Garrison Joe, SASS #60708
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Posts posted by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708
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I've used WST and TiteGroup in .45 Colt light loads. Not any PP yet. But all three of those are flattened ball powder made by General Dynamics in their Florida plant, so they are pretty similar in how easy to load they are. Never had a problem with getting consistent results. REALLY light loads may require a tight crimp and a magnum primer, but only if you see inconsistent recoil/muzzle report, or yellowish partially burned powder granules in the barrel.
Be sure to check performance at 30 deg F before you load a big lot of them - hard to know which powders get weak at cold temperatures.
As to a beginning load - I'd look at the minimal Hodgdon handbook/on-line load with TiteGroup powder and your slug weight, and work down from there with Perfect Pattern, watching for gas blowback, squibs or primer back out.
good luck, GJ
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Sounds like: "Fastest art pencils in the West!" 😄 GJ
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Comparison was simple, yes, but economically flawed, as described. Cowboy shooting is a reloader's game. Meaning lots of our cowboy folks can get to close to my cost per round since they have most of the equipment already. No one I know buys factory ammo, especially for handguns, for which most pards need the most (practice) ammo. Unless they get a great deal (this isn't one) and they need the brass that remains after shooting. Nothing you have provided negates my cost per round.
good luck, GJ
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It's a fallacy to count full purchase price of the CASE every time you reload one. If you can get 10 reloads out of cases, then count 1/10 of the cost of the case every time you load it. And if you can only get 1 reload out of a case, you need to check yourself.
My MATERIALS cost to load C45S is about:
0 cents for cut-down .45 Colt range pickup brass
6 cents for primer
3 cents for Bullseye powder
3 cents for a cast bullet I made with a combination of range scrap, purchased spent linotype and a little scrap pewter bought from yard sales
1 cent for homemade bullet lube (as good as Alox 50-50 commercial lube)
So, 13 cents a round. Or $6.50 a box.
One-tenth of purchased ammo cost, and I can go get more in the time it takes to walk to my loading room and cycle the loader. good luck, GJ
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In this case being discussed, no missed targets.
But if the shooter had a missed target, sure it would count - it was a MISS! Making the total penalty a P and a miss. GJ
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Where are the misses? All shots hit correct R/P targets. GJ
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On 8/10/2026 at 8:56 PM, Last Call Saul said:
This is the second time I've heard about Perfect Pattern. how does it compare to Clays?
It's a little faster burning than Clays. Denser, so you would have to go down to a smaller bushing size. It's also a little more power packed, so that also means an even lighter charge weight. The higher density usually requires moving the wad seating ram or the crimp die some as well. It's a good powder, cheap to use (in today's price environment) and clean burning. Most important of all, it has been very available for last 4 years.
THERE IS NO EXACT REPLACEMENT among any shotgun powders for another powder which does not require making changes. The closest is Red Dot to Promo powders, which have the same burn rate but not the same density. So, usually a different powder bushing (at least) is needed.
What you are hoping for really does not exist!
good luck, GJ
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Another feller who loads with .45 Colt sizer, .45 Colt expander in the Dillon powder drop, and a .45 Auto Rim seat and crimp. Station 3 on my Dillon 550 has an RCBS powder lockout die.
Why? .45 Auto sizer is too tight and overworks the bigger .45 Colt case.
.45 Colt mouth expander is correct if loading a .452 lead slug without shaving lead.
.45 auto rim seater crimp die lets me roll crimp tightly on the short case. Most .45 Colt seaters and/or crimp dies are too tall and won't get to the mouth of the Cowboy .45 Special round.
good luck, GJ
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10 minutes ago, Ciderbarrel said:
Shots 1-10 must be from the rifle,
And the penalty in the handbook for violating the GUN order is a P. And, since only 1 P is given on any stage, there is no penalty awarded when the shooter gets to the rifle as the second gun he shot.
Just a P. good luck, GJ
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RG's wheels are a proprietary design with that hub having an integrated brake cog and dog. So, a standard wheel will not replace it and still have a brake function.
Yes, the original spoke designs were also very cheaply made, as the spoke ends did not use a strong connection to the hub or wheel. And yes, I broke my front fork, too and had to weld it back together.
Now is the time to get the replacement wheel kits. good luck, GJ
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Starting the pot at least half full of ingots/remelt bullets prevents forgetting the pot and letting the heating elements over-heat just the pot itself, and possibly shortening the life of the resistive heating element.
