Your best all-around 45 LC load that works for both rifle and handgun??

[RIDGE WALKER]

Would like to know what others have found to be a good all-around load in .45 LC that works well in either rifle or handgun?

What bullet and powder combo?

[Boomstick Bruce]

posting load data is against the rules here...

 

i use 200gn lrn and the starting load data for trailboss with that bullet weight out of my 2016 lee book... runs perfect in my rifle and isnt too heavy in my pistols...

[Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226]

I cast my own 250 grain FNFP bullets and use either Unique or W-231.  My loads chrono at about 850 fps in my 7 1/2" revolvers and 1025 fps in my carbines.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Ridge Walker,

 

SASS forbids us to post actual load data on this forum.

But, when I use to shoot the .45 Colt, I preferred the 200 grain slug with modest amount of CLAYS powder.

Red Dot also worked great.

 

..........Widder

 

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

casefull of Goex FF and a 200 grain big lube bullet

[Bart Solo]

I have found that a 200 grain projectile in a case loaded with the published minimum of Trail Boss is very effective in both rifle and pistol. I like Trail Boss because it handles cold weather better than HP 38 in the large 45 Colt case.

[SaukValley Sam, SASS # 66557]

I use 250 grn RNL in my Marlin to minimize any blow back and 200 grn in pistols as the 250 grn tends to shoot high in pistols.  Interestingly the same powder charge of TrailBoss, from their charts, gives me a hot cowboy load for the 250 and medium cowboy load for 200.   

[Boothill Bandit, SASS# 48598]

I use a 200 gr of either Badman Bullets or a Desperado Cowboy bullet on top of Alliant Green Dot.  I have tried many other powders over the years but keep coming back to the Green Dot. The pressures aren't that great and it doesn't peak as fast as others.  That helps prevent splitting the case.  It won't stress your case and yeah, being a straight-wall case, you'll get a little blow-by and smudge your cases a little bit but that's why God invented tumbler case cleaners.

[Painted Mohawk SASS 77785]

160g bullet &  AS30  powder [ your clays ] ..works well in pistol & rifle

[SHOOTIN FOX]

200 gr rnfp over Promo/ Red Dot.

[CodyMaverick]

10 hours ago, RIDGE WALKER said:

Would like to know what others have found to be a good all-around load in .45 LC that works well in either rifle or handgun?

What bullet and powder combo?

 

Good luck with that.  It will come down to what you consider to be "works well"  I never found one recipe that I was happy with for both.

 

The suggestions of the 200g RNFP with Trailboss is certainly a good place to start and you might find it fits your needs perfectly.

 

If you decide to go with the 200g RNFP bullet style I recommend that you try a 250g RNFP for your rifle loads.  No change to the seating die and use the same powder charge.  I think you'll find that the amount of blowback you get in your rifle will be significantly different and you may even notice a little better accuracy at longer distances.  Try it, you might like the results.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Quote

 I never found one recipe that I was happy with for both.

 

Very true.  I gave up even with a light charge trying to make a 200 grain slug (about the minimum that I can get to run without blowing lots of gas from the action into my face in the rifle) shoot quickly from a duelist held revolver. 

 

So, a 200 grain load stepping along at 170 PF from rifle using WST powder for being clean and accurate, 

 

and a 175 grain slug at about 700 FPS from Cowboy 45 Special cases (also WST powder) in revolvers.  Anything more and I have NO hope of competing with other duelists in my category.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Griff]

10 hours ago, RIDGE WALKER said:

Would like to know what others have found to be a good all-around load in .45 LC that works well in either rifle or handgun?

What bullet and powder combo?

Is this load JUST for cowboy action shooting?  Are your pistols and rifles the same groove diameter?  Are you shooting Duelist, Gunfighter, Classic Cowboy, B-Western, or age-based categories?  Do you prefer heavy loads, phhffft-tink loads, or maybe somewhere between?  With all due respect to the above respondents, and yourself... there's not enough information to answer your question.  In fact, I have maybe 2 dozen books written on the subject of reloading, not to mention the quite handy reference sections on fully ¾ of those books.

