45 colt +P rifle loads

coop2564 · October 12, 2017, 02:14 PM

Anyone have some good heavy hitting rifle loads? I have a Henry golden big boy 45c. Thinking of trying 250gr HC with some H4227. It's 16 twist. Gun says not to use heavier than 260gr due to length issues loading. I load for 45c Blackhawk using H110 but think I would get better performance from a slower powder from a 20" barrel.

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Pathfinder45 · October 12, 2017, 11:59 PM

The weight of the bullet is not crucial to the rounds functioning through the rifle; rather, it's the over-all length of the round that matters for proper cycling of the action. The twist-rate of your rifle will stabilize heavier bullets. My Marlin works well with 300 grain bullets, even though the twist is slower. As far as high-pressure loads are concerned, you alone are responsible for what ammo you choose to use in your rifle. I have used various powders for rifle loads. Faster burning powders gain about 100 fps in my rifle over what the same load will yield in a revolver. With the slowest suitable powders, the increase can be well over 300fps. Thus, you can gain quite a bit of performance using optimal powders without over-doing it. Some of the powders that have worked well for me in this role are AA-9 and IMR-4227.

444 · October 13, 2017, 05:33 AM

I experimented pretty extensively with various cartridges in various barrel lengths over a chronograph and Pathfinder45's numbers are a good estimate of what you can expect to see. With slower burning powders, I have seen more than 300 fps in some cases but 300 is a decent rule of thumb.

After the testing, my take home message was that whatever the fastest velocity load in a rifle is, that will also be your fastest velocity load in the revolver. There is no optimizing for the longer barrel. In other words, I just looked at the Hodgdon website and the fastest velocity .45 Colt, 225 grain load is with Lil Gun powder. If you test all the powders on that site with the max loads in both rifle and pistol, you will find that Lil Gun gives you the most velocity out of either a rifle or pistol. And the powder that gives you the most velocity will be the slow burning powder.

I am not sure that is clear, maybe it's too early for me.

coop2564 · October 13, 2017, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 444

I experimented pretty extensively with various cartridges in various barrel lengths over a chronograph and Pathfinder45's numbers are a good estimate of what you can expect to see. With slower burning powders, I have seen more than 300 fps in some cases but 300 is a decent rule of thumb.

After the testing, my take home message was that whatever the fastest velocity load in a rifle is, that will also be your fastest velocity load in the revolver. There is no optimizing for the longer barrel. In other words, I just looked at the Hodgdon website and the fastest velocity .45 Colt, 225 grain load is with Lil Gun powder. If you test all the powders on that site with the max loads in both rifle and pistol, you will find that Lil Gun gives you the most velocity out of either a rifle or pistol. And the powder that gives you the most velocity will be the slow burning powder.

I am not sure that is clear, maybe it's too early for me.

Thanks I have some lil gun already. I'll work up some loads tomorrow using HC Keith style 260 and some WFN 250gr and see what I get thru the chrono.

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October 12, 2017, 02:14 PM	#1
coop2564 Senior Member Join Date: March 4, 2011 Location: Frisco, TX Posts: 330	45 colt +P rifle loads Anyone have some good heavy hitting rifle loads? I have a Henry golden big boy 45c. Thinking of trying 250gr HC with some H4227. It's 16 twist. Gun says not to use heavier than 260gr due to length issues loading. I load for 45c Blackhawk using H110 but think I would get better performance from a slower powder from a 20" barrel. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

October 13, 2017, 05:33 AM	#3
444 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2000 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,968	I experimented pretty extensively with various cartridges in various barrel lengths over a chronograph and Pathfinder45's numbers are a good estimate of what you can expect to see. With slower burning powders, I have seen more than 300 fps in some cases but 300 is a decent rule of thumb. After the testing, my take home message was that whatever the fastest velocity load in a rifle is, that will also be your fastest velocity load in the revolver. There is no optimizing for the longer barrel. In other words, I just looked at the Hodgdon website and the fastest velocity .45 Colt, 225 grain load is with Lil Gun powder. If you test all the powders on that site with the max loads in both rifle and pistol, you will find that Lil Gun gives you the most velocity out of either a rifle or pistol. And the powder that gives you the most velocity will be the slow burning powder. I am not sure that is clear, maybe it's too early for me. __________________ You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British Regulars fired and fled, How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard wall, Chasing the redcoats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.

October 12, 2017, 11:59 PM	#2
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	The weight of the bullet is not crucial to the rounds functioning through the rifle; rather, it's the over-all length of the round that matters for proper cycling of the action. The twist-rate of your rifle will stabilize heavier bullets. My Marlin works well with 300 grain bullets, even though the twist is slower. As far as high-pressure loads are concerned, you alone are responsible for what ammo you choose to use in your rifle. I have used various powders for rifle loads. Faster burning powders gain about 100 fps in my rifle over what the same load will yield in a revolver. With the slowest suitable powders, the increase can be well over 300fps. Thus, you can gain quite a bit of performance using optimal powders without over-doing it. Some of the powders that have worked well for me in this role are AA-9 and IMR-4227.