CWLONGSHOT
Well-Known Member
I cast up a batch of those 454309's couple weeks back!!
Have t yet loaded any.
CW
Have t yet loaded any.
CW
Which is better.....45 Colt cast bullets?
- Thread starter Wallyl
- Start date
I have the NOE version of the Lyman 452424 (250 gr SWC) and it works quite well in my .45 Colts. However, my favored bullet for hunting with the .45 Colt would be the RCBS 270 SAA. I have the Mihec version and it is an excellent bullet for serious work. It weighs 285 grs. in my alloy. I shoot it in my Ruger SS Bisley Convertible.
FWIW
Dale53
FWIW
Dale53
Dale53....I never understood the fascination for that 270SAA. At 285 grains one uses a lot of valuable lead; seems to me a 250~255 grain bullet is perfectly suitable and you use less lead. When you say for serious work, what does that entail? Kind of funny, but I have an old Lee .45 Cal 240 WC DC bullet mold...the bullets are super accurate and quite pleasant to shoot on my Ruger .45 BHK.
Wally;
When I say “serious”, I am thinking big game. When you are talking deer, the 452424 should do just fine. However, I like the large meplat on the 270SAA. If you hunt Elk, Moose, or Bear with a handgun I believe the large meplat and heavier weight to be an asset. If I am shooting my convertible on the range, then my 45 ACP cylinder and the H&G #68 (200 gr. SWC), is my choice. If small game is the target, then again, I like the .45 ACP cylinder and the same bullet (#68). Horses for courses...
FWIW,
Dale53
When I say “serious”, I am thinking big game. When you are talking deer, the 452424 should do just fine. However, I like the large meplat on the 270SAA. If you hunt Elk, Moose, or Bear with a handgun I believe the large meplat and heavier weight to be an asset. If I am shooting my convertible on the range, then my 45 ACP cylinder and the H&G #68 (200 gr. SWC), is my choice. If small game is the target, then again, I like the .45 ACP cylinder and the same bullet (#68). Horses for courses...
FWIW,
Dale53
RBHarter In my Ruger BHK I've tried lighter bullets and none have shot accurately for me. IMHO it's because of the cavernous voluminous large case that doesn't allow a decent sized powder "fill". I do have the .45 ACP cylinder, so I use it (a lot) more than the .45 Colt cylinder.
fiver
Well-Known Member
some powders don't need to fill the case to work well.
clays and titegroup come to mind right off, red-dot has also done very well for acp type speeds in the bigger colt case.
if you want the case full and still have reduced speeds then you need to jump over to stuff like 4198 or RL-7.
you get black powder fills and black powder speeds and black powder pressures doing that, but those types of powders will still burn pretty darn clean.
I have burned a lot of clays and titegroup under 200 and 225gr. bullets, and a little less with 165gr. bullets but they are still effective and accurate enough for sniping grouse during deer season without alerting a 5 mile radius to my presence.
clays and titegroup come to mind right off, red-dot has also done very well for acp type speeds in the bigger colt case.
if you want the case full and still have reduced speeds then you need to jump over to stuff like 4198 or RL-7.
you get black powder fills and black powder speeds and black powder pressures doing that, but those types of powders will still burn pretty darn clean.
I have burned a lot of clays and titegroup under 200 and 225gr. bullets, and a little less with 165gr. bullets but they are still effective and accurate enough for sniping grouse during deer season without alerting a 5 mile radius to my presence.
fiver
Well-Known Member
seein as how the round was built around that bullet weight that would make sense.
it's when your going to deviate from the design you have to start looking at many alternatives to find a balance and not just to the greater volume of the powder cabinet.
the powders I mentioned have very fast burn speeds so don't rely on weight or position to burn fully or consequently consistently.
the other side of the spectrum is where you'll have a problem with them.
go above about 5grs with Clays and you start to run into over pressure issues, but that's what you want if your playing with light bullets.
it's when your going to deviate from the design you have to start looking at many alternatives to find a balance and not just to the greater volume of the powder cabinet.
the powders I mentioned have very fast burn speeds so don't rely on weight or position to burn fully or consequently consistently.
the other side of the spectrum is where you'll have a problem with them.
go above about 5grs with Clays and you start to run into over pressure issues, but that's what you want if your playing with light bullets.
I have found with a low load density any powder will be position sensitive; however it is much less an issue with the 250 grain bullet for 2 reasons 1) the bullet takes up more space in the case 2) the bullet weight offers more resistance and increases the powder efficiency. I have used Bullseye, Red Dot, Promo, AA # 2, Titewad, Titegroup, W-231, HP38, Unique, & Universal.
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
Maybe I'm just not very creative or imaginative, but as time goes on it occurs to me that the designers might have had good reasons for the bullet designs and weights they used Back Before There Was Air. 150-160 grains works really well in 38 and 357 revolvers. 240 grainers do good work in 44s. 225-240 grain bullets do well in 45 ACP/AR. 250-260 grain bullets do good things in the 45 Colt. Fixed sights found on service versions of these sideirons are often regulated for a given load using that bullet weight at a given velocity. Sometimes it pays poorly to turn wrenches on things that aren't broken.
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Glaciers
Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Okay not really thread drift, but, pulling over to the slow lane.
I have a new model 1950 S&W 22-4 in 45 ACP. I'm wanting to go slow, heavy and soft. I've got a couple of NOE Moulds about 270 - 280 grain and anything from 230 grain and up is of interest.
Looking to be in the 550 to 750 fps range, bullet about 40 to 1 or BHN of abou 7-8 range, in a 45 auto rim case. Along the lines of the 455 Webley.
Friend up the hill has a shooter Colt New Service in 455 that's on the trade list, but it's a big revolver. This little 1950 N frame has a 4" bbl an fixed sites. Relatively light and smooth, still fits in my back pocket.
A couple of years ago I was interested in the 50 Special, 300 grains or so, about 700 to 900 fps. Sounded fun. Spendy. Had to cross that off the list for practical reasons. Money.
I have a new model 1950 S&W 22-4 in 45 ACP. I'm wanting to go slow, heavy and soft. I've got a couple of NOE Moulds about 270 - 280 grain and anything from 230 grain and up is of interest.
Looking to be in the 550 to 750 fps range, bullet about 40 to 1 or BHN of abou 7-8 range, in a 45 auto rim case. Along the lines of the 455 Webley.
Friend up the hill has a shooter Colt New Service in 455 that's on the trade list, but it's a big revolver. This little 1950 N frame has a 4" bbl an fixed sites. Relatively light and smooth, still fits in my back pocket.
A couple of years ago I was interested in the 50 Special, 300 grains or so, about 700 to 900 fps. Sounded fun. Spendy. Had to cross that off the list for practical reasons. Money.
[B]CZ93X62[/B] I think that it is safe to say that typically if one uses bullet weights that were designed for a caliber, one tends to do quite well when using them. If you use other weights; you cannot assume that they will work well. One needs to experiment more. In the .45 Colt the case has a huge volume and smokeless powders will not provide good load density (perhaps that is not the case w/Trail Boss). IMHO the bullet weight helps a lot to make the powder more efficient. The .45 Colt is more challenging to reload for than most other large calibers.