 

And just so we're clear...  What is the 45LC?  Every case I have from truly reputable manufacturers is head stamped "45 Colt".  I'll discount those from "johnny come lately's" as simply mis-informed.  Likewise with those manufacturers that mis-label their products.   My Colt's are simply marked .45...  There was a round many, many years ago marketed under the label, 45 Short Colt, but outside a cartridge collector or two, I doubt you'd find an example.  As Garrison Joe so well notes, there is a relatively "new" case called the Cowboy45Special, and for specially adapted rifles, along with handguns chambered for 45 Colt, and this makes probably the most versatile round in cowboy action shooting if you want a big bore... 

[Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580]

Because I have wrist issues, when I was still shooting my 45’s I used 160 grain Badman bullets. I still use those in my rifle. I’ve been using 700-x powder for several years because it lets me use one powder for pistol, rifle and shotgun.

[Von Dutch, SASS # 7995]

For 18 years I have been using Bear Creek 165gr bullet and  Clays powder  in my 45 colt loads for Rifle and pistol and it has worked great its a minimum load printed in the Hodgdon Cowboy Action Data book for Clays and a Fed. Primer,on the Chrono. its runs 705 FPS  Pistol and  short rifle is 935 FPS 

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

11 hours ago, SaukValley Sam, SASS # 66557 said:

I use 250 gr RNL in my Marlin to minimize any blow back and 200 gr in pistols    

 

Same here

My Marlin has a 'generous' chamber and will get blow back with less than 250 gr.

I use Red Dot for both rifle and pistol loads (both Ruger and Uberti revolvers)

will send info by PM

 

I will say I'm starting to get an increase in case mouth cracks after using this brass for 10 years.  

 

cheyenne

[John Boy]

Quote

Would like to know what others have found to be a good all-around load in .45 LC that works well in either rifle or handgun?

Walker, now that you have received the smorgasbord posts of "I Like" ... what are your objectives for a good all round load? Be specific: bullet weight - recoil - velocity - cost to reload - powder availability and smokeless or black powder or substitutes for black powder.

You also will have to chronograph or determine from tables the velocity difference of the reload between a revolver and rifle.  If soft velocity for less recoil is you objective, suggest the use of Trail Boss as your powder of choice but the cost powder factor will be higher because a container of TB is not a full pound ofpowder

Now for my smokeless "I Like" ... it's reloads that I have chronograph-ed  using ETR7, comparable to Titegroup that averages between 700's and 800's for the revolvers and rifles that I'm still working off from two 8 pound jugs, plus is a powder that can be used for shotshell reloads

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

The only people that think one size fits all is the government.  Think how well that has worked out.

[Lead Monger]

Another vote for 200g RNFP and a near minimum charge of Red Dot. This powder works hot or cold, rain or shine and will handle rifle, revolver and shotgun loads with no trouble. Adjust the powder charge a couple tenths up or down to find a revolver load you like and run the same ammo in the rifle. Simple!

[Jefro, SASS#69420]

24 minutes ago, Lead Monger said:

Another vote for 200g RNFP and a near minimum charge of Red Dot. This powder works hot or cold, rain or shine and will handle pistol, revolver and shotgun loads with no trouble. Adjust the powder charge a couple tenths up or down to find a revolver load you like and run the same ammo in the rifle. Simple!

Yep, if  I'm not shooting BP Red Dot works for me. I also like the Cowboy 45 Special with 200gr  for pistols and 44/40 200gr with the rifle Good Luck

[Palmetto Traveller]

I shot 160GR RNFP bullets from Bullets By Scarlett with Trail Boss powder in both pistols and rifle and was very happy with it. Don't shoot 45s so much anymore since my wife started shooting. Easier to load one caliber for everything and 38s are also cheaper to shoot.

[CodyMaverick]

13 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

Very true.  I gave up even with a light charge trying to make a 200 grain slug (about the minimum that I can get to run without blowing lots of gas from the action into my face in the rifle) shoot quickly from a duelist held revolver. 

 

So, a 200 grain load stepping along at 170 PF from rifle using WST powder for being clean and accurate, 

 

and a 175 grain slug at about 700 FPS from Cowboy 45 Special cases (also WST powder) in revolvers.  Anything more and I have NO hope of competing with other duelists in my category.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

Well said.

 

You mentioned WST powder and I have just been trying some out in my .45acp loads.  Looking for something that performs as well as Bullseye but not quite as filthy.  I was very happy with the results I got from the WST and started making a large batch of them last night and I noticed it was making quite a mess with the power leaking out of the power measure charge bar.  I also noticed that as the shell plate was advancing I could see little trickles of powder falling out of the expander die.  I did a lot of weight checking and even with all this extra powder going everywhere, the charge weight was dead on consistent. 

