Can't remember the last time I saw a 45 Colt thread

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Hondo 60

Hondo 60

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Just bought a Ruger New Model Blackhawk & I'm looking for recipes.

So far I loaded a 200 gr Hornady XTP over 8.5 gr of Universal.
OAL 1.600. I took that load to the range today & hot dang it was pretty good.
I did better with that than a box of Ten-X factory ammo. I was surprised at the lack of a kick. I'm used to .38 & .357. The 45 has a little more kick than a 38. But full bore .357 ammo kicks harder than the 45 stuff I shot today.

For powder I have Universal, Titegroup & AA5. Any recipes using one of those would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

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Can't help you with those powders..Your best loads for the .45Colt are assembled with Unique Powder.
This last weekend I cast some 255gr. RNFP from a Lee 6pak mould, sized them to .452, and loaded them on top of 8.5gr Unique, with Wolf Large Pistol Mag. primers.
These are loads for a friend of mine and they should work well.
Again most will tell you to buy Unique if you want the best out of your Colt...;):)
It seems that my OAL was 1.550" but I would have to check that...
 
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I've loaded a lot of 250gr LSWCs with 8.5-9.0 grains of Titegroup. Works great in my Bisley Blackhawk. The nice thing about Titegroup is that it's much less position sensitive than most other powders which is good in the cavernous .45 Colt cases.

My go-to powders for .45 Colt are H110, Titegroup, and Blue Dot.

If you want some kick, load up some 300gr bullets with about 22gr H110 (max is 22.2, so approach with a little caution). You'll feel that!

Note that the above loads ar for modern Ruger/FA/BFR type revolvers. They'll be fine in your Blackhawk.
 
Get some 2400. I load a 300gr LTC over 18.5gr of 2400, thats got enough rumble for you, Im sure. I also load a 255gr LSWC over 21.5gr of 2400. These loads are both over spec for the caliber, by about 100% pressure wise, use them at your own risk, they are safe in my gun. Either of these loads are accurate and real hand busters.

Since I have had the gun awhile and the newness of uber hot loads is slowly wearing off, I have found that a smaller dose of 2400 under those bullets provides plenty of boom and great accuracy, and doesnt even draw blood either, what a revelation!
 
The Ruger is a modern revolver thus stronger than the older guns. That said, I load 10 grains of unigue under cast 200 gr swc, and 255 gr swc. The 200 gr swc's are safe in anything, and the 255's are listed as safe in the Ruger.
 
Not to hijack, but people comment to the effect that Ruger BHs can stand "near nuclear" loads. Load manuals give "Ruger only" data. Is this truly only safe for Rugers or would a good, modern Smith (ie, my 25-5) be able to handle it too?

Don't misunderstand - I neither want to blow up my gun, nor at this point do I really want to shoot something that obnoxious. I'm just curious if "Ruger only" means *only* Ruger, or a more general category of "guns of modern manufacture." Of course, that then begs the question if my 25-5, though manufactured in the last 20 years is a 50+ year old desigh, is really "modern."

Q
 
Is this truly only safe for Rugers or would a good, modern Smith (ie, my 25-5) be able to handle it too?
Click to expand...

NO. Ruger and Thomson Contenders only. and not even all Rugers. The madium frame vaqueros can't handle the pressure just like the Smiths can't.

Blackhawks
Redhawks
old large frame Vaqueros
 
+1
The S&W can handle more pressure then the older Colt SAA & clones.
But not as much as the Ruger or T/C.

Figure there are four classes of .45 Colt handguns.
1. Colt SAA & clones, & Pre-war S&W & Colt DA's = 14,000 PSI.
2. Post-war S&W N-Frames, Colts, & the new medium frame Ruger Blackhawk = 23,000 PSI. (Same as .45 ACP +P)
3. Ruger large frame Blackhawk, Vaquro, & Freedon Arms 97 = 32,000 PSI.
4. Ruger Redhawk & Freedon Arms 83 = 50,000 PSI.

rc
 
Figure there are four classes of .45 Colt handguns.
1. Colt SAA & clones, & Pre-war S&W & Colt DA's = 14,000 PSI.
2. Post-war S&W N-Frames, Colts, & the new medium frame Ruger Blackhawk = 23,000 PSI. (Same as .45 ACP +P)
3. Ruger large frame Blackhawk, Vaquro, & Freedon Arms 97 = 32,000 PSI.
4. Ruger Redhawk & Freedon Arms 83 = 50,000 PSI.
Click to expand...


Thanks for this , good info here.


Thanks RC
 
I might add that class #1 is open to speculation.

Where I said, #1 Pre-war S&W & Colt = 14,000.

Well, we must remember that both Colt & S&W chambered DA revolvers in .45 ACP for use in WWI. That is a 21,000 PSI caliber.
And the holes in the cylinder are no bigger in .45 Colt.

Still, those guns are nearing 100 years old.
We must be prudent in trying to make .45 Colt Magnums out of them now.

rc
 
Well, looky here- it's a .45 Colt thread! Just got done loading up all my .45 Colt cases, I used a 250 gr. Laser-Cast, WLP primer, and 8.5 gr. Universal. Universal tends to be my go-to powder for this and .40 S&W. These are not in the class of a lot of blooper loads out there today, but I don't shoot Cowboy Action, either. If I'm going to drop the hammer on this cartridge, it's going to have at least the muzzle energy of the old 40 gr. of black in the balloon-head cases. If I want to shoot minimum loads, I'll get an Airsoft gun.
 
I've been meaning to try AA#5 in the 45 Colt but haven't yet. I don't use the other powders you mentioned but I do load some other powders.