On shutdown, I turn off the pot current and then immediately drain lead into some ingot molds, so that I can clean any dross clinging to the walls or bottom when the pot fully cools.
good luck, GJ
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I find that casting with a great mold is about half as much work as casting with a Lee. Buy one mold that lasts for tens of thousands of bullets? The extra cost is in the weeds and the time saved is precious.
As for designs that are not obtainable in brass? Accurate will cut any mold that you can draw a picture of the slug. I've done that myself when I wanted a bullet no one else made a mold for. Has run for 10 years without a glitch.
Just my approach to life. GJ
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I you want a REALLY nice casting mold, get a BRASS mold from either Accurate or NOE. Expensive compared to aluminum molds, but casts better and holds heat very well. And, iron/steel molds are also great, and last a LONG time. I gave up on Lee molds 50 years ago, but still use NOE aluminum molds because of the higher-strength alloy they cut their molds from.
Clogged pour spouts are 1 of 2 problems. The alloy is contaminated (dross particles, or quite often Calcium from car batteries in the melt), or the temp is right on the verge of solidifying. A propane torch will temporarily solve either cold-spout condition. But raising the pot temperature is a longer term fix. Calcium or zinc contamination is only really controlled by being very careful of what you melt down. Range lead every once in a while gets dirtied up with calcium or zinc content from home casters who will cast any gray colored "dog remains" that fit in their pots. Those "bad" metals will ruin the casting quality of alloy real fast, and are hard to remove at home.
good luck, GJ
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TiteGroup works well, as does Perfect Pattern. Hodgdon has had these in stock almost continuously for the last 5 years. If you find High Gun, it is the exact same as TiteGroup, just with a shotgunner-friendly label. Other adaptable-to-pistol powders I see in stock at some on-line vendors include Longshot, Super Handicap, Super Target (WST), Accurate #5, Sport Pistol, e3,. Either WST or e3 would make wonderful pistol cartridge powders - in fact I use WST all the time and have loaded e3 myself. I even see Bullseye in stock (Natchez) - wonderful pistol-cartridge powder.
I do not believe that EITHER Alliant nor Hodgdon is "shutting down" ANY of the primary powder makers. Alliant and Hodgdon do not MAKE any powder, they contract to buy from the primary makers like General Dynamics and New River Energetics in the US and Canada, ADI in Australia and several European powder makers. I do believe the reports that continued munitions demands from TWO active wars (and some smaller insurgent defense actions) are overwhelming the supply chain and leaving very little powder for either commercial ammo or reloading. With reloading taking the very lightly served third place in line.
Lose the hand-wringing and do more searching with either local shops or on-line vendors,
good luck, GJ
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On 7/22/2026 at 1:53 PM, Sedalia Dave said:
best flux is ordinary saw dust.
Even better than straight sawdust is oiled sawdust.
Tin gets "removed" from the alloy because the tin combines with oxygen from the air above about 800 F real quickly. The fluxes don't remove tin, they make most of the oxides in the alloy separate better from the alloy. Some fluxes oxidize (like borax) and some reduce PART of the oxides (tin mostly) back down to the metal (like sawdust, old leaves, and some of the oils) mainly due to the carbon in the flux combining with oxide part of the alloy, reducing the metal oxides back to metallic state.
Sawdust works pretty well because the wood chars into fine carbon that is more able to combine with oxides than the cellulose in the wood fibers are.
Oiled sawdust fluxes real well because of the ability of the oil to contribute extra carbon to combine with the oxygen of the impurities, and also to "moisten" the surface of the dross so it is better able to come to the top of the alloy in the melting pot. My favorite oil is synthetic 2-cycle motorcycle/outboard oil. It is less smokey, better smelling when it is heated, and holds together at the casting temperature better than most oils. So, I actually use DRY leaves (oak or ash are wonderful) as the cellulose component, and I mix a half a teaspoon oil of 2-cycle oil in as I add enough DRY leaves to cover the top surface of the alloy. Leaves will char instantly, oil spreads amongst that carbon layer, and stirring it all in gets all the oxides that are trapped down in the alloy and on the pot walls to loosen up and come to the surface where the oxides form dross powder.. That oil component really helps reduce the tin back to metal which then returns back into the alloy. This does get smokey, which can be burned to clear it up (I use a propane torch to light the gas coming up).
