RB in .45 Colt?

[MCgunner]

I love loading and shooting .38 special, very accurate and cheap to shoot. I have six handguns in either .38 or .357 and all are accurate with a 148 WC. 148 WC is cheap to cast, easy on my lead supply. I no longer get free range scrap, so that's important.

With this in mind, I was casting some RB in .454" and got to wondering if the stuff would shoot worth anything in my .45 Colt. I'm gonna try it, I think. I have some empty brass that needs loading. RB is about 140 and change worth of lead, would be cheap for plinker ammo. My gun is a Blackhawk, very accurate with 255 grain FP, but every time I pull the trigger, there goes 255 grains of lead. It's 1" at 25 yards accurate with my hot 300 grain XTP load and my semi mild 255 grain load. I'm wondering if anyone has shot RB in .45 Colt at cap and ball velocities and your experiences with it?

Too, when I get my .45ACP cylinder for the '58 Remmy, this sounds like a no brainer. I would worry about set back in the Auto pistol, but it should work with a heavy crimp with a light load in .45ACP in the Remmy.

 

[Tinpan58]

rb in 45 colt works great in my remmy, but have found .451 works the best for me, remember you are not shaving a lead ring off, saves a lot of lead. I found a lee 160 gr .452 flat nose bullet mold that works great in the remmy as well, the poi is about the same as a rb.

 

[Prairie Dawg]

When I was shooting round balls in 45 Colt, I seem to remember using 451 balls, loaded just past center & crimped.

454 should work too.

If you have a EPP-UG mold, that little 150 grain bullet is very accurate in 45 Colt.
http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ItemID=d3fb4508-70e1-4d9b-87bd-6d9c2d504d33

Wanna save on powder, load 45 Schofield or 45 Cowboy Special brass.

--DAwg

 

[Busyhands94]

Better yet take a blowtorch to the base of a Remington high brass .410 that's too crispy to reload for a few seconds and pull the plastic off. As long as you've got countersunk chambers you should be fine, as the case rim might need more support and may rupture under heavier loads. That isn't a fun thing to have happen.

You end up with a short .45 case that has the same base dimensions as the .45 Colt, except it's like an old balloon head case and you can fit a bit more powder in there than with cut down .45 Colt. A .454 ball will seat in these things.

Here's an idea. You could load these with roundballs and no powder, you might need to use magnum primers but you'd essentially have .45 BB cap rounds.

 

[Pulp]

I played around with it for a bit, they are fun to shoot. A friend had one of those Cobray SXS pistols, I made some loads for him with about 15 grains of BP and cornmeal to top it off.

Someone here suggested running a .454 or .457 RB through a sizer. I have a Lee .451 sizer, so I tried that. I gives you a flat in the middle of the bullet to crimp against.

 

[MCgunner]

I have a Lee .451 sizer, so I tried that. I gives you a flat in the middle of the bullet to crimp against

Good idea. Have a .451 sizer, too. Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

I have a Speer #10 reloading manual from 1979 that actually lists loads using a .454" Speer swaged lead ball in .45 Colt cases.

Test gun was a 5 1/2" Colt SAA.

4.5 Unique gives 632 FPS.
4.0 W-231 gives 544 FPS.
4.0 700X gives 566 FPS.
3.2 Bullseye gives 553 FPS.
3.2 Red Dot gives 568 FPS.

rc

 

[MCgunner]

Wow, thanks for the data! That Unique is probably how I'll swing, a little bulkier than Bullseye. Trailboss would probably be ideal, but I don't need to stash another powder. Can always use a BP sub. Stainless gun and I have a dish washer.

 

[Jaymo]

I've loaded RB in .44 Spl and Mag, as plinking loads.
Have also loaded double ball .44 loads.
They're fun and cheap.

 

[faustopph]

George C. Nonte,Jr. in his book "Basic Handloading" describes using roundball in ultralight loads for handguns. He used softened beeswax ( melted and mixed with petroleum jelly ) smeared over the loaded roundball.
He states that Bullseye is the best powder, at the time the book was published , with no more than 0.75 to 1.0 grs. for .32 and .38 caliber. For the .44 and .45 calibers he says to start at 2.0 grs..
With such light loads he also stresses to make sure they make it out the barrel and if not to increase the load by 0.2grs.. If to much un-burned powder remains in the barrel, use a magnum primer. Maybe also to use a snug card wad over the powder to hold it to the rear of the cartridge.

 

[MCgunner]

He states that Bullseye is the best powder, at the time the book was published , with no more than 0.75 to 1.0 grs. for .32 and .38 caliber. For the .44 and .45 calibers he says to start at 2.0 grs..

Wow, I use more'n that, 2.3 grains, behind a 105 SWC in .38 special for an ultra-light load for my Rossi 92. It approximates a .22LR moving out of a 20" barrel at 900 fps. Would be an economical load, but I think I want a little more bang.

I BET you could get a REALLY light load with trailboss and wouldn't need an over-card. I never played with trailboss, though.

 

[bubba15301]

try 9.0 grains of uniquewith the rb

 

[rcmodel]

try 9.0 grains of uniquewith the rb

Shirley you jest!

With no bullet lube, and very little bullet to bore contact?
Plus a soft lead ball?

The Mother of All Bore Leading at that kind of velocity!

rc

 

[bubba15301]

no i wasnt jesting shot 9 grs. of unique in 44/40 with rb no problem with leading

 

[faustopph]

MCgunner, remember these are his "ultralight" loads, as in make sure your ball leaves the barrel after each shot .