alliant 2400 for 45 Long Colt

[joebob1]

Hello all,
I could use some instruction,
I've been reloading 45 acp and using Unique,
I have some Alliant 2400 but am unsure what recipes to use for it.
I'm shooting
Ruger Redhawk 45 lc, 4 in,
I've been reloading 45 lc and using Unique, 45 LC, 250 grain FP .452 Lead Bullet, Unique 8.6 gr
and
Ruger New Model Blackhawk, 45lc/45acp convertible 4 5/8
Berry's Pref. Plated Bullets 45CAL 230 GR RN, Unique 6.0

thanks, any info is appreciated

[ljnowell]

I use 2400 in 45 colt loads for my blackhawk. I run a 255gr lswc over 15 gr of 2400, a standard pressure load, near max. I also run a 300gr ltc over 18.5gr of 2400, well into ruger only range. Its a good powder for the application of making full powered ammo.

[mehavey]

Having reloaded for a 3-screw old 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk since `73....
First, see here for the floor:

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloade...aspx?gtypeid=1

See this for the required cautionary education:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/high-pressure45.htm

Finally, choose from this....

http://www.reloadammo.com/45cload.htm

....with care

[Stargazer]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.


I took my 45 Colt RedHawk out this morning to try some new to me 2400 loads. Using 19 grains behind a 300 grain XTP bullet. WLP primer. I wanted to find something that had almost the recoil and kick of the H110 MAX loads but not as much muzzle flash as H110 has. I like this 2400 powder! Cases looked good, no swelling and primers were fine. I was comparing the load to the H110 load I use, 23.5 grains, same bullet. H110 muzzle flash on top, 2400 on the bottom.





Below are two links, the top one the recoil of the H110 load and the bottom one the recoil of the 2400 load. Similar but the 2400 felt a little less and seems to recoil a little less as can be seen on the videos.

http://home.roadrunner.com/~ispyu2/23.5_H110recoil.wmv

http://home.roadrunner.com/~ispyu2/19_2400recoil.wmv

After I shot the 45 Colt I then shot some 180 grain XTP's through my new GP100.

[midnightrider]

I have tons of documented loads for +P in the blackhawk

2400, H110, Accurate No. 9, these are the powders of choice with win large pistol primers.

I have found that Accurate No.9 and 2400 have almost the same burn rate. No.9 being faster. when working up loads near max use 2400, its alot more forgiving than Acc. No.9. 2400 has very good burning characterisctics, you can go as low as 15 gr. Not something you can do with H-110.

here are some of the accurate loads i have used and shot through my 7.5 blackhawk.

bullet,____charge wt.,____powder
^________^___________^
*lyman 255 SWC, 20gr. 2400
*250 speer GDHP, 20gr. 2400
*240 XTP mag, 20.5 gr. Accurate No 9
*250 XTP, 26 gr. H-110
*240 XTP mag, 20 gr. 2400
*250 lyman SWCGC, 21 gr 2400

all of the above mentioned loads are near max. One should load one or two grains below what I shoot and decide if you want to go further, they do have some snappy recoil. these will shoot under six inches @ fifty yards from a rest. good enough to drop a deer, boar FAST if I do my part. I have tried 300 grain sized bullets in +P loading and have found they dont shoot worth a S***. the barrel twist is to slow in a blackhawk to stablize bullets that big. the 250 gr and under give good accuracy in +P loadings

if you have a question on certain loads that werent mentioned, I may be able to help. I have shot almost every availible bullet through my blackhawk.

[mkl]

Just an FYI for those of you considering heavy 45 Colt loads: Be sure to use a very hard crimp into the crimp groove (cannelure) of the bullet.

I've got a 45 Colt that is a Bowen conversion. The gun started life as a 44 Mag Super Redhawk, and was changed to 45 Colt via Bowen's 5-shot cylinder, reboring the barrel, etc.

When I first got the gun, it took only two shots at "full power" to back the remaining three bullets out of the case. Jammed gun, powder dumped all over, etc.

The Lee Factory Crimp Die solved all my problems, but the initial experience was a learning for me. I've shot the 45 Colt for over 35 years in other guns, and never had to use a super hard crimp. With the monster loads you do.

Best of luck, and remember the cautions and advice in the preceding replies on this thread.

[Badubet]

mkl,
Do you have a picture of the correct crimp with this die as mentioned above?

[Clark]

I loaded 45 Colt wimpy loads of 2400 and Unique for my brother, who is a very good shot with a handgun.

We could see the Unique was much more accurate.

[Hunter Customs]

I've had good results loading 2400 in 357 and 44 mag, so far I've not had much success with it in 45 Colt.

In 45 Colt Unique has been one of the best powders I've tried with 250 gr cast RNFP bullets, 8.5 grains is accurate and gives velocities over 900FPS in my 4-5/8 inch barrel revolver.

My most accurate load to date using the same bullet and gun is 7.5 grs of WIN 231.
I don't have a velocity for this load as I've not chronograph it yet.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[AlaskaMike]

Joebob1, we've all been kind of dancing around the logical question, but it hasn't been asked yet--what kind of loads are you looking for?

A heavy, Ruger only type of load, or standard pressure load?

[mkl]

mkl,
Do you have a picture of the correct crimp with this die as mentioned above?

Sorry, but I have not made up any of those monster loads for my Bowen in several years. They are not fun to shoot. I would add that they would not be safe in even a Ruger blackhawk; Bowen Arms uses a five shot cylinder so as to have extra steel to contain the extreme pressures his loads develop.