 

I am using a Dillon 650 and the small size charge bar in the measure.  I tried another powder measure but got the same results.

 

I am wondering if you have any similar experience with this powder?  I am also wondering if I should get an "Extra small" charge bar from Dillon.  I don't know if the extra small would adjust far enough to drop the 4.xg of WST.

 

This morning I switched over to try out the Clean Shot powder I just got from Scarlett and it too is extremely fine powder but I did not have the leaking problem.  I also have never had the leaking with the Bullseye.

 

Any thoughts or advice you have on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

I really should have put this in a PM but didn't think of it till just now,  forgive me 

[Possum Stu]

200 grain RNFP with a light/moderate charge of Trail Boss and magnum primers. Works fine for me. 

[Tex Fiddler SASS Life 10127]

I used to shoot one 45 caliber load for rifle and pistol for many years.  Then they moved the targets in closer and I felt that I was losing a second or so per stage to guys shooting 38 pistols that I used to be pretty even with.  Now I shoot a 200 grain load in 45 colt brass in rifle and a 160 grain bullet in 45 Cowboy Special Brass in pistols.

 

If you are interested in either or both of my loads, send me an email at:

joepro@proandsons.com

 

-Tex Fiddler

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

CM -

Yes, WST is a fine powder.  Both small in size and clean in burn character.

 

But, I get no appreciable leaking from my 3 Dillon measures, with small bar.  What will happen, especially on the slightly jerky motion of the 650 shell holder, is a little bouncing/jostling of the case and that will "splash" a few flakes of a fine light powder out of the case.    BE is a larger flake and doesn't bounce quite so much. 

 

Folks also see this with TrailBoss because it is a low density powder and fills cases more completely, and any bounce will toss out some grains.

 

Powder dribbling out of the measure as you lower the ram means you ought to clean the measure and do a final wipe down with a dryer antistatic sheet.

 

The powder weight accuracy I get on my 550 loaders (which of course manual advance and don't have the jerk at one spot in the motion) is very good.  WST throws as accurate a weight as any powder I've tried. 

 

I just dust off any slight bit of spillage and keep on loading.

 

Good luck, GJ 

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 10:54 PM, Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226 said:

I cast my own 250 grain FNFP bullets and use either Unique or W-231.  My loads chrono at about 850 fps in my 7 1/2" revolvers and 1025 fps in my carbines.

+1   

I have been very happy with the 250grain bullet and Unique.

 

Duffield

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

200 grain LRNFP with Red Dot, giving me 771.6 fps and a Power Factor of 154.3 for Wild Bunch out of my Uberti M73

[Renegade Ripley]

160 gr RNFP 45 colt polymer coated with Red Dot is a sweet shooter in both and also works well in Schofield If you want powder Grain send me PM

 

Renegade Ripley

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I use 200 grain bullet because when I first started reloading the caliber, that's what I could find.

 

I use a pubished minimum charge of Trailboss because I find that it works for me.

 

I use Remington, Winchester, Starline, Hornday and other brass brass because that's what I had when I started/was able to find over the years.

 

I use Winchester primers cuz that's what my Dad used in all of his reloading.

 

Good luck!

[Dragon Hill Dave #59561]

---

[Possum Stu]

Dragon Hill Dave,

 

You’ll want to remove the specific powder charge from your post, as posting specific loads is prohibited. I’d just edit it to be more vague (ie light, moderate, heavy, as opposed the the exact number) 

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

270 grain RNFP cast soft  1-22 tin to lead, over a full case of Goex 3F drop-tubed in to settle the powder and compressed 3/16s of an inch ... By the by there is NO such Animal as .45 Long Colt .... My Grandads Colt SAA made in 1873 is marked 45 colts as is the ammo of the same vintage .... 45 colts , with no capital and a S ...

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

[John Boy]

.

Quote

 

..good all-around load in .45 LC that works well in either rifle or handgun?

What bullet and powder combo?

 

Walker - pick one from here ...

Guess you missed that SASS has a forum for reloading data for many calibers

http://reloadammo.com/45cload.htm

[Pat Riot]

What works for me is 205 grain Bear Creek Supply bullets over Universal powder at around 900 fps. They aren’t “light” but they work. I like to make a little racket. 

[Hashknife Cowboy]

e mail me......

 

dr3498@hotmail.com