with the Blackhawk and the 45 Colt has demonstrated that Mr. Linebaugh knew what he was talking about.
http://www.customsixguns.com/writing...g_the_myth.htm
I hunt with .45 slugs and jacketed bullets from 270 to 300 grains from my .45 Colt and my muzzleloader with sabots. The damage such bullets can do simply has to be experienced to be believed. Medium range velocities leave big holes that bleed freely. Higher velocities create an effect that Henry Ball coined as "Slammification." It describes the effect of a 300 grain XTP hollow point hitting a whitetail at 2300 to 2400 FPS. Suffice it to say that I often see deer flip and often see the bottom of their feet as the go over not to get back up.

The difference between 1100 fps and 2300 fps is just a matter of distance. As you lose velocity you just decrease your maximum distance. The effect of slamification remains pretty much the same.
__________________
For him there was always the discipline of steel.
riddleofsteel is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 12:17 AM   #46
zxcvbob
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
My favorite .45 Colt load is a 230 grain cast bullet at just under 1100 fps. I shoot 255's at 1300+ every once in a while just for fun, but the fun wears off after about a dozen shots. Maybe I'm a wimp. Or maybe I just need to take the purdy checkered grips off my gun and put the original smooth walnut grips back.

A 250-ish grain cast bullet atop a full case of blackpowder is no slouch either.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth
zxcvbob is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 12:27 AM   #47
QuarterHorse
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 13, 2010
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Posts: 421
I'm finding the 45 Colt to have the potential for a lot of fun to reload for. It has also pushed my upcoming firearm purchases around and made the next one for sure if not next two purchases chambered in 45 Colt.
__________________
Never enough toys
QuarterHorse is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 10:01 AM   #48
rclark
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2009
Location: Butte, MT
Posts: 2,614
Quote:
The safety margin is about gun it's being launched from rather than the cartridge itself.
Absolutely.... The myth that the 'case' can't handle hot loads is just that ... a myth. The case is as strong as the .44Mag or .357 case.... And the .45 Colt doesn't even come close to 36,000psi.... ROL are in the 30,000 range. And my 'hot' loads are in the 20,000 range. The 13.0g of HS-6 load mentioned in the Linebaugh article above is all I need in .45 Colt. And it can be launched from my medium frame .45 Colt Ruger Flattops.... Wonderful versatile cartridge that meets all my expectations. And a lot of other folks since 1873.

All you hunters (and anyone else that enjoys shooting big bore) should grab a copy of Max Prasac's book 'Big-Bore Revolvers'.
__________________
A clinger and deplorable, MAGA, and life NRA member. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Single Action .45 Colt (Sometimes colloquially referred to by its alias as the .45 'Long' Colt or .45LC). Don't leave home without it. That said, the .44Spec is right up their too... but the .45 Colt is still the king.

Last edited by rclark; March 7, 2013 at 10:07 AM.
rclark is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 10:18 AM   #49
Nathan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 1, 2001
Posts: 6,285
So, I have one word of advice...Heavy loads at max velocity kick on both ends.

A 250-265 gr bullet at 1100-1200 fps might be a bit better of a choice for hunting. I have worked up and enjoyed Linebaugh's loads, but now consider them a bit much.

Whitetail deer just aren't that dangerous!
Nathan is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 10:30 AM   #50
wyobohunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2008
Location: Back in Wyoming
Posts: 1,125
Hard hitting .45 Colt Loads

Yeah, they exert power in two directions. But it is much less painful for me. The BHawk kind of rolls back in the hand and isn't so snappy. My SRH really hurts my wrist and the palm of my hand.
wyobohunter is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11951 seconds with 11 queries