Filler needed in 45 Colt?

[wcwhitey]

Ed. 9.2 Grains of Unique is a little on the hot side. The current Lyman shows 8.5 as max for 845 fps out of a 7 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk. The starting load is 6.0 for your 255 bullet. I have a buddy that shoots 8.3 grains of Unique behind anybody's 255 Grain bullet with excellent results. Not too soft but not pushing the limits either. Leading is not an issue. FWIW I have had leading issues with Unique when the loads start to get up there, if you stick with standard pressure loads you will be pleased. Bill

P.S. Unique works well with just about any cartridge that started out as blackpowder. .38 Spl, .45 Colt, 44-40 etc. I use it with great results for .44 Special and Medium range .44 Mag as well. On anything like the .357 or full house .44 Mag's I go to slower burning powders like 2400.

 

[wcwhitey]

RPC, on the other hand 5.7 grains under a 255 jacketed bullet is dangerously low level. Starting should be more in the 7.5/7.8 range and thats for 750 fps. Don't want to get one stuck in the barrel, check the data on that one. LOL Bill

 

[RPCVYemen]

PC, on the other hand 5.7 grains under a 255 jacketed bullet is dangerously low level. Starting should be more in the 7.5/7.8 range and thats for 750 fps. Don't want to get one stuck in the barrel, check the data on that one. LOL Bill

I did check the data - I think that I am reading it correctly.

I should have made it clear that I was shooting the Hornady 255 gr Lead FN. In the 7th Edition (2007) Hornday manual, using Unique with that bullet, the listed loads run form 4.6 grs (650 fps) to 7.0 grs (850 fps). The 5.7 grain load should push that bullet at 750 fps (on page 910).

For the jacketed 250 grain HP-XTP, 5.7 would be low. The Unique loads listed for that bullet in the Hornday manual are 6.2 to 7.4 (on page 908).

Until your post, I never looked at jacketed bullets. I never realized they needed so much more powder to achieve the same velocity. Why the difference?

Mike

 

[wcwhitey]

My mistake, I took the "Hornady FP" as a jacketed bullet. LOL Bill

 

[Walkalong]

I loaded some .45 Colt with American Select this weekend. It is real bulky compared to most powders and filled the space pretty well. I will probably shoot them next weekend. Red Dot is another bulky powder which burns well at low pressure. I am going to try it as well. Competition, N320 and N330 show potential. Trail Boss is very accurate and fills the case well, but is very sooty. If I can't find something as accurate though it might have to be the one.

 

[Master Blaster]

Trail Boss is very accurate and fills the case well, but is very sooty.

I have been loading and shooting trailboss 4.5-5.0 for 230 RNL to 5.2-5.5 grains for 200 lswc in 45 acp (hodgdon gave me this load over the phone) for some time now, one thing I have really liked about it is the fact that there is no smoke or soot, and no leading at all. I have also loaded and shot a good number of rounds in .45 colt and .44 magnum and .357 magnum. all target velocity lead loads. No Smoke or soot there either, its the cleanest powder I have ever used for hardcast lead bullets by far.

The fact that it fills all of the cases mentioned, makes for excellent consistency, and no chance of a double or under charge.

 

[Ed Gallop]

I measured in Lee's cc dippers and compared with a scale. Weight is apparently more accurate in that the same powder in the same dippers varied slightly from scoop to scoop, depending on how it settles in the scoop.

The Lee chart shows .7 cc of Unique is 6.40 gr but I measured slightly under or at 6 gr. The finer HS7 shows 10.30 gr in .7 cc. Big difference. However. I fired 9 gr of Unique and it was considerably more powerful than 10 gr of HS7.

As for filling the 45 Colt case... It would take over 2.0 cc of any smokeless powder and that would be too much for sure. So, to get half full is as much as can be expected.

1.0 cc of American Select is 7.5 gr and 1.0 cc of Unique is 9.2 gr. That would indicate American Select would fill the case nearly 20% more than Unique of the same weight. Red Dot would fill slightly more of the case than American Select for the same weight. But volume and weight is not the only factor to consider.

I discovered 9 gr of Unique is considerably more powerful than 10 gr of HS7. I haven't compared other powders or read the stats yet. I am learning about powders and need to focus on energy vs weight/volume as the ultimate factor to determine how much powder is used in the 45 Colt. Very interesting and challenging. Ed.

 

[Master Blaster]

Before your experimentation with Lee dippers takes you to the emergency room.

Get a scale, and a good reloading manual.

 

[Walkalong]

no smoke or soot, and no leading at all.

I am talking about the cases. I am also talking about plated bullets, but I would not think that would make a difference. The powder burns very clean, it just soots up the cases something fierce. AC

 

[Ed Gallop]

Master Blaster... It isn't the first time I learned the hard way only to regret it (slightly anal sometimes). I already bought a scale but do need a good manual. I get a lot from the web but it is conflicting and ambiguous.

I made the mistake of reloading the least expensive way, with a Lee Loader, but soon discovered I needed a primer, scale, press, etc., to make it easier. Should have bought a good kit to begin with. Ed.

 

[RPCVYemen]

I already bought a scale but do need a good manual.

I guess that I am paranoid. I bought two printed manuals (Lyman and Hornady), and for right now, I exactly follow the listed loads. I decided to start with Hornady bullets, so I used one of their loads, exactly as printed. I have loaded about 2K rounds, so I am pretty new to all of this.

I would not trust any loads from the Internet - unless I can verify them somehow. The key to understanding the Internet is that no one is editing. I feel confident that someone is editing and verifying the loads in the printed manuals. That doesn't mean that there won't be errors in the printed manuals, but it makes errors much less likely. And my heirs will have someone to sue.

Mike

 

[Hikingman]

Using fiberfill which is a cotton-looking polyester fill from the fabric store. Still experimenting, and so far have not noted any increased accuracy over the non-filled loads.

 

[jismay]

I reload 45 colt using 165gr, 200/205gr and 250gr cast bullets. I use 5.0gr of Clays for all three loadings, and it does quite well. It doesn't fill the case, but it works fine, and a double charge would be very obvious. It is a little dirty, but I can live with that.

I have also loaded 45 colt with 25gr by volume of FFFg Triple Seven, and then used 1/2 inch caulk backer rod to take up the air space in the case. Hodgdons reccomends only using the FFg in cases, and never using any fillers, but the 25gr load is the same as what I use in the cap&ball pistol.

 

[Ed Gallop]

I have been loading fff black powder in the 45 Colt case just above the base of the 255 gr cast bullet so it will compress the powder. That is more than 25 gr but it shoots great.

I've been loading only 6.3 gr Unique and it shoots great too at 45'. Have a friend with Clays and it fills the case more per gr of powder. Wonder if the space really makes a difference. Ed.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

While Black Powder or Pyrodex and other BP susbstitute should
not be loaded with an airspace, smokeless pistol powders should
not care. For best results with smokeless powder in a roomy
black powder cartridge like a .38 Special or a .45LC, consistent
crimp (consistent bullet pull) is more important than using a
filler to take up airspace.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I recently started reloading for an old 45LC that I've had but haven't fired. I started with cast 255g Keiths over 7.8g W231. They shot smooth and not dirty at all.

I decided to use up some various bullets I had laying around, they are the 200g SWC (flying ashtray) and some 260g GCTC I made up for my Casull - all cast from WW and Linotype.

After consulting various manuals I decided to back off the powder to 7.5g W231 so that I could load all three without powder bar changes.

I'll shooth them up tomorrow and get back to you on how they perform, but I have high expectations.

In future I will stick to the 255g Keith and 7.5g W231, but as a fellow in the arts, you know how you have to try different things.