Good Powder For 45 Colt?

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CrankyCraig

CrankyCraig

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Hello everyone I just received a Beautiful Stainless Ruger New Vaquero 5.5 inch barrel chambered in 45 Colt it was a gift from my wife. I'm aware that the new model Cannot use Ruger only loads which is fine for my purposes.

I've been wanting a single action in 45 colt for years as i enjoyed shooting one as a kid growing up in Oregon. I decided reloading for this caliber is almost a must considering the price of the stuff on the shelf. I have some brand new Winchester & Starline brass for it as well as some .452 200gr Laser cast RNFP bullets. I'm trying to find some 250-255 grain RNFP or SWC locally.

I have several loading Manuels I just picked up over the week. I was wondering what powder you more experienced folks use for 45 Colt? I'd be just target shooting paper and at times steel plates. Currently I only have Winchester 231 & Tight group on hand but I hear good things about Unique & Trailboss for target shooting.

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
I wouldn't call it advice but, I use 7.5 grains of Unique to push a 235 RNL bullet. I have run hundreds of these rounds through my new Ruger Super Blackhawk 5.5 inch barrel with good results. I have 5 lbs of TrailBoss, but just ain't got around to trying it yet.
 
Unique is probably the most used 45 Colt powder due to it's bulky nature fills the case much better than faster powders. This makes double-charges much less likely and tends to offer better ignition consistency...I think.

Years ago, I used 231...which works just fine, but the tiny little charge was literally just a pinch of powder sitting in the bottom of the relatively cavernous cartridge and double or triple or even quadruple charges would fit! Be careful with the fast powders!

I stopped using 231 after one shot did something very weird and was much, much more powerful than normal. At this time I was weighing every charge, so I'm darn sure there was no double-charging going on...but this one shot made a bright muzzle flash and BOOOM! My shooting buddy in the next lane (indoor range) even stopped and came over...'What the hell was that?' 'I don't know!' For some reason...that one shot was WAY more powerful than all the rest. Maybe the powder somehow distributed all around the inside of the case and got lit all at once? The infamous 'detonation'? Still don't know, but since switching to Unique all has been well in 45 Colt-ville ever since.
 
All of the powders mentioned would be good choices. I've used used most of them in 45 Colt at one time or another.

I'll add Accurate #5 to the list.

And there are other good powders as well.

Choose your "poison".
 
I have used MANY powders in the 45 Colt, most worked well. You will hear Unique is best and it's not a bad choice but it meters poorly and I feel there are better choices. I have used Red Dot, Promo, Unique, Universal, Trail Boss, W231/HP-38, AA#5, HS-6 and probably a few others just because I like to try different powders. I used mostly W231 for a long time and got great results but now I use mostly HS-6. That works even better for me and is very accurate with a 250/255gr bullet.

There is no reason to push the 45 Colt to super high velocities. A 250gr bullet @850 fps to 900 fps has been stopping everything it hits for over 100 years. There is no reason to change things now lol.

Missouri Bullets has a good variant of bullets meant for the 45 Colt in both lead and coated lead. I use their lead bullets and they work very well for me. Just a note, you may get some leading with those Lasercast bullets because they are so hard. At normal 45 Colt pressuresthey may not seal off the barrel.

Good luck with your new gun.
 
I've had the best results with Unique and Green Dot. Neither meter as well as some, but they are consistent. HS-6 is also a good performer, but a bit sooty in lower pressure cartridges like the .45 Colt.
 
Been shooting 255gr powdercoated lead boolits over 21gr of IMR4227 in my 24" Rossi 92 levergun. Seems to be an accurate load, and quite stout. Gonna use it for a deer in about a month.
 
To heck with powders, your wife is a keeper! Any woman who gives her man a gun as a gift is definitely a step above the rest........

As for the .45 Colt, I shoot a lot of it, but almost exclusively with Trail Boss and 200 gr. RNFP bullets, in both handguns and Marlin rifles. It's accurate and with the 200 gr. bullet, I get more bullets per pound of alloy, which equates to more shooting for the buck. For punching paper, there's no need to push heavy bullets, since paper targets don't know the difference.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Been shooting 255gr powdercoated lead boolits over 21gr of IMR4227 in my 24" Rossi 92 levergun.
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Maybe a good place for a note that this is NOT an SSA load, even though it should be obvious.

I like Trail Boss for .45 LC. It burns clean and fills the case enough to stay out of trouble. I've also had good luck with Clays, although the weight range is narrow.
 
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If, like the OP, I was given a .45 and had Titegroup and W231 on hand, I would load some with W231 and maybe even Titegroup.

I would not load too lightly. Those are Ball powders and have not responded well for me in powderpuff loads. If a 200 at 900 is too much fun, look at a fast flake powder like Trail Boss, Clays, 700X, or even Bullseye.
 
