Which powder for .45 Colt?

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Jaymo

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I picked up some .45 Colt ammo for my EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter.
The plan is to shoot it up and then reload it with BP or Pyrodex.

Which granulation should I use? ffg/RS or fffg/P?
Also, what would be the result of using 3 or 4f in it, as opposed to 2f?

TIA
 
I have used both Pyrodex and Schuetzen in both 2F and 3F in .45 Colt cartridges. Do not use 4F...that is only for priming flintlocks.

I do not have a chronograph. Those who do will tell you that you will get a few more feet per second out of 3F because the smaller particles allow for more powder mass in the case. When shooting them, I could not tell a difference.
 
Actually, for those of you that don't know, I wrote the book on loading the
45 Colt!. You all will probably disagree, but when loading with BP, it's best
to use a mix of F, FF, FFF, FFFF. This will give a higher velocity and cleaner
shooting. I know of where I speak.:rolleyes:
 
Howdy

I load 45 Colt with FFg. I prefer Schuetzen, but I have used Goex and Elephant too. If you substitute FFFg for FFg and use the same amount of powder you will increase velocity by 60-100 fps.

I would not dream of using FFFFg in cartridges.
 
As you've probably already figured out, you're not gonna hurt anything by using 2f or 3f powder. Phils "book" regarding mixing multiple granulatons sounds interesting though. Now if I can just find it at the local library.;) Keep in mind though, he's SERIOUS about his shooting, most of us just aren't that dedicated or ambitious.

Personally I use Swiss 3f for all cartridge loads.
 
"Cart." is a granualation sprecifically for loading cartridges. Yet I have not seen it mentioned. Is it that hard to get? I cannot believe nobody here has never heard of it. So I figure there must be a good reason. If you don't mind, it would help the OP, and I am curiuos.
 
I know fully well what it is. I already mentioned it , but you did not see it.
What do you think is in the "Factory" loaded BP 45 Colt by "Black Dawg"
loaded with Goex? Yep, you got it.:what:
 
"Cart." is a granualation sprecifically for loading cartridges. Yet I have not seen it mentioned. Is it that hard to get? I cannot believe nobody here has never heard of it. So I figure there must be a good reason. If you don't mind, it would help the OP, and I am curiuos.
Click to expand...

Goex 'Cartridge' powder was a product looking for a reason to exist. If I recall correctly, the granulation was somewhere between FFg and FFFg. It never really took off in sales and Goex stopped producing it about a year ago. Another Goex product that bit the dust was 'Cowboy' granulation. They stopped producing that not too long ago.

One old rule of thumb was to use FFg in anything larger than 45 caliber and FFFg in anything smaller than 45 caliber. Either FFg or FFFg was considered to be OK in 45 caliber. This is just an old rule of thumb, not cast in stone. I know guys who load 38 Special with FFg. When I first started seriously loading Black Powder in cartridges I kept FFFg on hand for 45 Colt and 44-40, I kept FFg on hand for 12 gauge shotgun. After a while I decided to simplify things and just keep one granulation on hand, so I settled on FFg for everything. Now I use FFg in 45-70, 45 Colt, 45 Schofield, 44-40, 44 Russian, and 12 Gauge. Yes, I sacrifice a few feet per second in the pistol calibers, but that would be wasted in a shotgun. So I compromised and it works fine. I prefer Schuetzen to Goex because it burns cleaner. Schuetzen uses the same high grade charcoal that Swiss uses, but Schuetzen costs about the same as Goex, much cheaper than Swiss. When you burn up as much Black Powder every year as I do, you have to save money someplace.

I have been hearing a lot of good reports about the latest lots of Kik powder, but so far I have not tried any.
 
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Thank you, gentlemen. I am not involved with loading cartridges. Shoot, I probably don't know that much about what I do, do, lol. But then that's why I'm here. I hope you guys don't mind my "dumb" questions now and then. And I hope you don't mind correcting me if you see me misspeak. That's more why I speak up. So if I'm wrong, someone can correct me. Again thanks.
 