I get more free leaves than I can use from my backyard ash tree every year, dry them in the garage in bags or boxes for a year, and they never cause a moisture/steam explosion when I add them to the pot! New Mexico scrub oak (buck brush) leaves are also really good for fluxing - millions of tons are available in forests in NM. 😄
Discard the skimmed off dross outside, not in living spaces. Air's moisture getting into lead casting dross can create very poisonous gases! Sealed cans are excellent discard containers.
Of course, you NEVER should add anything into a hot melting pot that contains ANY amount of moisture. Just a couple drops of absorbed water can blow most of a pot of molten lead up and onto YOU and your equipment. That includes bullet jackets, range pickup lead, old roofing or cable sheathing, etc. as well as fluxing material.
Oh, that 2-cycle oil is an EXCELLENT lube to use on the mold sprue and top surface where the sprue plate contacts the mold. Just BARELY get a q-tip moistened with the oil, and scrub lightly. It removes the smeared lead on the sprue plate and mold top quickly, and keeps more from getting smeared when you cut the sprue before it completely solidifies.
good luck, GJ
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Glad you got it out with a chamber-filling low-melting metal alloy - assume it was Cerrosafe. you used.
You know, there's really no value to wiping out the original problem text in your initial post! It just makes it harder for folks in the future to understand how your solution might help them with a similar problem.
good luck, GJ
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Possible problem - cylinder base pin reinstalled too deep and blocking the hammer travel (as a safety feature). Try resetting the base pin and making sure the pin latch catches the pin in the firing groove, not in the safety groove.
The Cimarron published "Hammer Block Safety System" warning can be found here, with a good set of line drawings that make things very clear:
https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/Manuals-Forms/PDFs/CusSafInst.pdf
good luck, GJ
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6 hours ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:
3-4 reloads on a once fired hull?
I get about 5 (after factory) on Gun Clubs, 8 on Nitro 27 and about 10 on STS. good luck, GJ
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My go-to for rust removal is Kroil! You can use BRONZE wool and scrub after soaking with Kroil and remove ALL the rust, usually without removing bluing. It does smell!
For long term prevention, I use the same grease I use for other firearms maintenance. Right now, the best I have found is Battle Born synthetic grease. Second place - Mobil One bearing grease. Any oil will have a hard time staying on the parts after a year.
good luck, GJ
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Yep - follow Cerrosafe instructions about TIMING and you won't be sorry! After a couple of hours setting, you may have to warm up the barrel with a torch to where it sizzles water to get the metal out. good luck, GJ
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I find that the green STS hold their crimp petals one or two reloads more than the gold Nitro 27 hulls. So I favor the greens but won't pass by a gold Nitro on the ground or in the bucket. Both of those are smooth hull walls.
However, I find the STS and Nitros are at least two reloads longer lasting than Remington Gun Clubs (with ribs), that get pretty ratty petals on about the 5th reload.
good luck, GJ
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Yep, that's one of several ways to mine and mill copper. Worked the copper processing game for about 10 years, back when the US mined and processed it's own copper requirements. Now, most of our new-production copper comes from foreign countries. Including Zambia, as the video features. And, it's more expensive than ever before! good luck, GJ
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Got about 15 small digital devices with clocks in them. Each changes the time manually and differently, except for one alarm clock which can sense when the time change happens, and the several computers... Some are complex enough that I have to pull out the manual twice a year.
Changing time is for the birds. How did we ever live BEFORE we had DST, only Standard Time? The 1700s, 1800s, 1900s were all WRONG? Nope!
Time is NEVER saved, just folks get to stay up later in the summer without an excuse.
good luck, GJ
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Not legal since that is a full-metal jacketed slug. And it's power factor is only 142. Most 1911s have to run light "bullseye" springs and proper throating to get solid feeding. No, all the way around.
Always useful to see the factory ad for details:
Federal 185 grain target .45 auto ammo
good luck, GJ
Perfect Pattern Powder in Large Cases?
in SASS Wire
Posted
Unique is coming back on market now, as is Red Dot. Either of those have a much smaller nitroglycerin content than TiteGroup or Perfect Pattern. Either of those two powders will be less sharp on the recoil impulse, and capable of going fairly low and still burn well. Especially Red Dot.
TiteGroup certainly starts leaving a bunch of unburned powder as you drop the charge down. Also soots the case walls in .45 Colt. My guess is if you are looking for really smooth recoil loads, none of the flattened ball powders with high nitroglycerin content will make you very happy. That type of soft loading was where Clays powder used to make folks grin.
good luck, GJ