Both 231 and tightgroup will work but like Recoil Rob said they don't fill the case much. I prefer a bulkier powder so I use Unique.
 
Why do so many reloaders worry so much about double charging a case? Unless you are using a progressive press without a powder check die of some sort how can you double charge a case? It's not the powders fault if the handloader doesn't look inside the case before a bullet is seated.
 
I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt that has never fired a factory round (other than the one test round at the factory).

It has fired more loads of a 255 grain SWC and 8.5 grains of Unique than any other load. It pretty much mimics the old original load.

There are plenty that will work though. I'm sure W231 will produce good results since you already have it on hand. If you decide to take it hunting or something you may want to tinker a bit, but for punching paper and or steel plates, I'd try what I had first.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
I have used MANY powders in the 45 Colt, most worked well. You will hear Unique is best and it's not a bad choice but it meters poorly and I feel there are better choices. I have used Red Dot, Promo, Unique, Universal, Trail Boss, W231/HP-38, AA#5, HS-6 and probably a few others just because I like to try different powders. I used mostly W231 for a long time and got great results but now I use mostly HS-6. That works even better for me and is very accurate with a 250/255gr bullet.

There is no reason to push the 45 Colt to super high velocities. A 250gr bullet @850 fps to 900 fps has been stopping everything it hits for over 100 years. There is no reason to change things now lol.

Missouri Bullets has a good variant of bullets meant for the 45 Colt in both lead and coated lead. I use their lead bullets and they work very well for me. Just a note, you may get some leading with those Lasercast bullets because they are so hard. At normal 45 Colt pressuresthey may not seal off the barrel.

Good luck with your new gun.
Click to expand...
Wow that's no good so it's better to shoot a softer bullet? What is a good brindle hardness?
 
ReloaderFred said:
To heck with powders, your wife is a keeper! Any woman who gives her man a gun as a gift is definitely a step above the rest........

As for the .45 Colt, I shoot a lot of it, but almost exclusively with Trail Boss and 200 gr. RNFP bullets, in both handguns and Marlin rifles. It's accurate and with the 200 gr. bullet, I get more bullets per pound of alloy, which equates to more shooting for the buck. For punching paper, there's no need to push heavy bullets, since paper targets don't know the difference.

Hope this helps.

Fred
Click to expand...
Lol Indeed she's a keeper!
 
stoky said:
Maybe a good place for a note that this is NOT an SSA load, even though it should be obvious.

I like Trail Boss for .45 LC. It burns clean and fills the case enough to stay out of trouble. I've also had good luck with Clays, although the weight range is narrow.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
Universal Clays is a good substitute for Unique. I've used most of the powder's here with good success with bullets from 225 - 270 gr bullets in wadcutter,rnfp and swchp.
 
CrankyCraig said:
Wow that's no good so it's better to shoot a softer bullet? What is a good brindle hardness?
Click to expand...
I use bullets that are ~12 BHN for most if my shooting. Most leading is prevented buy the bullet sealing off the hot gasses from traveling up the side of the bullet. Hard bullets like 18 BHN will sometimes not expand enough to stop leading but the bullets you bought are extremely hard at 22+ BHN so they might not lead.

Missouri Bullets make really good bullets in both 12 BHN and 18 BHN so when you buy be sure you get the right bullets. Since you asked about 250/255gr LRN or LSWC bullets, here are the links.
http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=49&category=5
http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=69&category=5

If you are fearful of leading you can always buy the same bullets only coated which will not lead your barrel. I use their uncoated lead bullets with no leading in several Vaqueros.
 
I use 231. Had really good results right off the bat with the starting load from the Lyman #46 manual. Using a 250 cast FP in both my revolvers and Marlin 1894CB. The Marlin shoots clover leafs at 25 yards.

I never noticed any positional issues with powder shifting and the chronograph show about 725 fps in 5.5" Ubertis and about 1015 fps in my 24" Marlin.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
I use bullets that are ~12 BHN for most if my shooting. Most leading is prevented buy the bullet sealing off the hot gasses from traveling up the side of the bullet. Hard bullets like 18 BHN will sometimes not expand enough to stop leading but the bullets you bought are extremely hard at 22+ BHN so they might not lead.

Missouri Bullets make really good bullets in both 12 BHN and 18 BHN so when you buy be sure you get the right bullets. Since you asked about 250/255gr LRN or LSWC bullets, here are the links.
http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=49&category=5
http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=69&category=5

If you are fearful of leading you can always buy the same bullets only coated which will not lead your barrel. I use their uncoated lead bullets with no leading in several Vaqueros.
Click to expand...
I really appreciate the information Thank You!
 
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