Jed Cooper Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 New to the sport and just searching for some information. I’ve done some reloading in the past and want to start again for some cowboy loads. I used the search but didn’t find quite what I’m looking for. Do most of you use the same load for both rifle and revolver? I was contemplating using Trail Boss and the published load data shows a load for 45 colt for pistol loads but in the rifle data section it doesn’t show 45 colt. I’m going to be buying some brass, bullets, powder and some dies and was just researching what I should get. Thanks in advance for any input Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrel Cody Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Yes and you can use the handgun data for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Welcome. Same load in both is perhaps not the most competitive, but then again, neither is .45. You'll find using the same load eliminates many headaches though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baltimore Ed Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I run the same amount of Clays or Clay dot for my cas rifle and pistol but use a heavier .45lc bullet [225-250gr] for my Marlin 94 as it doesn’t like 200 gr that I use in my cas .45lc revolvers. I use nickel brass for my revolvers and brass brass for my rifles just so I don’t confuse them as they look the same. Coincidentally I also use the same 200 gr bullets for my 1911s. Welcome to cas. It’s a great shooting sport, you get to buy a lot of toys and it’s full of wonderful folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusta B. Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Work up a load for your pistols first. They should perform as good or better in the rifle due to better combustion. Rifles are not so load sensitive as pistols. Seat bullets to crimp in the crimp groove. Welcome to the madness .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 35 hrs of FFG under a 200 or 250 gr pill and you'll be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Pepper Kid, SASS #60463 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I shoot trail boss in my .45's. pistol & rifle. I use 5 gr. with a 200gr bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I shoot trail boss in my .45's. pistol & rifle. I use 5 gr. with a 200gr bullet. 5.0 to 5.5 with a 200 grain RNFP is very popular. Great loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawdog Dago Dom Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Yes, rifle and pistol are the same. Keeping it even simpler, I use the SAME powder in rifle, pistol and shotgun. Green Dot. 125 gr TCFP with 3 grains. Around 740 fps Going on 4 years, no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I use the same wart hog load of Holy black both revolvers and carbine. That has worked well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Cooper Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 Not to side track but any advantage to 200 vs 250 grain bullet ? I just happen to buy a couple boxes of cowboy loads that they had at the store and they were 250 grain rnfp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 JC, lever action rifles can be finicky about the bullet profile and Over All Cartridge Length they feed reliably. Buy bullet sample packs for trial before you buy thousands and test until you find a combination your rifle likes. Avoid semi-wadcutters. Plastic coated bullets are becoming popular. The raced-tuned firearms we shoot prefer Federal primers. Once-fired 45 Colt brass is not readily available so buy new cases. Starline is a good source. I sometimes use the same loads for my revolvers and rifle - just depends on what I am shooting at a given match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Pepper Kid, SASS #60463 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Not to side track but any advantage to 200 vs 250 grain bullet ? I just happen to buy a couple boxes of cowboy loads that they had at the store and they were 250 grain rnfp I used to shoot a Marlin and in that I liked a 250 gr to cut down on blowback in my eyes. Blowback doesn't bother me in my 73 & 66 so I just shoot 200gr. 250 gr should help keep the gun cleaner but in the end if you shoot .45's you're gonna get good at cleaning guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Do most of you use the same load for both rifle and revolver? I do. I like simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 When I was reloading commercially, I loaded pistol rounds to a given velocity (730'/sec) and they were set to a length that worked well in rifles. This velocity gave the best average accuracy in several different revolves with different barrel lengths. Sort of One Size fits all method. I also did a lot of custom loading per customer data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCandless Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 When starting out you have a lot going on. Keep it simple for now. Personally, I use C45S cases with 160gr bullets for pistol and 45Colt cases and 200gr for rifle. I like a hot load for rifle and an easy handling load for pistols. But, I have the time and the inclination. For starting out I'd load a 200gr for pistol with a load that's accurate and easy to handle. The rifle will kick it up to a greater muzzle velocity. Keep life simple for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Equanimous Phil Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Do most of you use the same load for both rifle and revolver? Howdy Jed! Some threads related to this topic: An older one: This one is more about .38 special but also contains good general info: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 2.7 grains of Clays under a TCFP 125 grain bullet for both pistols and rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I used to use 250 gr bullets but my bullet supplier only has 200 gr now so that's what I use. The 250 grainers worked great, the 200 gr are fine with 5.2 TB for both pistols and rifle. No probs. Ruger old model Vaqueros, Remington 1875s, Rem 1858 Kirst conversions, Rossi 92 and Marlin 94 CB. Works fine in all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go West Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 As noted, some rifles are picky about bullet weight and/or profile. If you have one of those, find what works in that, the pistol is more accommodating. I use Schofield cases for pistols and Colt cases for the rifle. I've used 180 up to 240 gr. bullets. .38 Special is different for me and load the same for pistol or rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Not to side track but any advantage to 200 vs 250 grain bullet ? I just happen to buy a couple boxes of cowboy loads that they had at the store and they were 250 grain rnfp 200 grain will have less recoil. 