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45 Colt shooters bullet question


Marshal Flint

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First a CAVEAT:  There is not such thing as a 45 Long Colt.  Popular misconception.  There is only 45 Colt.  Or 45 Schofield.  Or Cowboy 45 Special.  Or 45 ACP.  Or 45 Auto Rim.  No 45 Long Colt.  

 

Now all the folks with nonsense proof other wise can jump in.

 

For the OP.  I'm partial to  200Gr RNFP for general ease of reloading.  For a little more special loading, I like 160Gr RNFP for pistol and the 200Gr for rifle.  For the rifle, the 160Gr will run just fine but the 200Gr give smoother feeding. 

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50 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

There is not such thing as a 45 Long Colt

This cannot be said enough.  The sad part is I have even seen ammo companies printing "45 L.C." on their boxes !!!!!!!!    

 

I use 200 gr. RNFP from Rim Rock Bullets in Montana.  $ 59.00 per 700 and free shipping.

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Marshal,

I shoot a 200gr RNFP in my Uberti  revolvers and my '73s.No problems in any of them.

I 've shot them with several types  of lube,but by far the one I like best is powder coated.I cast and coat my own,and have had the best results doing so.

Choctaw Jack 

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250 grain RNFP with very deep grease grooves from a Buffalo Arms mould.

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4 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

First a CAVEAT:  There is not such thing as a 45 Long Colt.  Popular misconception.  There is only 45 Colt.  Or 45 Schofield.  Or Cowboy 45 Special.  Or 45 ACP.  Or 45 Auto Rim.  No 45 Long Colt.  

Guess that's why the OP stated "45 Colt" ;)

We got it, there's no 45 Long Colt. This has been spewed ad nauseum on here. Why do we feel the need to correct on this constantly? What difference does it make?

OP, 200 gr RNFP

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I have gone to 160 grain RNFP bullets in both rifle and pistols. In pistols I've also gone to 45 Cowboy Special, because I can load them light enough to be nice to the arthritis in my wrists. No feeding issues in my 73 after about 4 years of using them...

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1 hour ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

We got it, there's no 45 Long Colt. This has been spewed ad nauseum on here. Why do we feel the need to correct on this constantly? What difference does it make?

OP, 200 gr RNFP

You might " got it"..... but many others don't.

Why does it need to be corrected, because it is incorrect.

What difference does it make..... because  there is no such thing as a"45 Long Colt" . It is a made-up caliber.

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1 hour ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

Guess that's why the OP stated "45 Colt" ;)

We got it, there's no 45 Long Colt. This has been spewed ad nauseum on here. Why do we feel the need to correct on this constantly? What difference does it make?

OP, 200 gr RNFP

While I don't perxactly know what was edited... it was edited some 4 hours before your post... so, since I believe CC is a gentlemen of excellent judgement and character, I strongly suspect the original post contained that onerous adjective, "Long".  

 

As for what difference does it make, how does one find the SAAMI specs for a 45 "Long" Colt, when one doesn't exist... With the notable exception of Sierra, my reloading manuals only list a "45 Colt"... and since Sierra is originally from CA, we can safely assume they march to a "different" drummer... :ph34r:  (Just kidding, many of their products are excellent, if somewhat "different"... ;)

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32 minutes ago, Griff said:

While I don't perxactly know what was edited... it was edited some 4 hours before your post... so, since I believe CC is a gentlemen of excellent judgement and character, I strongly suspect the original post contained that onerous adjective, "Long".  

 

As for what difference does it make, how does one find the SAAMI specs for a 45 "Long" Colt, when one doesn't exist... With the notable exception of Sierra, my reloading manuals only list a "45 Colt"... and since Sierra is originally from CA, we can safely assume they march to a "different" drummer... :ph34r:  (Just kidding, many of their products are excellent, if somewhat "different"... ;)

From what I have seen over my years of C.A.S. not to many cowboy shooters know or care about SAAMI specs !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Why is it important to “get it right”?   Because .45 Long Colt and LC are wrong, that’s why!  
 

When people begin to make a point of getting one thing right, they begin to make a point of getting other things right, that’s why.  So, get it right, or keep getting it wrong; you pick.

 

Cat Brules

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Quote

There is not such thing as a 45 Long Colt

 

holy crap I wish this would die ! and pleeeeze don't go 'splaining it again !!

 

been shooting 200 grain rnfp ,same bullet for my 1911. Same powder too, Trail Boss. What could b simpler ? Less recoil than the mighty 255  grainers, they just smoke up the brass some, no biggie to me.

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200gr RNFP coated.  Did a long range shoot using a 200 and found that the bullet tumbled and was inconsistent.  Someone let me try their 250's and it made a huge difference, I was actually able to hit the target  

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I beg to differ.  The round we refer to as .45 Colt is the "Model of 1882 Ball Cartridge for Cal. .45 Revolver" and not the earlier Benet-primed .45 Colt Black Powder cartridge, (Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45)  developed by Colt and Union Metallic.

