45 colt info

[14cm]

my good men, i am getting a ruger hunter in 45 lc. it will be used as a whitetail gun. No cast bullits and no cowboy loads in it's future. i have 3 questions.

1- what is the best unprimed brass to buy?
2- what is your favorite 300 gr jhp load? i use h110 for my 454's
3- Can i use my hornady 454 casull 4 die set to load 45lc


thank you
john neal

[SwampYankee]

I have used both Remington and Winchester brass with full loads and no problems. But here is some detail from John Lingaugh's Custom Six Guns sight:

http://www.customsixguns.com/writing...g_the_myth.htm

The .45 Colt case is just as strong as any handgun case on the market. Especially in the Federal brand. I have proof load data here from Hornadys pressure barrel that goes over 62,000 CUP. I have shot this load hundreds of times in my special 5 shot custom revolvers and with our tight chambers case life is excellent. And primer pockets remain tight till the case is discarded due to split necks. This comes from repeated crimping and case mouth belling. The Winchester case will stand the pressure fine, but will begin to get sticky in the chambers after a couple of shots. This is not a weakness in the design of the case, it simply lacks the springy nature of the excellent Federal case. The Remington case is about half a good as the Winchester case. It's amply strong for any loads that can be safely used in any Ruger revolver, but I don't use them personally.

I have been told that you can use the 454 Casull dies for 45 Colt, just not the other way around.

[champ198]

for 45 colt its hard to beat Starline Brass...reasonable price too

[Sport45]

for 45 colt its hard to beat Starline Brass...reasonable price too

I agree. I use Starline for my "Ruger Only" loads in .45 Colt.

No cast bullits and no cowboy loads in it's future.

Why's that? My Redhawk's bore has never seen a jacketed bullet. A heavy hardcast will do just fine to drop a deer of any persuasion.

[Edward429451]

+1 why no cast? There's a lot of good shooting in cast! Sized correctly and proper hardness and you wont have leading.

I have been told that you can use the 454 Casull dies for 45 Colt, just not the other way around.

I didn't have any problem loading 454 on 45 Colt dies. I tried it and got lucky I guess.

[14cm]

the reason they do not want you to use colt dies on casull is, the casull die sizes the case a weeee bit smaller to grip tighter on the bullet during recoil with heavy loads.

i have nothing against lead, just like my copper jackets.

[ljnowell]

I use starline for my Ruger Only loads in 45 colt, but i use whatever I can get my hands on for target loads. I dont care much for H110/296 because of the narrow charge window. I prefer 2400. I load mostly cast and 2400 is like peas and carrots with cast loads in 45 colt. It also works well for jacketed. I am currently loading a 300 gr LTC @ 18gr 2400 out of my 7.5" Blackhawk. One helluva stout load.

[Pathfinder45]

........but cast bullets are where it's at in the .45 Colt. Sierra makes a 300 grain jacketed flat-point that I'm experimenting with along with Hornady's 300 grain XTP. But it's for rifle use 'til I get a mould for 300 grain cast. I not thrilled with H-110/W-296 in .45 Colt. For +P+ loads, fine. But if you just want moderate +P loads you'll be better served with AA-9 or IMR-4227. I prefer CCI-350 magnum primers for HS-7 and slower powders; Winchester Large Pistol for faster powders. My three favorite loads consist of hand-cast Lee 255 RNFP over 14.0 HS-7, or 9.5 Unique, or as much fffg black powder as can be packed and then lightly compressed under the same bullet. Velocities run 975 to 1075 fps. I've got other recipes well into the +P range, but these are the ones I like best.