250 grain will have less blowback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooting Bull Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 200 grain will have less recoil. 250 grain will have less blowback. These two plus 200 grain will be less expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Yes. Use the same for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blast Masterson Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Keep it simple, and the simple answer is; rifle targets are only slightly further in distance than pistol targets. Any cartridge recipe will perform better in the rifle vs the pistol making up some or all of the distance change. If you load mouse fart cartridges, you may reconsider if your match uses knock down rifle targets. But any normal loading should work fine in both guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Flimshaw Sass# 73310 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 I shoot trail boss in my .45's. pistol & rifle. I use 5 gr. with a 200gr bullet. Isn't that below the mfgs. recommended minimum load? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
German Jim Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Do most of you use the same load for both rifle and revolver? I do. I like it simple. When I shoot cow boy I use a 250gr lead bullet and a full case of Black Powder in my .45 Colt and .45 Schofield. For .38WCF I use a 180gr lead bullet and a full case of Black Powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Regulator Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 These two plus 200 grain will be less expensive Add that 200 grain will shoot lower POI than 250/255. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Regulator Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 No need to have two loads, but in an effort to minimize muzzle flip and to enable staying on target I plan to try 45CS in my pistols. One thing I am currently doing is shooting up ammo in the rifle that I found too heavy a load for the pistols. You can also shoot up excess bullets in the rifle, when you switch to some other bullet introduced first to the pistols. I have only shot two matches with my JM Marlin 1894 Cowboy Competition, and the bullets I am using run perfectly. They are truncated cone 255 gr from Penn Bullets. Unless I find I have to conserve them for the rifle I will use the same bullets for pistols until set up for 45CS 160 gr in the pistols. One trick I am using is marking my loading strips so the forward 10 are rifle, which I always load first. For now I have tested the minimum load of Trailboss and it works fine. My bullets are rated as 255 but actually weigh 265, so the minimum charge for 255 is stronger with 265. In testing that load I also shot some 200 gr I had and noted the reduced felt recoil with the lighter bullet. My guns are regulated to 250 gr POI, so I will probably leave the sights alone and stay with 255. As a Cattle Baron I only worry about being competitive in my age-based category, being safe, and about trying not to come in last or embarrass myself. Joining the race gun crowd is not my interest, but its fun to watch them shoot that fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I use TB and the same charge (5.3gr)and bullets (255gr for rifles ('66 and a '73) and pistols (NMV). Saves a lot of fiddling around and at the distances we shoot, it's not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Regulator Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I use TB and the same charge (5.3gr)and bullets (255gr for rifles ('66 and a '73) and pistols (NMV). Saves a lot of fiddling around and at the distances we shoot, it's not an issue. Also with 255gr bullets, at 5.2gr TB I was getting too much pistol barrel flip to stay on target with 5 1/2" barrels. It costs time when that happens, and rushing a shot, fighting recoil, can cause a miss, essentially just point and shoot after the first shot, no good sight picture. I tested 4.9 and then the minimum of 4.5, both shooting okay, so I am using up the heavier loads in the Marlin. I still plan to try 45CS in the pistols and stay with 45 Colt in the rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Graybeard Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 When I was shooting 45 colt... I was loading 5.2 grains of trail boss with a 250 grain bullet. For 200 grain bullets I loaded 5.8 grains of trail boss. I used both in rifle and revolver. Now for wild bunch I am loading a 250 grain rnfp bullet over 5.6 grains of trailboss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Seeing I'm a Worthog Shooter . Speed is not my game . I load the same load for both . 200gr Lee bullet and full load APP. And for Smokeless I use Unique . Unique is not the best for everything. But you can load everything with Unique. Rooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrel Cody Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Seeing I'm a Worthog Shooter . Speed is not my game . I load the same load for both . 200gr Lee bullet and full load APP. And for Smokeless I use Unique . Unique is not the best for everything. But you can load everything with Unique. Rooster How can you call yourself a Warthog? I mean you're using APP, the lowest recoil BP sub there is; c'mon man. And don't even get me started on those puny little 200 grain bullets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 How can you call yourself a Warthog? I mean you're using APP, the lowest recoil BP sub there is; c'mon man. And don't even get me started on those puny little 200 grain bullets... That's a handfull with Open Top Colts . But That sounds like my speaking to a 38 shooter . Now I feel like a bully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Not to side track but any advantage to 200 vs 250 grain bullet ? I just happen to buy a couple boxes of cowboy loads that they had at the store and they were 250 grain rnfp If you're shooting a '73 or a '66 you'll want to check the overall length of those factory rounds. While SAAMI sez the 45Colt can be up to 1.600" in length, my newest Uberti rifles don't like 'em over 1.585". Pistols, no problemo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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