.45 Colt load using roundball?

Yes. Just compress the bp when the ball is seated. Seat ball just past halfway and crimp.
U can use 6 gr of unique also

Texas Moon said:

I've a bunch of BP and .454 rb's so I thought Why Not?
Would this work?

Click to expand...

Yes it will work and works with .45 ACP when the balls are .451. I've an old reloading book that lists a reload for .45 ACP and "round ball".

.454 Round Ball sold for cap-n-ball revolvers is soft lead, so you will get more lead build-up over time than you would with a common over-the-counter .454 cast and swaged slug, as they are usually hard alloy to reduce leading.

LD

It'll work just fine, I used to load rb in a .38 S&W. Was a bit anemic and reasonably accurate.

That load should work fine, certainly for plinking. I smear a little diluted Lee liquid alox on the exposed round ball and let it dry. No leading so far. Just remember, you will have to clean the gun as if it were a cap and ball revolver and clean the brass as well. I use a Lee universal decapping die to knock out the spent primer, dump the cases in soapy water and use a 45 caliber mop on a short dowel to scrub the case inside and out. Only takes a few seconds per case. Rinse and let them air dry.

Jeff

As above. Itll be fine for short range plinking.

Done it myself many times with red dot, green dot, unique, 2F, 3F and 4F powder under a .451 ball and filler if needed with the black powder.

I used to take the .457 rb for my Old Army and run them into a .452 dia sizing die. Made a nice little flat to slide them into the cases. Crimp just ahead of the flat. I used Unique if I remember correctly. Also used a case full of FFg in a Remington replica.

You may be pleasantly surprised with accuracy.

Just make sure that you have no air space between the powder and projectile. If you use a reduced load of BP that doesn't fill the case, you can use cornmeal to fill the empty space, or wads. AAMOF, today I loaded up a batch of .44-40s with 219 grain cast bullet, 30 grains of 3Fg and a 1/8" thick .430" diameter nitro card made by Circle Fly. This gives me a load roughly equivalent to the .44 Henry Flat. They are for use in my Uberti Bisley, 1860 Henry, or 1873 Sporting Rifle.

Back in the latter 19th Century you could actually buy factory "Gallery Loads" for the 45 Colt. They were for what the OP is suggesting, short range plinking. I can't remember the powder charge but what I read about the round ball gallery load was that it definitely had a reduced charge with a filler between the powder and the round ball. I also don't remember any mention of lubrication with the original but it was 25-30 years ago that I read about it. The memory fades! LOL

Dave

I've reloaded regular .45 Colt and black powder on the Dillon 550; of course you wouldn't want to use the powder measure. I rigged an actual plastic funnel on Station #2, and a brass dipper (.45 ACP casing with a screw for a handle) to measure the powder.
Worked well enough, but hated the trouble of cleaning the gun.
May have to take some of the rounds to our Sunday night shoots.
Moon