Standard Pressure, Heavy .45 Colt Question

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these are finally getting used

A true blast from the past.

Gosh, those were a blast to make!

Unfortunately, all those notes are lost to history, but I do remember a few things :

We used hot applied rifle lube, and those bullets should be amazingly hard: they are water dropped , and in the high 20's of BHN if memory serves.

Those were a mix of the old Hornady thick checks.

Honestly, should be able to hit those pretty hard with a hammer without deforming them, thats how I tested them.

I believe they were .454, but I cast .451-.459 then ( 45acp to 458 SOCOM) And I honestly don't recall.

Best use of a star lube sizer ever.

For the record, I had zero desire to fire test them at the speeds he wanted when we started tbese...glad its mellowed Outland! and i was really heavy into 44 mag single action at that point. Nonetheless, you can drive those bullets like the fires of mercury and they will hold: we did stupid things with them in the SOCOM with sabots, and they will rock an engine block.

No thanks on the pistol like that!
 
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This was after a fun day shooting .32 ACP at 40 plus yards, before the last plate painting.

With .32 ACP pistols I am happy if I stay on the plate at that distance. :)

Looks like projectiles pass the use test.

Makes me quite happy

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these are finally getting used

A true blast from the past.

Gosh, those were a blast to make!

Unfortunately, all those notes are lost to history, but I do remember a few things :

We used hot applied rifle lube, and those bullets should be amazingly hard: they are water dropped , and in the high 20's of BHN if memory serves.

Those were a mix of the old Hornady thick checks.

Thanks for chiming in! Once we changed forum software, finding old PMs became much harder...
 
Note: I see we are back into normal territory, I stand corrected
Yeah, this particular pilgrimage is a journey to find a load that will fire a heavy bullet at pressures safe for all but the most fragile old SAAs, with at least reasonable accuracy.
 
Also, looked again: those are not hornady.

Those are the old Lyman brass ones I picked up out an old shooters final garage. Not even sure you can get those, but they worked like butter, and make seating a joy.
 
out of all.the crazy stuff tried...

Has anyone made a stab at good ole unique?

Seems to memory we got near these pressures with 325's in 44 mag

I know it fills the fluff factor, and it don't look like Silhouette or Trail Donut are getting it done.

Might need a mag primer to get it all to burn, but I think its worth a try
 
out of all.the crazy stuff tried...

Has anyone made a stab at good ole unique?

Seems to memory we got near these pressures with 325's in 44 mag

I know it fills the fluff factor, and it don't look like Silhouette or Trail Donut are getting it done.

Might need a mag primer to get it all to burn, but I think its worth a try

I have some 44 ssk 320s. I was told unique was unsafe with the heavies.
 
I loaded 12 more at the shorter OAL of 1.566 to 1.568 with 6.5 Grs of BE-86. I was tempted to go back the longer OAL, but will give this a try. I'll hopefully be able to shoot them tomorrow.
 
Load # 75: 320 Gr WFN-GC, 6.5 Grs BE-86, WLP Primer, 1.566 to 1.568 OAL

86 degrees, 57% RH

Powder Back
HI=714
LO=653
Avg=685
ES=61
SD=22

Powder Forward
HI=664
LO=633
AVG=649
ES=31
SD=10

Two cases were sticky Powder Back, but after putting them in and out of the same chambers a couple of times, knocking some trash out, they would fall out easily.

Accuracy was very good again, point of impact was down closer to point of aim at 7 yards.
 
are the powder forward and the powder back shots going into the same hole? how is the recoil? 35 fps pb/pf difference is interesting. your load is getting down to saami pressure levels, imo.

nice load,

murf
 
are the powder forward and the powder back shots going into the same hole? how is the recoil? 35 fps pb/pf difference is interesting. your load is getting down to saami pressure levels, imo.

nice load,

murf
Yes, same hole, recoil is fine, BE-86 is giving some very good PF numbers (Not much velocity lost compared to other powders), should be under 14K, but I did not back off the charge enough when I went to the shorter OAL, it made a bigger difference with these heavies than I am used to. My mistake.

So the question is, try 6.3, or stick with this, the first three shots were in one hole, and four of the first six were there, then PF I put three more in that wad, then got sloppy trying to finish up before the phone quit ringing (Work). They shoot just fine with BE-86.
 
my 325 grain bullet was just as accurate as yours at those velocities. i would drop the charge and see if the extreme spread number drops. you will eventually reach a point where be-86 will become unstable. you haven't reached that point, imo.

less recoil with that bullet is a good thing.

luck,

murf
 
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