spittoon otool Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Can I use a Dillon square deal to load the 45 cowboy special? If so what would I need? Spittoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I guess that's the press with proprietary dies? you'd need to swap out the seat/crimp die for .45 ACP, and if you are using a press-mounted powder thrower, whatever powder funnel would work for ACP. Leave the shell plate and sizing die the same as .45 Colt. So if ya don't own em, ya'd be looking at those acp dies in addition to your .45 Colt "stuff". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Howdy Spittoon. now your probably telling yeowndangself, 'I don't know ifn I want to use an ACP 'TAPER' crimp die on loading these bullets with a crimp groove'. But, let me tell ya, I load quite a few of them using a good taper crimp and they are perfect. I know alot of folks prefer a good 'roll' crimp for revolvers, etc....but a good taper crimp will serve you well. I'm a big endorser of the C45S and most of the .45 Colt caliber folks who have tried some of mine have bought the brass and started using the C45S. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Good ole LEE carbide dies (regular three die set with a seat/crimp die) is NOMINALLY a taper crimp, but the good folks at lee were nice enough that when I spent the money for an AUTORIM set, the ONLY difference between it and ACP was the shell holder. the die numbers are identical. Turns out all ya need to do with yer LEE (or most any) seat crimp die meant for ACP is crank it down a ways until it makes what Richard Lee calls a "modified roll crimp" Like this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/adirondack_jack/2011-05-01_16-57-27_316-1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 The C45S is absolutely the BEES KNEES. On my 650 I use Redding dies for 45 Auto Rim to get a "roll" crimp, but I shoot 'em out of a rifle too. Like a nice tight crimp. Coffinmaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I loaded my first 50 rounds of 45 Cowboy Special tonight using my Lee turret press. A four die set of Lee 45 ACP dies and a 45 Colt shell holder seemed perfect for loading the same 200 grain RNFP lead bullets and the same medium load of TB I use in my 45 ACP WB loads. The Lee crimp die put on a pretty good crimp. Frankly they are easy. Looking at the 45 ACP loading data for 180 grain lead bullets my current TB load should work great for 180 grain bullets. If I can find time I am going to test them tomorrow. From there I will start down loading to reach a minimum but not too minimum load. That will require a chronograph. I only have a couple of questions. Can I use Federal Magnum primers? They seem to work well in other low power TB bullets. Will C45 Special work with black powder or black powder substitute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 When we had a primer shortage, I used any primers I could get, from match to magnum, and they all went bang just fine. Looking at IMR .45 ACP data for Trail Boss, half a grain above minimum works for any bullet from 180 on down, without adjusting the charge. C45S orks dandy with rl black if ya have proper black powder-lubed bullets (1/16" compression is the magic number) ot any sub. tt was designed arounf 777FFG, which of course is plenty energetic in LONG Colt, but much tamer when yer charges are smaller in the shorter cases. REAL BP and an EPP-UG or "Slim" big lube bullet is a hot ticket for accurate BP shooting these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 When we had a primer shortage, I used any primers I could get, from match to magnum, and they all went bang just fine. Looking at IMR .45 ACP data for Trail Boss, half a grain above minimum works for any bullet from 180 on down, without adjusting the charge. C45S orks dandy with rl black if ya have proper black powder-lubed bullets (1/16" compression is the magic number) ot any sub. tt was designed arounf 777FFG, which of course is plenty energetic in LONG Colt, but much tamer when yer charges are smaller in the shorter cases. REAL BP and an EPP-UG or "Slim" big lube bullet is a hot ticket for accurate BP shooting these days. Thanks, your brass is terrific. My pards Deadwood Slim and Hondo Tucker swear by the 45 Cowboy Special. I noticed the same thing about Trail Boss when looking at the Hodgdon site. I shouldn't have to adjust much. Has anybody ever thought about regular cylinders for the 45 cowboy special? I know some have mentioned modifying a 45 ACP Ruger cylinder, but I don't know if it has been done. From what I have read it probably isn't necessary for our purposes. I am just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Frankly, if Cylinders were cheap and easy to get, I woulda used ACP brass The whole idea is they work just fine in yer LONG COLT (or ACP) cylinders with no need to modify guns. Two hands, standing, no rest, I've shot em into one hole groups at 12-15 yards using "Big" vaqueros and .45 Colt cylinders. We ain't shooting sillywet To my knowledge, the only firearm in existance specifically chambered for C45S, (this one won't run long colt or ACP) is my 1905 Rolling Block with a Douglas barrel, chambered with a custom Manson reamer I had made. They go into one "splat" at 50 yards with boring regularity, even with my lousy eyes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/adirondack_jack/004-5.jpg It likes these http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/adirondack_jack/004-3.jpg (268 gra .455 Webley bullet resized to .452, over a thrifty charge of Bullseye.) I sent the rifle out to get the wood finished, seeing as I wasn't getting around to it after over a year..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Last Sunday I shot 45 using Cowboy Special brass. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I hadn't missed so many pistol shots all year. I was shooting 200 rnfp with a light load of Trailboss (about .4 grain over the bottom of the Hodgdon 45 ACP chart.) I shot high over lots and lots of targets, especially KDs. On Tuesday 180 grain bullets showed up from Missouri bullet company. I loaded 100 using the same setup as I used for the 200 grain bullets. As Jack pointed out earlier in this thread with Trail Boss you can ride the same bottom loads all the way down. The chart doesn't change at the bottom. Today I took the load to the range for some slow fire practice. Standing, shooting my normal two handed way, the first shot at 7 yards was in the bull. The next 4 were in the bull or ten ring. I chewed up the center of the target for the next 20 slow fired rounds. I moved the target back to 15 yards and the first shot was in the bull. The rest were pretty good as well. I then did some faster fire at both 7 and 15 yards. I was very pleased. The 180 grain bullets shoot point of aim. Next weekend I am shooting at Border Wars in Parker, KS. They use a lot of knockdown targets. Some won't go down with light 125 grain 38 loads. I think the 180 grain 45 loads will have just enough umph to see me through. All I have to do is aim and fire. No need to shoot to the bottom of the target and hope it goes where I want it. The moral of the story is don't give up. Sometimes a little tweek is all it takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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