 

If you want to blame anybody for the .45 Long Colt nomenclature, blame the Army quartermasters who had to deal with the .45 Colt with 40gr of BP, the .45 Colt with 30gr of BP, those with 255gr bullets, those with 230gr bullets, the .45 Gov't round, (.45 Short Colt), and the .45 S&W.  (The .45 Gov't. round was a shorter version of the .45 Colt round, with 28gr of BP and a 230gr bullet, was briefly in production because not all Colt revolvers would chamber the .45 S&W rounds.)

As with any industry, the use of "jargon" became a type of shorthand designation.  They began referring to the longer "45 Colt" round as the "45 Long Colt" within Army circles to differentiate it from other rounds that could also be used in the Colt revolvers.   It must have come as a relief when in 1887 the Frankford Arsenal ended up dropping the longer round from production and solely manufactured the .45 S&W round, as the ".45 Calibre M1887 Military Ball Cartridge".

 

With the introduction of the Colt New Service revolver in .45 Colt, came the introduction of a new wider rimmed version, (M1909 Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45), that could not be loaded in the older Colt single-action revolvers.

 

That brings us to modern-day and the resurgence of use of the Colt Single Action Army and derivative models.  "45 Colt" is the official name used by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute, (SAAMI).   And, the designation is widely and correctly used.  But, the nickname, ".45 Long Colt" has a long and storied usage, also applied by Arms and Ammunition makers, and is now "a distinction without a difference".   With modern shooters now using variable lengths, such as the Cowboy .45 Special, the .45 S&W, cut-down cartridges of custom length, elongated cartridges, and more... the insistence of the .45 Colt vs .45 Long Colt argument has become the province of pedants. 

 

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18 hours ago, Fence Cutter said:

This cannot be said enough.  The sad part is I have even seen ammo companies printing "45 L.C." on their boxes !!!!!!!!    

 

I use 200 gr. RNFP from Rim Rock Bullets in Montana.  $ 59.00 per 700 and free shipping.

 

Think that's bad, even Colt does it on their web site.  Whatever were they thinking!

 

I use a .454 sized 250 gr LRNFP over Unique for around 730 f/s.  This produces

excellent accuracy and did not require me to file the front sight for elevation, they

hit to point of aim.

 

When I shot Rugers I used 250 gr LRNFP sized to .452, over Trail Boss, running around 625 f/s.

That too grouped well and to point of aim for the Rugers.

 

When I switched from Rugers to Colt I wondered why my ammo was so inaccurate, and thought to 

slug the chambers using some black powder .458 lead balls.  Sure enough, they all measured.454.

 

Desperado Cowboy Bullets.

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I am pretty sure that in 45 Colt the 325 grain bullet is longer than the 160 grain bullet...

 

:P

 

 

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I don't use BP with .45 Colt anymore... but when I did I filled the case and compressed with a 200gr bullet for the Rifle

and

Filled a C45S case and compressed with a 160gr bullet for pistol

 

What I have on the shelf right now is smokeless:

5.2gr Clays and a 200gr bullet for Rifle

and 

3.5gr Trailboss and a 160gr bullet for Pistol

no particular reason for the different powders, just what I had on hand when I was making them.

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Tried them all..settled on the 160g in both the '73 &  OMV's...I do use Schofield cases in the pistols. My 2nd choice would be 200g.

I cast my own [ Magna ] & use uncoated.

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Have been using Badmans 160 gr. with 4.0 Tite group works well, but the steel is only 15 to 20 feet away. Will be using the same in this year's new gun for B-western --a lightning and will see what happens.

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I use 200gr. RNFP from Ringer or Missouri coated. They are soft and cause much less leading in the barrel.

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I'm shooting 185 gr. RNFP coated bullets from Bear Creek and loading with 6.0 gr. of Trail Boss. This load works in my Ruger Vaqueros, Uberti 1890 Police model pistols, and my Uberti 1873 lever. I just shot a match with pistol targets from three to fifteen yards and rifle targets from eight to fifty yards. Velocity was reasonable and accuracy was spot on. 

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I don't get it how come shooter use 45 cartridges that are over 3 times power factor.

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My bullets Weigh between 255 gr. and 270 gr. , the latter are Soft Cast bullets that I cast ....

the 255 Gr. Bullets are Soft Cast bullets by a Caster on the Island  All are RNFP bullets ...

 

When shooting Smokie less my bullets weigh 249 gr. , Though I only use these Indoors in the Winter .....

 

Jabez Cowboy

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3 hours ago, Judge Gardner said:

I don't get it how come shooter use 45 cartridges that are over 3 times power factor.

What is "power factor"? Are your referring to the minimum of 60? I don't know that anyone said that is an ideal number. If you meant  3 times "minimum", that could make sense.

 

I just got my 45 Colt rifle back today and have hundreds of 265 grain cartridges ready with a minimum load of Trailboss. I am happy with how they shoot in both rifle and pistols, but am considering splitting the pistols to 45CS with 160s. Tried 200s, and my pistols are not regulated for that POI with a 6 o'clock hold at 50 feet. Wondering about whether 160 would be too far off. We had 8" pistol targets during a stage yesterday, so accurate POI matters. What we shoot could depend on the gun or our habit of aiming.

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