Mustanger, there's no such thing as a dumb question. I believe for every "dumb" question that gets asked, there 20 lurkers who needed the answer to that same question.
 
As I recall, .45 Colt is at the switchover point for using FFg or FFFg. That is, as a rule of thumb anything smaller than .45 Colt should use FFFg and anything larger FFg. Therefore use whichever one give you the best bang for the buck! Personally, I use GOEX FFFg...35 to 40 grains by weight, fiber wad, and a 250 RNFP Biglube.

p.s. I just read Driftwood Johnson's post after posting mine....great minds my friend, great minds. ;-)
 
10 x uses a 777 mixture........

...Made especially for them by hodgeson powders ,I asked the fella what granulation 2f or 3 f he said it was a mix,or duplex load of triple 7 only cleaner? any body use 777 3f in cartridges ?
 
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Dang, Phil, That's impressive.
This has me wanting to pull the bullets and dump the smokeless out of the .45 Colt ammo I bought, and reload them with the 3f/4f mix you described on the phone.
Imagine how a case full of that mix would kick in a Charter .44 Bulldog.

I still want to try loading .45 Colt with 60/40 (saltpeter/sugar) white gunpowder and see how it shoots.
Your Blackhawk .45 with BP cartridges looks like it's as much fun to shoot as my Pedersoli Howdah.
As much as I want a Ruger Blackhawk in .44 Special, a .45 Colt Blackhawk would make me happy, too.

I'll let you know how much the Pawn Shop wants for that SS 5.5" ROA, as soon as they call me with a price.
It'll be 10-15 days before they can sell it. If the price is right, I'll either put it on layaway, or buy it oughtright.
It would make a good companion to my long barreled ROA.

I'd like to convert it to .45 Colt, with a loading gate and ejector rod.
I wonder if anyone makes such a conversion for the ROA?

BTW, thanks to all for the loading advice.
Thanks to Phil, for taking the time to answer my phone calls and give advice for free.
 
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Make your own black Powder?

Seems to me one of the firefox books covered making your own black powder. I guess it is do-able, but not something I`d bother with. The process involves LOTS of work, and could be hazardous if you make a mistake. Not something I`d care to do when I can just go and purchase my Goex in a can .
Making your own Black Powder might attract unwelcome scrutiny form law enforcement and or fire depts etc.
 
I tried making some when I was a kid. I couldn't get a hold of any potassium nitrate, so I used sodium nitrate instead. It didn't explode, but it made pretty good rocket fuel.

My Dad was a chemist, in fact he worked for Hercules Powder company during WWII making bazooka fuel in Kansas. When he got wind of what I was up to he put a stop to it real quick. I remember him looking in one of my little rocket motors and saying, 'Do you realize there is more powder in there than in a 30-30 cartridge?'

That was the end of my adventures making gun powder.
 
[
"I'd like to convert it to .45 Colt, with a loading gate and ejector rod.
I wonder if anyone makes such a conversion for the ROA?"

Kirst makes .45 conversion cylinders for an ROA, as does Howell /R&D. I have the Kirst, because one firing pin makes more sense to me than 6. But both require removal of the cylinder for loading and unloading. With enough money you could probably find a gunsmith to fit a cylinder and install an ejector rod. But the Kirst conversion is plenty of fun as is.
 
I think, if memory is correct that 50 years ago , YES I said 50. That I was
using a full case of IMR 4198. Don't hold me to this, in 45 Colt. I don't
remember how many grains. Had to be 25 or 30. This was safe in all types of
45 Colt. I think the pressure was around 10,000 psi. I have all the pressure
data and velocity around here somewhere. I got all kinds of loads for the
45 Colt. Lots were in Guns & Ammo. I used to be a writer for them long long
ago. Knew Elmer well also. And you all thought I just shot BP Zip guns:what:
 
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