My advice would be to use the dies you have to put in a firm standard roll crimp. Mark and measure the OAL of one cartridge and load it so as to be last to shoot. Fire five shots and then remove the cartridge you marked and again measure the OAL. If it is the same or only a few thousandths longer, your crimp is okay. If the bullet is backing out of the case you may need to order the factory crimp die.

The recoil developed by the Bowen would be at least 25% greater than anything you could develop with a safe +P load in an unmodified .45 Colt, hence the factory crimp die may not be needed in most cases.

[zxcvbob]

I loaded some a long time ago; I think it was something like 20 grains of 2400 with 255 grain Oregon trails "Laser Cast" bullets. They were a handful in my Blackhawk -- fun to shoot 6 or 12 of them, but not fun to shoot a whole box (maybe I'm a wimp)

Blue Dot is another good powder for .45 Colt +P loads if you don't push it too far. In fact, that was the only good use I found for BD, and I discovered it after I had used up most of the pound of powder on failed attempts with .357, .38, and .30 Carbine

[Paul B.]

http://www.customsixguns.com/

He has pressure tested data for the stronger .45 caliber revolvers. They're in the .44 magnum class. Your Redhawk will handle them without any trouble. I use one of the loads in a Ruger Bisley on the Super Blackhawk frame.
Paul B.

[Badubet]

Mr. Linebaugh has one of my Bisleys currently for a 500 conversion. I just bought another Bisley in 45 to play with until he's finished. The Lee die set I bought in 45 has the factory crimp die. I was just wanting to see what a correct crimp on a hot load should look like.

[Hunter Customs]

My 2nd Edition of Modern Reloading by Richard Lee list 15.4 grains of 2400 as max with a 250 grain cast bullet.
This is considered standard pressure (around 14000 PSI) loads.
I've loaded this load and shot it but the accuracy was not the best.

I have some other information that show loads in the 20000 PSI range using 18 grains of 2400 but I have no first hand experience with that load.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[mkl]

To Badubet:

The Lee die set I bought in 45 has the factory crimp die. I was just wanting to see what a correct crimp on a hot load should look like.

The optimum crimp is the lightest one possible that will still hold the bullet in place during recoil. A crimp heaver than this will only work the brass neck (lip) more than necessary and shorten case life. Start on the lighter side, use a caliper to measure as I mentioned in my post above, and then increase the factory crimp die 1/8 turn until the bullet stays in place.

For heavy Ruger blackhawk loads I'd suggest starting with the Lee factory crimp die turned in 3/4 of a turn after the base of the die hits the shell holder and the lock ring is screwed down. This should hold your heavy loads; If not, add another 1/8 turn until the sixth bullet stays in place after firing the first five.

Excessive crimp only shortens the case life. There is no need to embed the case brass into the bullet unless there is no other option to prevent bullet back out.

If the carbide sizing ring on the Lee die is consistently resizing your cartridges as you extract the case from the die, you very probably are using too much crimp and are buckling the case.

[Badubet]

Thanks mkl.

[Stargazer]

I have some other information that show loads in the 20000 PSI range using 18 grains of 2400 but I have no first hand experience with that load.

The videos in my post above show the recoil of 19 grains of 2400 with a 300 grain XTP bullet. I have since backed down to 18.5 as my normal load with the 300 XTP. STILL, these loads are for Redhawks and Blackhawk's only, DO NOT USE in other pistols unless they accept Ruger loads.

[black mamba]

Check the crimps on these heavy loads for my 45 Colt. 315 gr. bullet at 1150 fps out of a 5½" Ruger Bisley single action.
These bullets don't move under recoil.

[Mike / Tx]

If you read through the article listed in the above link called 45 Colt Dissolving the Myth, you will find there was some extensive pressure testing done. You will also find that at the very bottom are some listed loads that Mr Linebaugh says he uses. I personally have found that those will pretty much cover anything I am going to need while strolling around in the woods or pastures.

I load the 13grs of HS-6 for bullets weighing 255 up to 300grs, and with solids, they will usually shoot lenght wise through a 5 gallon bucket of damp sand at 25yds. If I need more than that I will use the 454...

[WESHOOT2]

Ah.....HS6 and lead in 45 Colt.....

[Hunter Customs]

Here's some load info for 45 Colt.
Sorry the link did not come through.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[rclark]

I load the 13grs of HS-6 for bullets weighing 255 up to 300

Yep, that is my favorite woods load as is mentioned in the Linebaugh article. 13.0g HS-6 under 255g SWC for ~1100fps out of 5 1/2" barrel. And this is still only a Tier 2 load (around 20K) which is safe in the medium frame Ruger flattops (at least in mine) as well as my large frames. Brian Pierce goes up to 13.5g under the 45-270-SAA SWC style bullet and is still in Tier 2. Of course for general purpose use, my goto load drops to around 900fps for a 250g bullet which is still a very potent load.

Reference : Brian Pearce .45 Colt 45-270-SAA

Note in the article that 17-18g of 2400 is still in Tier 2 as well.

{edited} I see we are posting in a old thread....

[Hunter Customs]

Ah.....HS6 and lead in 45 Colt.....

WESHOOT2, I got a chance to play with some HS6 and 255gr lead today, I'm very pleased with the accuracy.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[Mike / Tx]

{edited} I see we are posting in a old thread....

Yep I saw that as well. But there seems to be some who are utilizing the links and loads listed here anyway, so I figured it wasn't a total waste.

Ah.....HS6 and lead in 45 Colt.....

WESHOOT2, I have also found that AA-5 and 9 work REALLY well with it too.