Powder suggestions for a Henry Mare's Leg - 45 Colt

I'd go with Unique. It's the classic 45 Colt powder.

Don’t think the actual burn “time” will depend on barrel length, rather it’s how fast a given powder will reach peak pressure.
Barrel length would effect how long the pressure will be available to “ push the bullet”.
Generally pistol powders are faster rifle powders are slower.
Use a loading manual. Some will list 45C as either loaded for rifle or pistol.

Howdy and welcome to THR!

The reference data on burn rate is a nice thing to know. Starting out STICK with powers and weights listed in the manual and don't worry about the burn rate. If it ain't written in the manual...it ain't so.

That said, some powders are more efficient than others. There are 7000 grains in one pound of powder. For example loading a .45C 255gr LFP @ 800fps.

Titegroup 5.2gr = ~1346 rounds in a pound
IMR 800x 7.5gr = ~933 rounds in a pound

.40

Oh , I forgot to mention Trail Boss powder. Used a lot in Cowboy Action Shooting , Trail Boss fills the case more making it easier to avoid double charging because you can see the powder in the case and in many instances a double charge will overflow the case. Worth looking into.

The burn rare position on the cheerfully tell you which powders are faster/slower than the others but not HOW MUCH faster or slower. It's usually not a good way to choose a powder.

And good 45 Colt load in a handgun will work well in your Mare's Leg. There are literally a dozen or more powders that will work well in the 45 Colt. I need to run W231/HP-38 in the 45 Colt until I tried HS-6 and now I use nothing else. It's very accurate for me.

The old timer who introduced me to the 45 colt (who sadly passed a few years back) swore by 6gr of Red Dot. But check a load manual on that - just passing along what he said.

I use unique. A little dirty, but very accurate. Easily my most accurate hand accessory.

Unique.
Its tried, and true.
Very versatile too.

We use titegroup and trail boss.

I pretty much only load for plinking with the 45 Colt.

The question really is "How fast do you want to push the bullet?"

Light plinking loads, Trail Boss, Win231, Bullseye, Reddot etc will work well.

Standard velocity, Unique and Universal along with the faster powders will get you there.

You wanna go fast? 2400, H110/Win296, 4227 or 300-MP are your go- to's.

There's many more that will work too.

The other way to look at powders is goal-oriented. Are you primarily worried about bullet speed for hunting, or recoil management, or all out accuracy. When reloading with lead you may want a faster powder.

As someone mentioned... how fast do you want to go? There is really two questions, and a qualifier.

1) What weight of bullet do you plan on loading? And...

2) What kind of velocity are you trying to get?

If you are looking at standard velocity loads, I would not go much faster than Unique, not in the longer barrel, particularly if you are shooting light bullets (200-220grn.) With heavier bullets (250grn and up...) you will need to find out what your barrel's rifling twist is... because heavy bullets will not stabilize with slow rifling at modest velocities. My Marlin 1894 had very slow 1:38" rifling, I could not stabilize heavy 255grn bullets under moderate charges of Unique, I would have been better off switching to something a little slower like IMR4227 or 2400 and pushing the velocity up, or going to a lighter bullet.

Edited original post as noted... sometimes I type too fast.

I would suggest getting the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook and just use the loads in there. They indicate which powder gave them the best results. I use Trailboss for cowboy and Power Pistol for something more toward the limit of the pressure spec, not "Ruger-only".

Jim Bowie said:

Oh , I forgot to mention Trail Boss powder. Used a lot in Cowboy Action Shooting

Click to expand...

I've really come to appreciate Trail Boss for 45 Colt. Very manageable recoil & improved accuracy, possibly because I'm less likely to flinch.

True_North said:

Wife's thinks I'm a book worm now.

Click to expand...

Don’t let her hold you to it!
Remember, plausible deniability...

My go-to load is 11gr of Accurate #5 with a 250 gr LSWC
Caution this is a max load that was worked up.

Or 10.5 gr with a 200 gr LSWC

Forgot to add - both come out @ about 850 fps from a 5.5" barrel.
And about 800 from a 3.75" barrel