Reloading for .45 colt in Taurus Thunderbolt

wachtelhund1 · May 21, 2009, 02:47 PM

Has anyone experience in loading hunting loads in the .45 colt Taurus Thunderbolt pump rifle. I just picked up a use one with less than ten rounds through it. I had the barrel cut to 20". I would like to reload some 265 gr cast bullets for deer at short ranges.

Anyone know how much PSI in loads this rifle can take?

hodaka · May 21, 2009, 06:38 PM

When I first got my Taurus I overloaded some brass, stepping up with .5 gr amounts of Unique and 2400. I won't say how much of each, but much too much. I didn't damage the rifle but I did ruin the brass in this little experiment. Accuracy went to pot. I think that using a standard 7-8.0 gr of Unique would do the job on deer size game. I usually use cast 255's but I recently loaded up some Nosler jacketed hollow points and was surprised by how accurate they were. Much more than the cast bullets.

wachtelhund1 · June 3, 2009, 12:47 PM

I just worked up two loads for a Taurus Thunderbolt, pump .45 colt. It was made for cowboy shooting and can not take the pressurer of a puma. However, I wanted a couple hunting loads in 250 and 300 grain jacketed built. The loads were developed with RL-7, rifle powder for a 20" barrel:

Alliant 44-40 rifle data, the closest published data for a .45colt rifle, showed 240 grain lead bullet, 23.5 grs RL-7, @ 1290fps and 12.2k cup out of a 16" barrel.

I started loading a 250 gr JHP with 24 grs RL-7 and CCI 350 primer. Bullet was 10 grains more, but the Colt case has 4 percent more capacity and a larger diameter bullet. Chrongraph readings for five shots averaged 980fps. There was a lot of powder residue on the cases indicating low pressurer and no unbrunt powder in the barrel. Obviously, the Colt case could take more RL-7 powder in a 20" barrel.

With the 300 JSP bullet, I did a lot of comparing of load data for the 44-40 rilfe and pistol data and 45 colt pistol data. Here I looked not only Alliant but Speer data and compared burn rates of several powders. I sort of established 23 grains for RL-7 as a max load for the Thunderbolt, after reading 28 grains would provide 30,000psi. I started lower and loaded shells at 15.0, 15.5,16.0,16.5, 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 grains of RL-7. Chrongraph results were very low as expected, ranging from 370 to 690fps.

I loaded and chrongraphed more loads out of the Taurus Thunderbolt .45 Colt loads with RL-7 powder:

The Nosler 250 grain JHP bullet:
25.0 grains averaged 1,065 fps
25.5 grains averaged 1,100 fps
26.0 grains averaged 1,130 fps
26.5 grains averaged 1,160 fps.

Twenty-six and a half grains will be my max load with a 250 jacket bullet out of the Taurus Thunderbolt.

The Speer 300 grain JSP:
21 grains averaged 810 fps
21.5 grains averaged 860 fps
22.0 grains averaged 870 fps
22.5 grains averaged 881 fps
23.0 grains averaged 973 fps
23.5 grains averaged 1,000 fps

Twenty-three and a half grains will be my max hunting load with a 300 jacket bullet out of the Taurus Thunderbolt.

All cases, even from the heavier loads cases had a lot of powder residue on the out side indicating there was still a lack of pressurer sufficent to fully expand an seal the case to the chamber and there was no unbrunt powder in the barrel. Of course the cases showed no signs of excessive pressurer. The rifle had only moderate recoil and handled them fine. I'm sure I could still go a little higher as the cases still had room for more powder, but better safe than sorry. A 300 grain bullet at 1,000 fps is more than enough for deer.

I have no idea of the psi of these loads, so anyone duplicating them should start out low as I did and develop your own. Since, I used RL-7 rifle powder, I believe the psi is lower than the Speer load data for 45 Colt Ruger & Contender using their 300 grain bullet.

