hot .45 colt factory

[longhorngunman]

I know that .45 colt can be loaded as hot as .44mag in the correct revolvers. With my ruger .454 able to shoot .45's also where on the net can I get factory .45 colt loads that are equal to .44 mag. Oh I'll definetly be shooting the .454's but probably not the ideal cartridge unless I'm hunting in Africa or hunting grizzlies. Thanks!

 

[Jim Watson]

Buffalo Bore is the only one I know of offhand.

 

[RCL]

CorBon and Buffalo Bore are the probably the only "big name" companies that load +P .45 Colt ammo.

http://www.corbon.com/
http://www.buffalobore.com/

 

[mbartel]

Grizzly Cartridge Co. also loads the +P .45 Colt

http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/Detail.bok?no=6

As good as, or better than .44 mag.

 

[Werewolf]

If Corbon and Buffalo bore are loading .45 Colt to just +P levels then they are no where near the levels that Rugers or a .454 can handle.

As I'm sure y'all know +P is just 10% over SAAMI specs and +P+ is I believe just 15% over SAAMI. The specs on .45 Colt are 13900 CUP. A reasonably hot Ruger load runs 22000 and some go to 27000. A +P doesn't get anywhere near those pressure levels.

If you want real .44 Mag performance out of a 45 Colt you pretty much gotta handload. Goto the handloading forum and ask those guys - you'll get a wealth of information.

 

[JNewell]

I know that .45 colt can be loaded as hot as .44 mag in the correct revolvers

Correct, Dick Casull's original development was done with .45 Colt brass and revolvers, although there have been changes along the way, and not just adding another 1/10" to keep 65k psi .454C loads out of SAAs.

If Corbon and Buffalo bore are loading .45 Colt to just +P levels then they are no where near the levels that Rugers or a .454 can handle.

True. It's hard to say what a "+P" .45LC load develops, pressure-wise, since there is no SAAMI spec for that at all. The other option, beyond the Buffalo Bore and Cor-Bon .45 "magnum" loads, is the lower-velocity Winchester .454C load, which has very moderate recoil. It's not as cheap as generic .45LC ammo, but then neither are the BB or CB .45LC "magnum" loads either. If you handload, Freedom Arms has a wide range of velocity/pressure load data on their website.

 

[longhorngunman]

I've come to the same conclusion that J.Newell said. I bought a box of the 250gr Winchesters when I got my Ruger, went to Win's website and saw the ballistics. Very much a "light" .454 load compared to my Hornady's. Heck I can get em for $14 a box at the gunshow. That's a lot cheaper than the +p colt's at above listed ammo makers. Thanks for the input everybody.

 

[Pointman]

I tend to feel that if a 255gr wide meplat FP at 1200fps cannot bring it down I don't want to be in the woods with it anyway.

 

[JNewell]

I think Pointman is probably right, and nearly certain that he's right if you make 1200 fps 1300. Past that I think it's basically a question of flattening out trajectory and even there I'm not sure how much you gain in the real world with a handgun...but YMMV.

 

[Colt46]

Don't use over pressure loads in .45 Colts

Many people think that Ruger revolvers can handle .44 Mag level pressures in .45 Colt. There is a serious issue with cylinder wall thickness. Oversized, custom cylinders can safely exceed anything the .44 mag can handle. These are rare as hens teeth and full custom only. Otherwise it's best to stay lower than 30,000 Cup in your Rugers. Even then, Ruger frowns on the practice.
Believe me, heavy bullet loads at this pressure level will work wonders on whatever you want to shoot,

 

[JNewell]

IIRC, even Linebaugh's idea of heavy .45LC loads is only in the 25-28k psi range. Leave the proof loads at home!

 

[Burt Blade]

It is essential that none of these over-SAAMI loads be used in the recently-released new-model Rugers. They are colt-sized guns, for colt-sized loads.

Even the original Vaquero and Blackhawks were not proofed for anything over SAAMI Specs, so don't go crazy with the big ones.

Can is not the same as should.