45 Colt and Missouri Coated

Bartojc · Mar 21, 2017

I'm relatively new to reloading for 45 Colt. To date I've only used 2 or 3 different bullets (projectiles), and all were loaded with Unique.

I thought I would give coated bullets from Missouri a try since I hear so many good things about coated and Missouri in general. I started by loading 3 different charges of Unique under the 250 gr Cowboy #1 RNFP. My charges were 7.3, 7.6, and 7.9. They all shot terrible. Not exactly sure of the distance, 7-10 yards, but resting my hand on a sandbag they were minute of sheet of paper. The 7.9 was best at maybe 3.5 - 4.0 inch group of 5.

I've shot others around 7.6 - 8.1 grains of Unique and they were generally decent to great. Best so far were Berrys plated. I've never shot anything out of my Blackhaws that did as poorly as these Cowboy #1 did.

My question is how hot can I go with coated and Unique ? Since the 7.9 was best even though still unacceptable I would like to try 8.2 and 8.5 and see what happens. Is that logical ? It seems as though I should be able to get something to work satisfactory for at lest plinking, or am I off track with that thinking ?

Gun is a Ruger Blackhawk 5.5 inch barrel.

Thanks,

-Jeff

Blue68f100 · Mar 21, 2017

If they really shot that bad I would measure the bullets dia and make sure there at least 0.001" larger than the forcing cone. Hopefully larger than the bore. Under size bullets do not shoot very accurate. You can use the same load data for Lead with the Hy-Tec coating.

Are by chance your using the LFCD? If so STOP it may be resizing the bullets during the process.

Havok7416 · Mar 21, 2017

If you have data for .45 Colt loads that high the coating will be fine. On the other hand a higher charge isn't always the solution to accuracy issues.

I shoot MBC coated through my 18" barreled SAA and the accuracy is just fine. I also use the FCD mentioned above. It certainly doesn't cause an issue for me.

Bartojc · Mar 21, 2017

I am using LFCD to roll crimp into the crimp groove on the bullet. I've used this same die on other loads and it was fine. Bullet is .452, which is same as the plated bullets that shoot much better. I have no way of measuring the forcing cone, or maybe I just don't know how too ? I have not slugged the bore so I'm a bit in the dark there. In the past .452 bullet has worked for me. I could certainly try not using FCD. Does the Lee seating die crimp too. I have no other separate crimp die other than LFCD.

-Jeff

dh1633pm · Mar 21, 2017

I shot 200 grain bullets out my Rossi with good results, when I first shot my newly barreled Rolling Block project rifle, it seemed to shoot them well at 25 yards, but when I moved to 1 hundred yards I could seem that they were key holing a bit. Swapped out for 255's and the problem went away.

Blue68f100 · Mar 21, 2017

Bartojc said:
I am using LFCD to roll crimp into the crimp groove on the bullet. I've used this same die on other loads and it was fine. Bullet is .452, which is same as the plated bullets that shoot much better. I have no way of measuring the forcing cone, or maybe I just don't know how too ? I have not slugged the bore so I'm a bit in the dark there. In the past .452 bullet has worked for me. I could certainly try not using FCD. Does the Lee seating die crimp too. I have no other separate crimp die other than LFCD.

-Jeff

Yes the seating die will crimp. Just back off the seating stem and run the body down till you get the crimp you want. Then run the seating stem back down till contact then just a tad more.

The sizing ring at the base of the LFCD is what caues the problem. Some just remove it.

Jesse Heywood · Mar 21, 2017

Alliant shows as high as 9.5 gr. Unique at 941 fps. Still not fast enough to outrun the powder coating. John Taffin shows 8.5 - 9.0 gr. at 901 - 964 fps. I would consider 9.0 to be the max, you really need a slower powder to get the most from the .45 Colt. http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt45lc.htm
I show good accuracy out of the MBC 250 with 9.0 gr. Unique. The lighter the powder charge the less accurate. Unique gets too spiky above 9.0 gr.

Don't know what other powders you have at hand. 2400 is supposed to be the cat's meow, I haven't tried it. My best results are with 4227, deadly accurate. 800-X, which is tough to drop from a measure. Trail Boss, W231, Titegroup & Acc. #2 were also better for accuracy. Do some experimenting to find what's best for your gun.

ArchAngelCD · Mar 22, 2017

I would try a charge of 8.5gr to 9.0gr Unique. The coating is very hard. In the 9mm I pushed a 124gr bullet to over 1200 fps with no breakdown of the coating. I used a stout charge of Longshot to see how far they could be pushed. I did not find their limits, only the pressure limits of the 9mm.

Bartojc · Mar 22, 2017

Thanks everyone. This gives me some things to try. My manuals are all over the board when it comes to 45 Colt and Unique. Just looking for some confirmation that up to 9 gr was acceptable, obviously working up. I have some things to try with respect to the crimp die and different powders as an option over changing powder charges. I have W231 and Titegroup on hand as well.

-Jeff

ArchAngelCD · Mar 22, 2017

A good load for me with cast bullets has been 7.0gr W231. I see no reason why it wouldn't be with coated bullets too. I'm now using HS-6 and like it a lot although when I get a chance I'll be trying W572.

RealGun · Mar 23, 2017

Is your 45 Blackhawk a convertible? Mine has a .454 throat in the Colt cylinder and not a good match for the bore.

I use 9.0 Unique w/250 gr Lucky13 RNFP Plain base, coated with alox. Missouri Cowboy #1 is Brinell 12 and may require a substantial load to seal the bore for better accuracy and less cleaning. That coating leaves skid marks in my barrels.

Bartojc · Mar 23, 2017

RealGun said:
Is your 45 Blackhawk a convertible? Mine has a .454 throat in the Colt cylinder and not a good match for the bore.

It is not a convertible.

I made up some test rounds with no powder last night and took some quick rough measurements. I think Blue68f100 maybe on to something. The rounds using the LFCD were definitely squished down as he described. Not sure if this is what is going on or not. I plan to load a couple of the same loads without LFCD and some with it to see the difference. I may also change powder, but I'd really like to see if the LFCD is what is causing the grief. There may be better powders too, but I only want to change one thing at a time.

-Jeff

Bartojc · Apr 2, 2017

Well I shot two different loads that had previously performed poorly. This time no LFCD was used to crimp. Both loads were many times better. About what I expected. I also tried W231 also no LFCD and it performed fine as well. It seems as though the LFCD was the issue.

Thanks for getting back on track.

Jeff

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