I'm not new to reloading, but I am new to having a handgun and rifle in the same caliber (.45 Colt in my case) and I'll admit to some confusion about a common load useable in both guns. The loading manuals list different bullets for rifles and handguns even though the caliber and bullet diameter are the same. I have read that bullets intended for handguns may shed their jacket at rifle velocities, but the .45 Colt is not exactly a high-velocity round anyway and one can load to keep velocity lower. On the theory that there are no dumb questions, I'm asking those with experience for their comments/suggestions. I'm shooting a Vaquero and a Marlin 1894.
One bullet for rifle and pistol same caliber
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CoalCrackerAl
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I have a 44 mag rifle and revolver. I load the same for both. And im loading coated cast. if your loading Jacketed you will be fine too.
LightninST
Member
What will you be using them for target , hunting or _____ ? For Target 200gr or 250/255gr works well in both .
Plated , coated or lead ?
Plated , coated or lead ?
44Mag here. My Redhawk and my Marlin 1894 shoot the same load. 240 Sierra JHC over 23.5gr H-110. It doesn’t always hold true, but rifles tend to be more finicky about loads than pistols. And this load is within the loads for both guns.
AJC1
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Jacketed works best in multiple gun senero. You may get lucky and slug both guns and have the same bore diameter but I doubt it... the jacket will prevent leading in the larger bore gun... if it's close you may be able to cast large and the tighter bore will swedge them down... I shoot 255 cast from my marlin and I dont have the pistol... I do both in 357 mag.
GeoDudeFlorida
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^^^^ That right there. ^^^^
I load for an M77/44 Ruger bolt action and a Ruger 7.5" Super Blackhawk using the Sierra 240gr. JHC using 18.5gr. of 2400. Both guns like that load and I don't shoot a flame longer than my arm out of the SBH with it.
I think that old saw about jacket-shedding is kind of dated. It may have been a problem back when half-jacketed bullets were a new thing but that technology's grown up a lot since those days. I haven't heard of nor seen a jacket stick in a barrel that was made after 1990 or so. If you're using really old half-jacket bullets, go with loading data as old as that bullet. I understand fully that these days the option of just going out and buying a few new cases of bullets isn't realistic so, if what you got is old, use it; but, use it with data as dated as your bullets. Hope that helps.
bullseye308
Member
I’m not experienced with the 45 colt, but with 357 it isn't an issue and there is a fairly noticeable difference in both speed and pressure. 357 hot loads are used interchangeably in pistols and rifles frequently with no trouble and from what I’ve read over the years 45 colt is no different.
Charlie98
Member
As was mentioned, I think the jacket shedding is a non-issue today with our bullet technology.
There can be issues with cast bullets fired at rifle velocities, and some jacketed bullets (think JHP's...) might be overdriven, that is to say, the velocity is higher than what they were designed for out of a pistol.
I shoot .41MAG in both pistol and rifle (Marlin 1894) using the same bullet without issues. I do have loads tailored to the rifle, however, making use of all that barrel.
One other thing... with your Marlin in .45 Colt. Check your rifling twist. I had one, too, and the rifling was super lazy 1:38... which gave me problems with lower velocity loads. I wanted to use the same load I used in my Vaquero... that is 9grn Unique under a 255grn cast bullet, but that load out of the Marlin printed shotgun patterns because the bullets weren't going fast enough to stabilize. If I were to start loading for a .45 Colt rifle again (and I will be, soon... I hope...) I would do what I do for my .41... use a slower powder like IMR4227 or 2400 to maximize the barrel length, and get those bullets up to speed.
mcb
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Assuming both guns have chambers that are similar/correct then we would expect the pressures curves to be nearly identical at least until the bullet reach the end of the pistol barrel length. The extra velocity comes from the longer barrel allowing for more time/distance for the propellant to act on the bullet not a difference in pressure curves.
When loading for both a pistol/carbine pair powder choices can make a big difference. I worked up a load for my M29/M92 pair in 44 Mag. I got a 240 gr bullet going ~1350 fps with two different powders from the revolver (6.5-inch barrel), a fast powder ,800-x and a slow powder, H110. The 800-x took considerable less powder and produced less muzzle blast and no muzzle flash, the H110 produced big obnoxious fire balls and lots of concussive muzzle blast. When I transitions to my M92 carbine (16-inch barrel) the fast burning powder only got a velocity bump up of ~250 fps where the slow burning H110 got ~350 fps increase in velocity.
For me personally I stayed with the fast burning powder since I liked the lack of muzzle flash and less blast and 1600 fps was sufficient for my needs from the carbine, but if I wanted to maximize my performance in the carbine I would have used the slower burning powder and lived with the negative effects in the revolver.
As for bullet selection pick tougher bullets since the rifle will probably being pushing them faster and also pick towards heavier for caliber as this will reduce the velocity from the rifle a bit and heavy for caliber bullet tend to be tougher or at least have more mass to shed and still achieve good penetration.
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