The .45 Colt is rapidly approaching 150 years in existence, and it remains one of our finest, most useful, versatile and handloaded sixgun cartridges. The Lee bullet works well in my Winchester (Miroku) 1873. The Colt SAA .45 Colt with a 4.75-inch barrel ranks as one of Brians favorite handgun configurations. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, State Agency: of blackpowder, the .44-40 . patterned after the one worn by Theodore Roosevelt. However, Dick Casull started with the 45 Colt single action and the weak 45 Colt case to come up with his cartridge, which eventually became the 454 Casull. Share to Twitter. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) has established the maximum average pressure for .45 Colt at 14,000 psi (commonly referred to as standard pressure), which should only be used in guns originally designed for smokeless powder ammunition. Lyman now offers it as #452424, and it is a 255-grain bulletor thereabouts, depending upon the alloy used.
(II) Limit one (1) entry per household; multiple entries will disqualify entrants. Subscriber Services. New York Department of Environmental Conservation, State Agency: There were no 45 Colt heavyweight bullets available at the time, so we sized down 300-grain 45-70 bullets in several stages, going from around 0.460 inch to 0.452 inch. All entries must be received by giveaway end date. The .44 Magnum is a great cartridge that offers a flatter trajectory and helps to make hits easier at longer distances; however, this added performance comes at the cost of greater pressures, heavier guns, increased recoil and muzzle report. .45 Colt Keith bullets: Lyman #454424 (264 gr.
.45 Colt Rifle Data (Lyman Reloading Handbook 49th Edition) It's like shooting a .38 special in a gun chambered for .357 magnum. The final level includes custom five-shot Rugers and the Freedom Arms Model 83. However, there are two problems associated with it: case capacity and cylinder throat diameters. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Notes: cases: Winchester; trim-to length: 1.275"; primers: Winchester WLP; primer size: Large Pistol; Lyman shell holder: No. The same load in a Jim Stroh custom 5-1/2 Bisley has the same accuracy with more . However, a tight-chambered 45 Colt cylinder may require tolerances offered by a 454 Casull full-length sizing die.
Lyman Reloading Products | Titan Reloading Equipment You may wish to peruse the list of cartridges first as many times the difference in 45-70 and 45/70 may mean finding data or drawing a blank. To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. His 45 Colt bullet was #454424 and was available for decades from Lyman. For several reasons they should not be used. For comparison the above .44 Magnum factory loads (which are admittedly conservative) have a TKO factor only slightly higher at 17.35. It is becoming more popular with the Cowboy Action Shooting since it is a mild load and can be shot in the guns chambered for the .45 Colt. It is my most used powder both in cap-and-ball and cartridge-firing sixguns when black powder loads are desired. Lyman Reloading Handbook 49th edition. What the John Wick is 9mm Major, Anyway. The powder that has the lowest velocities are produced by Trailboss which also has the advantage of filling up the 45LC case. Others are the New Model Blackhawks, the Bisley Model, the Redhawk, and the Super Redhawk. It served me well while riding the ranch on horseback, running a trap-line, hunting big game, varmints and pests, etc., and it even saved my skin a time or two. When using bullets designed for the .45 ACP that dont have a crimp cannelure, a taper crimp applied after bullets are seated to the correct overall length is the best option. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, State Agency: You find load data for cartridges in caliber .45 Colt with all common powders and bullets by clicking the "Loads in this caliber" button above. This revolver and cartridge proved to be a great teacher as I learned how to shoot a big-bore single-action sixgun accurately.
PDF The Future of Reloading It should be crimped over the ogive and seated to an overall cartridge length of around 1.575 inches, which helps reduce case capacity and results in lower extreme spreads with powders that tend to be position sensitive. The Judge has been promoted! On the other end are the Ruger Only loads. Addeddate 2019-02-27 13:08:05 Identifier LymanReloadingHandbook48thEdition2002Ocr_201902 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t9093sd5t Ocr ABBYY FineReader 11.0 (Extended OCR) Before loading any ammunition for leverguns, I first make dummy rounds to be able to check both feeding through the action and chambering. Stocky's Owner Don Bitz walks David Faubion through the company's new rifle stocks for 2023. In guns with .452-inch throats, the Magma designed 250-grain RNFP offered by most commercial cast bullet companies (Oregon Trail used here) can be surprisingly accurate. Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, State Agency: I have found 5.0 grains of Clays under a 250-grain bullet delivers a very pleasant-shooting load at 725 fps and will group all its shots in 0.63 inch at 20 yards. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, State Agency: We switch now from the use of PC (Powder Coated) bullets to cast bullets. Giveaway prizes may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Freedom Arms Model 97 also is in this group. sets maximum standards for cartridges; this standard must be set at a level safely usable in the weakest common denominator. