.45 Colt Reloading Powders

Shotgun693 · December 1, 2011, 06:50 PM

I've been trying a few different powder for reloading my .45 Colt ammo. I want a clean burning, case filling powder that I can safely get 925 fps MV with a 200 gr lead bullet. I tried Unique, Clays, Trail Boss and Red Dot. Ya'll have any other suggestions?

arch308 · December 1, 2011, 07:00 PM

Don't know what gun you have but 7-8.5 grs. of IMR PB should do it.

mehavey · December 1, 2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

...tried Unique, Clays, Trail Boss and Red Dot....

I ran QL in search mode.

Absolutely nothing came remotely close to (6" barrel) 950fps/full case/good burn except TrailBoss -- and it fit every parameter.

Q1: What was your experience w/ TrailBoss?
Q2: Why not a "standard" 240gr 45Colt bullet?

.

rclark · December 1, 2011, 07:19 PM

It kind of funny... I have never shot a 200g .45 Colt bullet out of my .45 Colt revolvers yet in the years of shooting .45 Colt. Got a bunch of loads in your velocity range ... just they are all for 250 RNFP and 255 SWC bullets. Might try HS-6, Green Dot, Power Pistol. Don't know what you are looking for as far as cleaner is concerned. I don't find any that are really 'cleaner' to make any difference when shooting lead ... Still got to clean my guns after a session

. Now shoot some cartridges loaded with Black Powder (say Triple-7 which will easily get you in the 9xx range) ... now that's dirty (and fun)!

Nothing beats case filling like Trail Boss or Black Powder

.

Shotgun693 · December 1, 2011, 07:30 PM

Both my Colt's shoot closer to point of aim with 200 gr bullets, so that's about where I want to start. Trail Boss was pretty dirty in my guns. I'm doing decent with Red Dot but am always looking for something better.

zxcvbob · December 1, 2011, 07:39 PM

Red Dot is about the best there is, especially with light bullets. American Select will be cleaner. Also International Clays, but good luck finding load data for that one.

Solo 1000 might be worth a try, but I have no experience with that one.

black mamba · December 1, 2011, 07:39 PM

SR4759 is pretty bulky, and slower even than H110. Don't know about velocities, but it was designed for reduced rifle loads, so shouldn't be a problem with slightly underloading it to get what you want.

HoneyBadger · December 2, 2011, 02:39 AM

I use 200 grain Long Colts in my Judge. They are an ideal bullet weight for that gun and deadly accurate. I use Hodgdon HP38. This is a great powder for this application because it gives you a lot of wiggle room. You can load light to heavy and still get great results. You can control recoil until it's almost nil. I load some really light stuff for the girls that come out to shoot. One downside to Hp38 is that it's some what dirty leaving some unused/unburnt grains behind, but it doesn't bother me. IMR's PB and Trail Boss are great too. Alliant's American Select works nicely too. The .45 Long Colt is by far my favorite pistol round - it's no wonder that it's been around for 125 yrs.

mehavey · December 2, 2011, 07:11 AM

Question: Which of these is the 45 Long Colt?

Answer: None of them.

(Really big grin

)

rex_lee · December 2, 2011, 09:28 AM

It doesn't meet your criteria for clean, but it does meet the rest: Alliant 2400
There is quite a bit of load data out there for the .45 colt for it.

December 1, 2011, 06:50 PM	#1
Shotgun693 Senior Member Join Date: September 3, 2011 Location: Poteet, Texas Posts: 959	.45 Colt Reloading Powders I've been trying a few different powder for reloading my .45 Colt ammo. I want a clean burning, case filling powder that I can safely get 925 fps MV with a 200 gr lead bullet. I tried Unique, Clays, Trail Boss and Red Dot. Ya'll have any other suggestions?

December 1, 2011, 07:19 PM	#4
rclark Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2009 Location: Butte, MT Posts: 2,622	It kind of funny... I have never shot a 200g .45 Colt bullet out of my .45 Colt revolvers yet in the years of shooting .45 Colt. Got a bunch of loads in your velocity range ... just they are all for 250 RNFP and 255 SWC bullets. Might try HS-6, Green Dot, Power Pistol. Don't know what you are looking for as far as cleaner is concerned. I don't find any that are really 'cleaner' to make any difference when shooting lead ... Still got to clean my guns after a session . Now shoot some cartridges loaded with Black Powder (say Triple-7 which will easily get you in the 9xx range) ... now that's dirty (and fun)! Nothing beats case filling like Trail Boss or Black Powder . __________________ 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.

December 1, 2011, 07:39 PM	#6
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	Red Dot is about the best there is, especially with light bullets. American Select will be cleaner. Also International Clays, but good luck finding load data for that one. Solo 1000 might be worth a try, but I have no experience with that one. __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

December 2, 2011, 02:39 AM	#8
HoneyBadger Junior Member Join Date: November 29, 2011 Posts: 7	200 Grain Bullets I use 200 grain Long Colts in my Judge. They are an ideal bullet weight for that gun and deadly accurate. I use Hodgdon HP38. This is a great powder for this application because it gives you a lot of wiggle room. You can load light to heavy and still get great results. You can control recoil until it's almost nil. I load some really light stuff for the girls that come out to shoot. One downside to Hp38 is that it's some what dirty leaving some unused/unburnt grains behind, but it doesn't bother me. IMR's PB and Trail Boss are great too. Alliant's American Select works nicely too. The .45 Long Colt is by far my favorite pistol round - it's no wonder that it's been around for 125 yrs.

December 1, 2011, 07:00 PM	#2
arch308 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2011 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 876	Don't know what gun you have but 7-8.5 grs. of IMR PB should do it.

December 1, 2011, 07:30 PM	#5
Shotgun693 Senior Member Join Date: September 3, 2011 Location: Poteet, Texas Posts: 959	Both my Colt's shoot closer to point of aim with 200 gr bullets, so that's about where I want to start. Trail Boss was pretty dirty in my guns. I'm doing decent with Red Dot but am always looking for something better.

December 1, 2011, 07:39 PM	#7
black mamba Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2011 Location: SW Florida Posts: 890	SR4759 is pretty bulky, and slower even than H110. Don't know about velocities, but it was designed for reduced rifle loads, so shouldn't be a problem with slightly underloading it to get what you want.

December 2, 2011, 07:11 AM	#9
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,896	Question: Which of these is the 45 Long Colt? Answer: None of them. (Really big grin )

December 2, 2011, 09:28 AM	#10
rex_lee Member Join Date: August 26, 2010 Posts: 41	It doesn't meet your criteria for clean, but it does meet the rest: Alliant 2400 There is quite a bit of load data out there for the .45 colt for it.