With a 250/255gr lead bullet I charge:
7.2gr W231
10.5gr HS-6
5.7gr TrailBoss

My favorite load is the one using W231 but the other shoot well too. The HS-6 load is a little heavier than the others and the TrailBoss load is a Cowboy load.

Accurate Arms recommends between 9.4gr and 10.4gr AA#5 when loading a 255gr LSWC bullet. I'm sure you can find a good load in there somewhere... Good luck!
 
7.5 gr of Universal is the rough equivalent of 8.0 of Unique. UV is almost identical to UQ, except that it is much cleaner and just a bit more energetic.
My Ruger Bisley Vaquero just loves the 255 gr Missouri Keith style SWC over 7.8 gr of UV. Recoil is minimal, accuracy is great.
IMHO. a match made in heaven, that is if God shoots a .45 Colt. (Well, what else would he shoot??) ;)
Roger
 
Well I had pretty good results with Universal, but my bottle is empty.
The last of it filled my hopper, so I'll probably run out by next weekend.

I think I may have to try Unique or 2400.

That's really the beauty of a new gun.
It gives me lots of reasons to go shooting & lots of reasons to try different powders.
Darn, I guess I'll have to go to the range again! :D
 
I can't agree with switching from Universal to Unique. They are practically ballistic twins but the Universal burns cleaner and it meters better. If you want to change powders change to something truly different and not "worse".
 
What RC said.

You really don't need (or really want) the hottest loads possible with the Rugers.

I load my .45LC to roughly duplicate the original BP loads which is 1,000fps with a 255gr Cast bullet.

I find that this is more than ample power and is adequately flat shooting for ANY handgun (or even my rifle) uses in the Lower 48 states. Probably enough for SD use in Alaska if truth be known. Though, since I already have a 300gr FNGC mould, I'd probably take the 300gr for "good measure".

This level is certainly safe and easily obtained with the S&W.

My next handgun aquisition will be to trade the Ruger BH 4-5/8" for an S&W Mountain gun with 4" bbl.
With the "hotter" loads, you may need to install a taller front sight. My front sight on my 4-5/8" BH is too short for a zero at 25yds with the 300gr bullets unless I speed them up to beyond "painful" levels.
 
I've used Unique, Universal Clays, Power Pistol, 2400, HS-6, Trail Boss, and H-110 (for nuclear loads) in my .45 Colt Blackhawk.

I like Unique, but since trying Power Pistol and Universal, I don't know that I'll buy another jug of it. Universal does everything Unique does, and it is SOOOO much cleaner. And meters better in my Lee Auto Disk. Same with Power Pistol, although you use more powder because it is slower.

Since you have Universal, I'd do 7.5 to 7.8 (Hodgdon's max for standard 45 Colt) grains under a 250-270 grain lead bullet. 7.5 grains shot 1.5" groups out of my Blackhawk using a 250 LRNFP bullet, and had light recoil. Ran low 800 fps out of my 4 5/8" barrel.

For more oomph, use 9 grains of Universal. This load also shot sub 2" groups.

A good hunting load is 13 grains of HS-6 under a 250-270 grain lead bullet. This is one of Linebaugh's documented loads, and it shoots an inch at 1000+ fps out of my Blackhawk.

For light target work, or just economical plinking, try 5.8 or so grains of Trail Boss under a 250 gr. LRNFP. Recoil is about like a .22 magnum. Very easy to shoot, and accurate too.

If you want to play with 300 grain or up bullets, 2400 or H-110 is where you need to be. Max loads in both are very accurate, but I can tell you right now, you're gonna want to change out your stock grips, or wear gloves. Hang on tight!
 
45 Long Colt

SASS Shooter
I use American Select , tried others but AS is cleaner.
(Easier Clean up with the Long Guns , they will not fit in the dishwasher)

My Old 45LC Deer Round = 6.0 AS / 230Gr Bullet / 24Inch Henry Copy (Ladder Sight) / 150 Yds = Deer Down.
 
I do the 45 Colt from low power 45 Schofield & Colt loads,snakeshot, to upper charges of H-110/win-296 with hardcast 265 grn cast performance bullets. My fun load are home cast 200 grn in a 45 Schofield case with Titegroup powder. I've used H Universal,Unique,TG, & win-296. I load for my Redhawk,Blackhawk, & a buddies Judge. Of course I make sure the buddy does not get any 'Ruger only' loads.
 
GooseGestapo said:
With the "hotter" loads, you may need to install a taller front sight. My front sight on my 4-5/8" BH is too short for a zero at 25yds with the 300gr bullets unless I speed them up to beyond "painful" levels.
Click to expand...
From the looks of his picture, I'd say he has the tallest front sight on the gun. Which is good, because mine is slightly shorter and I can't get the elevation zeroed with 300 grain bullets.
 
I just traded into a new model Blackhawk Bisley Anniversary edition. It's a boat anchor of a gun, and I bought it to keep my Model 29 .44 company in the big-bore end of my cabinet.

Anyone have a pet load for a 225 gr lead RN?

KR
 
Kentucky_Rifleman said:
I just traded into a new model Blackhawk Bisley Anniversary edition. It's a boat anchor of a gun, and I bought it to keep my Model 29 .44 company in the big-bore end of my cabinet.

Anyone have a pet load for a 225 gr lead RN?

KR
Click to expand...
Close to it KR...I load a Lee cast 255gr. over 8.5gr. of Unique..Does well for me in a Ruger.
 
45 Long Colt

45 LC is one of my favorite Calibers
I have several Long and Short Guns in 45LC and have found the 45LC can be Loaded
to accomplish just about any task put in front of it.
There is nothing to compare to dropping a Buck at 150-175Yds with a 45 Henry with a ladder sight.

One of my favorite Jacket Carry Guns is a Sheriff's Model 45LC.

My 2 Cents of Old Money
 
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