Powder for rifle loads in .45LC or .44

What are you shooting? Paper? Pigs?

roscoe said:

Any recommedations for a reasonably hot 255 grain rifle Keith load in .45LC? I have seen recommendations for 2400, getting 1800-1900 fps or so, but thought I would ask.

I would prefer a load that might be acceptable out of 5.5" barrel as well, but it will be primarily for my 16" Trapper.

Thanks!

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H110 will get more fps but needs a mag primer and is sometimes inconsistent in the cold and u have to run it hot

What gun u shooting there

roscoe said:

1894 Winchester Trapper with 16" barrel.

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Nice should shoot good for you got 45lc got more power then 44 mag and a bigger hole

My brother has one of those... I usually use Unique. Granted, I'm not trying to get to 1800fps.

FWIW, unless I'm missing something... with a full charge of W296 and a 210grn Remington JSP, I juuuuust get to 1800fps in my 20" barreled .41 Magnum Marlin 1894. I think trying to get a 255grn .45 Colt load to 1800fps out of a 16" Trapper is maybe a question you shouldn't be asking.

I use h110 and imr4227

No reason to change powders when building ammo for your revolver and Carbine. Pick your favorite load and give it a try in the carbine. I shoot the same load in my revolvers and carbine for both 45 Colt and 38/357. With the 45 Colt I have been using HS-6 for the past few years but there are plenty of good powders for that cartridge.

I would suggest Vihtavouri N-110 as the most versatile of high-energy powders for large-case pistol applications.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5287562&postcount=17

It is far & away the winner
in that regard.

Fine-grained extruded
Easy/consistent measure throws ~ 0.05gr (half a tenth) average
Fills the case (but forgiving w/ lesser charges)
Standard primers
95%+ of W296/H110 speeds
Exceptionally consistent velocities


(N-110 does not equal H-110)
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596434

roscoe said:

What's the fastest you get with Unique from a rifle?

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My most recent data is 9.5grn Unique with a 255grn cast in a 20" 1894... for 800fps. That is my generic .45 Colt plinker load. Back in The Day, I used to hot rod my brother's Trapper with Unique, but most of those load notes are no longer with me; the heaviest Unique load I have is 10.5grn Unique under a 255grn cast SWC for 1135fps out of the Trapper, and that sort of mimics the .41 Unique data with my 1894. The notes I have for 2400 and the Trapper have book velocities listed, not actual chrono data for the Trapper.

If you are looking for max velocity out of the .45 Colt in a carbine, I would start at 2400 and go slower... W296, perhaps. I really like IMR4227, but I don't see a whole lot of data for it in the .45 Colt with heavy bullets, for some reason. IMR4227 in the .41 Magnum has performed very, very well in both my Marlin and my 4" Smith using the same load, I don't see why a reasonable load couldn't be worked up for the .45 Colt.

I have used Titegroup for years for .44 spl and .45 colt.

my 44 magnum powder picks 2400 BlueDot Unique and H110 / 296 when I was younger

I don't have a chrono so I loaded up with accuracy being my highest concern.

The best shooting combo I came up with was an almost book (Lyman 49th) maximum of 4227 in Starline brass, a Win LPP and a 240gr XTP on top with a firm roll crimp.

It should be doing about 1600fps out of a carbine and is plenty for deer

I use IMR4227 for "Ruger Only" loads in the 45 Colt. It's also my powder for the 44 Magnum. I use Unique for my standard 45 Colt loads.

I usr hodgdon h110 in my 45 colt rifles as I have two rossi r92's with 16in barrels works great with sierra 300gr jsp and 20.8gr h110 it will perform!!

A case full of 4227 will give the best accuracy, but not the highest velocity. For velocity use H110. Elmer Keith liked 2400, gave him good velocity and accuracy. For Keith bullets I prefer 800-X. Haven't tried it in a carbine. Here's some good info by Taffin http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt45lc.htm

Can't help with 45LC, but for 44mag rifle load, I really like 300-MP. It gives more velocity than H-110, if that is important, and it uses a standard primer. For shorter than 10" barrels, though, I prefer N-110 or 2400.