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. Handgun Data. Just about all loads shot the same . Box 488, Escondido, CA 92033. I also have been having good luck lately with 10.0 grains of HS-6 and 250- to 260-grain bullets, which duplicates the performance of the early black powder loads. The key for best shooting is to size cast bullets accordingly and open the throats if necessary. After a long days work on our remote cattle ranch, I would cast bullets and handload ammunition in the evening so that I could continue shooting the next day. The accompanying standard- pressure handloads are within SAAMI guidelines of 14,000 psi, making them suitable for modern Colt SAA revolvers and all guns chambered in .45 Colt that are designed to fire smokeless powder ammunition. However, my first test with OLD Nitro 100 were very light, too light. It is also noteworthy that many dies manufactured prior to around 1980 fail to size cases adequately to correctly hold .451/.452-inch bullets. IMR Trail Boss, 4227, IMR 3031 and IMR 4895 are products of IMR (formerly DuPont) Powder Company. Be very careful using the loads for Ruger and T/C (Thompson Contender) as these are maximum loads, even for these strong guns. We were soon shooting 300-grain bullets at 1,200 fps from a 7.5-inch-barreled Ruger revolver. (I) Giveaway ends May 31, 2023. Caleb Giddings, Marketing Manager at Taurus, introduces the all-new TaurusTX 22 Compact. Wolfe Publishing Company | 2180 Gulfstream Suite A | Prescott, AZ 86301. I was fortunate to find one of each. I custom tailor my loads for the Trapper to match with the sixgun I am using alongside. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: GUNS Magazine, Altor Pistols, P.O. Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. Rhode Island Department of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: The final level includes custom five-shot Rugers and the Freedom Arms Model 83. After all the work and expense, it turned out to be a somewhat mediocre performer. Contrary to popular belief, the Mason patented spring-loaded, cylinder-pin release catch first appeared in 1896 around serial number 164,000, which were still black powder guns. Nonetheless, the 30-grain charge with a 250-grain bullet reached around 850 fps from a 7.5-inch barrel. This prevents bullets from being sized down when seated into an overly tight case. Most are either .451 (jacketed) or .452 (lead) and Sierra even makes jacketed bullets for the Colt SAA that are .4515 splitting the difference. The original Winchesters, whether chambered in .44 Rimfire or .44-40, all used cast bullets as jacketed bullets did not start appearing until the early part of the 20th century. On paper, the 357 Magnum was the first cartridge to exceed the 45 Colts muzzle energy, but many knowledgeable sixgunners, Elmer Keith included, believed the 45 Colt actually offered more practical power than the First Magnum. Today, it remains one of our most popular sixgun cartridges. Members 4.5k Gender:Male Location:Dolores, Colorado Interests:All types of shooting, hunting, fishing, camping. The 45 Colt also predates the 38 Special, the 44 Special, and the 45 ACP, and not only is it more than 80 years older than the 44 Magnum, but it also has more case capacity and in the proper sixguns can outrank the 44 Magnum. However, the first known commercial listing is found in the 1880 UMC catalog. Moving up to 22.0 grains increases the muzzle velocity to 1,300 fps and then 24.0 grains is right at 1,400 fps with both putting three shots in at 45 yards. Pennsylvania Game Commission, State Agency: The weight would more properly be closer to 32 grains. New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: We are currently populating the cartridge drop-down menu with updated cartridge renderings, new propellants and bullets, and links to complimentary product pages. As I have gotten older and my hands have become more tender, I find myself moderating my everyday shooting loads. Prizes will not be awarded if illegal in jurisdiction of winners. In actual weight, Pyrodex is lighter than black powder, being about 80 percent of the weight of black powder. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: GUNS Magazine, GOM May 2023, P.O.
What Happened to the Trail Boss Load Data? The .45 Colts origins started in 1871 when Colt began designing a new sixgun specifically to house metallic cartridges. Heavy loads that are safe for use in the Ruger Redhawk would destroy a fine Colt SAA. 1,578 fps from a 24" universal receiver (all use rem brass and rem 9-1/2 primer). With the coming of Rugers Blackhawk chambered in 45 Colt in the early 1970s, we finally had a sixgun that could tap the tremendous potential of the 45 Colt cartridge. For example, the most recent Speer Reloading Manual Number 15 states, Prior to 1945, most .45 Colt revolvers had a bore diameter of .454 inch. California Department of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: It is my most used powder both in cap-and-ball and cartridge-firing sixguns when black powder loads are desired. (I) Giveaway ends March 31, 2023. Two other powders for standard loads include W231 and HP-38. Moving up to the second level, loads at around 1,000 fps with the same-weight bullet are used in the Colt New Frontier, Smith & Wesson Model 25/625, Ruger Flat-Top New Model, and the Ruger New Vaquero. Contest open to U.S. residents only. No purchase necessary. barrel differ from a 4 4/5 revolver by My loading dies are from Lee, Lyman, and RCBS, and all of them give excellent service. The new RIA 5.0 Sporting Pistol from Rock Island Armory features a patented RVS Recoil system that maximizes barrel mass and linear movement to give shooters super soft recoil. Energy in foot-pounds (ft-lbs) is not a good method to measure a straight-walled cartridges effectiveness, particularly when using nonexpanding bullets. 310 Tong Tool. It is clear why the .45 Colt had such a stellar reputation as a man stopper and for its effectiveness on game. 11; firearms used: Universal Receiver & Ruger Blackhawk; barrel length: 7 1/2"; twist: 1-16"; groove dia. Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. Today the throats of most Colt revolvers measure .457 to .458 inch, which is the same dimension used by Smith & Wesson during the late 1970s, Uberti and others.
.45 LC loads for rifles | Ruger Forum When time is a problem, actually when sometimes my own energy is the problem, I look to Oregon Trail Bullets. Again, a groove diameter of .451 to .452 inch remains standard by all manufacturers. This significantly improved its accuracy when compared to the original cylinder with its typical oversized throats, and resulted in increased velocity.