May 21, 2009, 02:47 PM	#1
wachtelhund1 Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2007 Location: pelican lake, WI Posts: 413	Reloading for .45 colt in Taurus Thunderbolt Has anyone experience in loading hunting loads in the .45 colt Taurus Thunderbolt pump rifle. I just picked up a use one with less than ten rounds through it. I had the barrel cut to 20". I would like to reload some 265 gr cast bullets for deer at short ranges. Anyone know how much PSI in loads this rifle can take?

May 21, 2009, 06:38 PM	#2
hodaka Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,010	When I first got my Taurus I overloaded some brass, stepping up with .5 gr amounts of Unique and 2400. I won't say how much of each, but much too much. I didn't damage the rifle but I did ruin the brass in this little experiment. Accuracy went to pot. I think that using a standard 7-8.0 gr of Unique would do the job on deer size game. I usually use cast 255's but I recently loaded up some Nosler jacketed hollow points and was surprised by how accurate they were. Much more than the cast bullets.

June 3, 2009, 12:47 PM	#3
wachtelhund1 Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2007 Location: pelican lake, WI Posts: 413	I just worked up two loads for a Taurus Thunderbolt, pump .45 colt. It was made for cowboy shooting and can not take the pressurer of a puma. However, I wanted a couple hunting loads in 250 and 300 grain jacketed built. The loads were developed with RL-7, rifle powder for a 20" barrel: Alliant 44-40 rifle data, the closest published data for a .45colt rifle, showed 240 grain lead bullet, 23.5 grs RL-7, @ 1290fps and 12.2k cup out of a 16" barrel. I started loading a 250 gr JHP with 24 grs RL-7 and CCI 350 primer. Bullet was 10 grains more, but the Colt case has 4 percent more capacity and a larger diameter bullet. Chrongraph readings for five shots averaged 980fps. There was a lot of powder residue on the cases indicating low pressurer and no unbrunt powder in the barrel. Obviously, the Colt case could take more RL-7 powder in a 20" barrel. With the 300 JSP bullet, I did a lot of comparing of load data for the 44-40 rilfe and pistol data and 45 colt pistol data. Here I looked not only Alliant but Speer data and compared burn rates of several powders. I sort of established 23 grains for RL-7 as a max load for the Thunderbolt, after reading 28 grains would provide 30,000psi. I started lower and loaded shells at 15.0, 15.5,16.0,16.5, 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 grains of RL-7. Chrongraph results were very low as expected, ranging from 370 to 690fps. I loaded and chrongraphed more loads out of the Taurus Thunderbolt .45 Colt loads with RL-7 powder: The Nosler 250 grain JHP bullet: 25.0 grains averaged 1,065 fps 25.5 grains averaged 1,100 fps 26.0 grains averaged 1,130 fps 26.5 grains averaged 1,160 fps. Twenty-six and a half grains will be my max load with a 250 jacket bullet out of the Taurus Thunderbolt. The Speer 300 grain JSP: 21 grains averaged 810 fps 21.5 grains averaged 860 fps 22.0 grains averaged 870 fps 22.5 grains averaged 881 fps 23.0 grains averaged 973 fps 23.5 grains averaged 1,000 fps Twenty-three and a half grains will be my max hunting load with a 300 jacket bullet out of the Taurus Thunderbolt. All cases, even from the heavier loads cases had a lot of powder residue on the out side indicating there was still a lack of pressurer sufficent to fully expand an seal the case to the chamber and there was no unbrunt powder in the barrel. Of course the cases showed no signs of excessive pressurer. The rifle had only moderate recoil and handled them fine. I'm sure I could still go a little higher as the cases still had room for more powder, but better safe than sorry. A 300 grain bullet at 1,000 fps is more than enough for deer. I have no idea of the psi of these loads, so anyone duplicating them should start out low as I did and develop your own. Since, I used RL-7 rifle powder, I believe the psi is lower than the Speer load data for 45 Colt Ruger & Contender using their 300 grain bullet.