45 Colt Reloads

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mothermopar

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I posted a thread on reloading one or two calibers and turned out I'm getting the Lee Loader.

Now.. I'll be getting a manual, but my question(s) is this: If I get the Speer manual, will it provide load data for cowboy style loads (250 gr lead @ 800-900 fps... and will is SPECIFY which bullet manufacturer to get the bullets from or just provide data for Speer bullets)?

I'm so new to this, I can't even begin to explain...

Basically, how do I know WHERE to get the right bullet? And how do I know that manufacturer's bullet is suitable for a given load? For example, I'm sure there are 250 gr lead bullets and then there's 250 gr hard cast lead bullets... will that even matter?

Good luck helping me out! LOL
Thanks!
 
I don't think there is anyone out there selling a pure lead bullet; they'll be some form of alloy. Nearly all casters will tell you what the "velocity range" is for their bullets. As a general rule of thumb, 1000 fps is the cut off point where "regular" cast bullets stop and hard-cast begins. The "cowboy" loads typically are designed to duplicate the original black powder loads with velocities of approx. 700 fps.
 
Within reason, any bullet of the same basic shape & type will be OK with the data, not just the Speer bullets.

You have "swaged" lead bullets intended for low velocity, and you have "cast" bullets. Some call them "hard cast", but that is only in relation to the soft swaged bullets.

All swaged bullets are almost pure, if not pure lead, and are very soft.

As far as cast bullets go there can be a fairly wide range of "hardness" usually measured in "BHN". 10 to 12 BHN is usually as soft as they get and 24 is about as hard as they get until you get into "heat treated" cast bullets.

Get some 10 or 12 BHN cast bullets and follow the data. You'll be fine.
 
Go online to MidwayUSA and find Laser Cast bullets by Oregon Trail. Midwau catalogs a 250 gr .452 bullet for the 45 Colt. Buy a box of those and a can of Unique and you will be in the 45 Colt reloading business.
 
www.missouribullet.com

They've got all you need for loading the .45 Colt with cast bullets. I like the 255 grain LSW myself. They have 12 BHN or 18 if you want to amp up the velocity a little bit.

For about 900 fps, I like the 255 LSW in front of 9 grains of Unique.
 
Thanks for the information... still digesting it...

I'll be shooting out of a 3rd Generation Colt SAA... so I want to keep these puppies below 1000 fps with 250-255 gr bullets...

I was told TRAILBOSS is a good powder to use for a beginner... what's the story with Unique?! Are there different types of that powder? Cost-effectiveness? Safety margin?
 
I'll be shooting out of a 3rd Generation Colt SAA... so I want to keep these puppies below 1000 fps with 250-255 gr bullets...
Click to expand...

After you shoot a few 1000 fps 250-255 grain bullets out of Colt SAA, you will be looking for loads that are under 800 fps.
 
I just checked Alliant Powder's website... they don't list "Unique" under their pistol powders, but as primarily a shotgun powder... that threw me off.

I think I found a load...

45 Colt 250 gr Speer LSWC Winchester 1.6 5.5 CCI 300 Unique 9.5 941 *** RC, you mention 8.5 when this calls for 9.5??? What am I missing? Will the above load be too hot for a Colt SAA???

I guess I could then use another LSWC or LRNFP bullet if I find a better deal that the Speer brand, right?!

Also, how about the safety margin with this powder? Will the lee loader kit be a viable way to load with this powder (measuring it)?

Thanks (sorry for being a pain in the a _ _ ).
 
Lately powder and primer choice has been limited by what is available locally. Don't be surprised if you can't find your first choice of powder. The market is getting better, but some are still in short supply.

That said, Trail Boss is an easy powder to measure. It is made to be a case-filling powder, meaning one charge is all you can get in the cartridge. It is difficult to overcharge with Trail Boss. And it is a good round for cowboy loads, it was designed for the single action shooter.

Other pistol powders are easy to put two or three charges in a cartridge. Some can even take 5 charges to fill a case. Makes it easy to err and have a kaboom.

If you are going to buy powder, I will recommend that you take a list of powders you can use.

As for manuals, you can't have too many. But some are more useful than others, depending on what you are loading. Years back, I used Speer, but can't remember what is in it. Lyman has good instructions for loading, but little for loads for the 45 Colt. Lee has decent instructions, especially for their gear, and a good number of loads for the 45. However, the Lee is a few years old and doesn't have any data for Trail Boss. My favorite for load data is Ken Water's Pet Loads, but it is lacking in arrangement, and has no loading instructions. More of a manual for the more experienced loader.

There are also brochures from the different powder companies. Some have the full brochure on their website, some have more info in their printed version. And most are free for the asking. Get all you can. I order both the paper and download the pdf versions. It pays to check multiple sources for every load. You will find differences, as humans make mistakes and have differences of opinion in what is a maximum load.
 
45 Colt 250 gr Speer LSWC Winchester 1.6 5.5 CCI 300 Unique 9.5 941 *** RC, you mention 8.5 when this calls for 9.5??? What am I missing? Will the above load be too hot for a Colt SAA???
Click to expand...
The data on the Alliant site gives you the MAX charge for that caliber/powder/bullet combination. You should always start 10% below the Max and work up slowly. 8.5gr is 10% below the 9.5gr Max charge listed on the Alliant site. I'm sure you will be happy somewhere between 8.5gr and 9.0gr Unique. Personally I use W231 for my .45 Colt ammo but that's another thread. lol
 
If you haven't bought your powder yet, take a look at Hodgdon Universal Clays. It offers essentially the same performance as Unique and meters much better. (At least that's what I've read. :)). I have a 8# jug of Universal that I will crack open a soon as I finish my jug of Unique. Unique is good stuff and I like it a lot in .45 Colt, but it's time for me to try something new...
 
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