Trip to Range with some .45Colt reloads

[87iroc]

Took a trip to the range today to try out a bunch of different reloads today in .45 Colt.

I had 250/200/and 230 gr lead bullets loaded up with W231, Titegroup, Trailboss, and Blue Dot. (not all weights with all powders)

It was interesting firing the different loads with different bullets and how one setup kicked very little vs the Blue Dot kicked like a mule(probably still less than a 44 Mag...but like a mule compared to the Trail boss I had just fired!). I was working off of loads that were pulled from the Lee loading manual.

And all I have to say is the Trail Boss STINKS to high heaven! I was shooting at an indoor range. Glad the exhaust fan was cranking.

Other than that, I took notes on how the rounds felt and tried to keep an eye out for leading. I had some lead splatter it appeared between the barrel and the cylinder...but saw nothing yet in the barrel. I think may be the shiny there at the cylinder interface was normal. Need to clean it and look closer. Saw some unburnt powder I think debris in the barrel after the Blue Dot...but not sure if thats what I was seeing or not. The Blue Dot Crimp could probably have been tighter....

Anyway...just thought I'd share. Interesting trip...ran through probably 50 rounds in my new Uberti SAA clone. Trying to find what I'm going to load up a bunch of for future trips.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I'd have to go look for the powder and charge wt I used, but I've been shooting home cast 255gr bullets. One of my favorite pistols to shoot. Mines a stainless Blackhawk with a 4 5/8 barrel.

 

[87iroc]

Just got done cleaning the gun. Some leading down in the cylinder and for the first inch or so of the barrel...was a bear to get cleaned out. Suspect it was the Blue Dot loads...have to load some more of the more mild loads up and check it out.

 

[Fantix]

I'm interested in some of your load data. Do you ever shoot a rifle in 45 Colt?

 

[87iroc]

I haven't yet....its on the to buy list. I'm planning on shooting whatever I load from both.

 

[Cam]

Just got done cleaning the gun. Some leading down in the cylinder and for the first inch or so of the barrel...was a bear to get cleaned out. Suspect it was the Blue Dot loads...have to load some more of the more mild loads up and check it out.

I may have missed it but what gun?

 

[87iroc]

Uberti Single Action Army with 5 1/2" barrel.

 

[Cam]

Uberti Single Action Army with 5 1/2" barrel.

Uberti makes a nice SAA. If you were shooting a Ruger Blackhawk, I was going to give you something to look at that might be causing your leading problem but you might check in in the Uberti as well... I have had 2 Blackhawks in 45 Colt that had undersized chambers. Terrible leading problem with that gun. Bought a reamer and cut them to the right size and the leading disappeared.

 

[87iroc]

Undersized as in in the cylinder itself? I'd have to measure it when I get a chance. Assume the area where it mates to the barrel should be 0.452?

 

[mac45]

Ruger was notorious for undersize cylinder throats in the .45 Colt.
I had to have both my Vaqueros opened up.
If memory serves, they were .4505" or so when I got 'em, and they were opened up to .4525"
Uberti's are generally OK, but it never hurts to check.

 

[selinoid44]

Did you cast your own lead for this?

 

[Cam]

Ruger was notorious for undersize cylinder throats in the .45 Colt.
I had to have both my Vaqueros opened up.
If memory serves, they were .4505" or so when I got 'em, and they were opened up to .4525"
Uberti's are generally OK, but it never hurts to check.

This^^^^^^^^

.4525 is what I opened mine up to. And yes, the cylinder. Not the forcing cone. As mac45 said, the Ubertis aren't known for this problem, but just a suggestion to check the cylinders. Slugging the bore is always a good idea as well so you know what size lead bullets to use.

 

[Leadeye]

45lc is a very versatile cartridge, good for both revolver and rifle. Not sure how hard you were pushing some of the rounds but sometimes gas checks are in order. I use them on heavier loads and rifle ammo. Cylinder and bore diameters are something you should know on your revolver, if you can't find a set of pin gauges, slugging the cylinders and the bore will do. Best of luck.

 

[stymie12000]

How did the titegroup perform? Just curious to see how it does with bigger handgun cases.

 

[87iroc]

I just loaded up a couple hundred rounds with TiteGroup. It did pretty well. I realized the .45 Colt kicked a bit much to put a ton of rounds through plinking around.

From a 'kick' standpoint...it had a mild kick. As for how it did for grouping..I wasn't checking it thoroughly like that.

 

[wolfman]

If you want some fun powderpuff loads, try some Trail Boss.

 

[87iroc]

Yah, I shot some of them too....but MAN they stunk at the indoor range! I have a small jug of it. I'll load up some more of them at some point...but for the outdoor range I think.

 

[stymie12000]

Thanks.

I really like titegroup for my 9mm. I was thinking about trying it in my 44 for lite to medium loads but wasn't sure how it would do. With its quick burn rate.

 

[oldpink]

As a suggestion for powder to duplicate factory load levels in your Uberti .45 Colt without stinking up the joint, my experience is that good old Unique is excellent.
You have a wide latitude of load levels, from even milder than the already mild factory load levels, up to just a touch above factory load level but still safe in your Uberti or other SAA clones.
Unique burns clean, doesn't stink, and doesn't leave unburned powder grains.
There's a reason that it's so popular.
I was a bit surprised that you were using Blue Dot for some of your loads, which is generally for much more energetic loads; I used it on occasion for full power loads in my 10mm.
Mike Venturino swears by small charges of Red Dot for sedate loads, although I have no experience with it.

 

[87iroc]

I have a lb of Blue Dot from a trade I did(I have .357 I was thinking of loading with it). I haven't been able to use it yet(I just plink, so why buy expensive bullets to plink with) so I decided to try it for the 250 gr lead bullets. I thought it was odd that it was used behind lead...but there was load data for it in the Lee book so I loaded up 6. It kicked like a frickin' mule...and I 'may' try it again for some coated bullets...but won't be doing it for lead. I don't plan on using it much other than to show my .44 mag brother had hard a .45 colt can kick. For the blue dot...I only loaded the starting load...don't plan on doing anything else with it!

I am on the lookout for a lb of Unique. I see that powder everywhere in the load books...which is why you can't find it on the shelf ANYWHERE(that I've been). So I will pick up some when I see it...but for now i have a wide selection of powders I've collected...but no Unique yet.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I wasnt' expecting this thread to kick up so much discussion.