Pat Riot Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 New Info - scroll down… Today I was looking through my reloading manuals for a .45 Colt load for a 255 grain RNFP using Unique powder. Between Lee, Speer, Hornady and Lyman and reviewing the very worthless Alliant website I couldn’t find consistent information. Between my manuals it was all over the place. When you have 3 different loads stating 850 FPS with as much as 1 grain between the 3 something is very wrong. Anyway, I decided to do some internet searching and I found this forum called something like The Firearms Forum and like and behold is a post from Alpo touting the old 8.0 grains of Unique under a 255 bullet. I believe he mentioned John Taffin and I decided to give it a go. Boy, is that a nice load! Thank you @Alpo Darn good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 I was reading something by Taffin many years back, and he said that 8 grains of Unique under a 255 in 45 Colt, or under a 205 in 44/40, or under a 180 in 38/40, was just about the perfect load. He said you could load them hotter, but he saw no reason for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted November 6, 2021 Author Share Posted November 6, 2021 Well, this load is a good one. Out of my 3 .45 Colt revolvers my New Vaquero doesn’t care for it, but it doesn’t care for much. It’s just not a real accurate revolver unless it has the .45 ACP cylinder in it. May be a chamber throat issue. Anyway my S&W 25 and my original Vaquero like it. Here’s a target with the Vaquero on left and New Vaquero on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Definitely check the cylinder throats. Ruger is know for making them too tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 53 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said: Definitely check the cylinder throats. Ruger is know for making them too tight. I will do that. I thought I had but… What measurements should I be hoping for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 11 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: I will do that. I thought I had but… What measurements should I be hoping for? See how hard it is to push your lead bullet through them OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Current belief is that cylinder throats should be 0.0005 to 0.001 greater than the maximum groove diameter of the barrel. For jacket bullets I agree 100%. For cast bullets I think .001 to .0015 would be preferred. My test is to take a cast bullet that is .001 larger than the max groove diameter and drop it into the chamber. If it falls all the way through, the cylinder the throat is too large. If I can push it through with a little effort they are good. If I cannot push it through with just hand pressure they are too tight. When the cylinder throats are too tight the bullet ends up being too small for the barrel. This causes poor accuracy and leading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 5 hours ago, Alpo said: I was reading something by Taffin many years back, and he said that 8 grains of Unique under a 255 in 45 Colt, or under a 205 in 44/40, or under a 180 in 38/40, was just about the perfect load. He said you could load them hotter, but he saw no reason for it. Looked at my older Lyman Cast Bullet handbooks and that load fall right in the middle of the range for Unique. Where most accurate powder is indicated it is often Unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 6 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Today I was looking through my reloading manuals for a .45 Colt load for a 255 grain RNFP using Unique powder. Between Lee, Speer, Hornady and Lyman and reviewing the very worthless Alliant website I couldn’t find consistent information. Between my manuals it was all over the place. When you have 3 different loads stating 850 FPS with as much as 1 grain between the 3 something is very wrong. Anyway, I decided to do some internet searching and I found this forum called something like The Firearms Forum and like and behold is a post from Alpo touting the old 8.0 grains of Unique under a 255 bullet. I believe he mentioned John Taffin and I decided to give it a go. Boy, is that a nice load! Thank you @Alpo Darn good advice. Look at what barrel the rounds were tested in. Barrel length and whether or not it is a test barrel or a revolver can make a big difference in velocities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 29 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said: Look at what barrel the rounds were tested in. Barrel length and whether or not it is a test barrel or a revolver can make a big difference in velocities. Yes, I always do that. I have also noticed published load disparities with 9mm and Universal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 I measured both cylinders on both my .45 Vaqueros, an original and a New Vaquero. They all measure .451” with calipers, I don’t own pin gauges. I was looking for a Smith to possible ream the chambers to .452 or even .4525, but no local smith can or will do it and looking online it seems all the guys that would just do the cylinders all retired or the turn around is months. I am almost ready to say “to hell with it” and either leave them alone or buy my own reamer and pilots. I should slug the bore and see what that gets me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 8 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: I measured both cylinders on both my .45 Vaqueros, an original and a New Vaquero. They all measure .451” with calipers, I don’t own pin gauges. I was looking for a Smith to possible ream the chambers to .452 or even .4525, but no local smith can or will do it and looking online it seems all the guys that would just do the cylinders all retired or the turn around is months. I am almost ready to say “to hell with it” and either leave them alone or buy my own reamer and pilots. I should slug the bore and see what that gets me. You can rent a reamer and do it yourself. It's not that hard to use a hand reamer. Just use the right oil, go slow, and take your time. https://4drentals.com/products/reamer-rentals/cylinder-throater/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 On my thread in the Wire I added some info on my “issue” with possibly reaming my chamber throats, but I decided to try the idea of resizing my .45 Colt bullets to .451 from .452. What a nice outcome. My New Vaquero actually became dramatically more accurate. The difference wasn’t so much more noticeable with my Vaquero or my S&W 25, but a very nice change for my RNV. In addition; I really like the load I talked about above with a 255 grain Bear Creek Supply RNFP with 8.0 grains of Unique. All 3 of my .45s like it. I was trying out Unique loads in my 2 Rugers yesterday with various charges of Unique under a 205 grain BCS RNFP and it turns out that 8.0 grains of Unique under the lighter bullet is a very accurate combo in my Rugers. It’s a bit sooty but not bad. Nice load and easy to shoot. I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 11/6/2021 at 7:25 PM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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