Reloading 45 colt for EMF GW(Great Western) II

[bcraig]

I have a new EMF GW II 45 Colt headed my way hopefully be here in a week or 2.
Made by Pietta and imported by EMF.I got the Combo that comes with a 45 Acp cylinder also,I am setting it aside for now.
The Pistol has a 4 3/4 barrel.

I am wanting to use a Soft cast Lead Hollowpoint 225 -250 grain bullet somewhere between 900 and 1000 FPS and would like to stay somewhere close to the SAAMI specs if possible.
What Powder would give me good accuracy and case fill for the Velocities and bullet I am wanting to use ?

Winchester Large Pistol primers be ok ?

Starline case be ok ?

Although I have cast bullets for a 44 Magnum years ago I am not interested in casting anymore.
Where can I buy such a bullet ?

Also what size bullet do I need do get for the New Pistol ?Are the barrels on the new guns needing .452 or .454 bullets ?

I have had good luck with RCBS and Lee dies
Will The Lee 3 die set be good dies for the 45 Colt ?

Thanks

[Pisgah]

For a factory-level load it's hard to beat 9 gr. of Unique under a 255 gr. lead SWC bullet. Now, it won't come anywhere near filling up the cavernous .45 Colt case -- few powders will --, but if you hand charge your cases and visually inspect each one before seating the bullet it'll never be a problem. Velocities will be constant, accuracy is usually excellent, and you can load an awful lot of cartridges with one pound of powder.

[J Miller]

I have a new EMF GW II 45 Colt headed my way hopefully be here in a week or 2.
Made by Pietta and imported by EMF.I got the Combo that comes with a 45 Acp cylinder also,I am setting it aside for now.
The Pistol has a 4 3/4 barrel.
I have no experiance with the EMF GW II, but I have had good results with Italian made guns. The ACP cylinder is very handy, don't ignore it.

I am wanting to use a Soft cast Lead Hollowpoint 225 -250 grain bullet somewhere between 900 and 1000 FPS and would like to stay somewhere close to the SAAMI specs if possible.
What Powder would give me good accuracy and case fill for the Velocities and bullet I am wanting to use ?
My two favorite powder for standard pressure loads in the .45 Colt is 7.1 grs of Win 231 and 8.0 grs of good 'ole Unique. I use these two loads with most every lead bullet from 200 to 255 grs with excellent results. These loads will be at SAMMI levels.

Winchester Large Pistol primers be ok ?
Winchester large pistol primers are excellent. I can't begin to count how mant thousands of them I've used.

Starline case be ok ?
Yes, but so are Winchester, Remington, Federal and others.

Although I have cast bullets for a 44 Magnum years ago I am not interested in casting anymore.
Where can I buy such a bullet ?
I'd start looking at Midway.

Also what size bullet do I need do get for the New Pistol ?Are the barrels on the new guns needing .452 or .454 bullets ?
I personally prefer .454" bullets in the .45 Colt, but most modern Italian made pistols are made with tighter specs than American ones. So .452 bullets generally work OK.

I have had good luck with RCBS and Lee dies
Will The Lee 3 die set be good dies for the 45 Colt ?
Yes. I have RCBS, Lyman, and Lee and they all produce good cartridges one properly adjusted.

Thanks

You're welcome. Hope I was of some help.
Joe

[Pisgah]

You're doing the right thing to ask for suggestions, and there are a bunch more of them out there. The .45 Colt is a great cartridge to load for, and many of those loads use very versatile powders. I have a Blackhawk that I shoot with a Ruger-only load, but the Colt clones are absolutely my favorite with the factory-equivalent loads. I've shot everything from paper targets to coyotes and deer with my Uberti. I really don't need anything more.

[bcraig]

I have a new EMF GW II 45 Colt headed my way hopefully be here in a week or 2.
Made by Pietta and imported by EMF.I got the Combo that comes with a 45 Acp cylinder also,I am setting it aside for now.
The Pistol has a 4 3/4 barrel.
I have no experiance with the EMF GW II, but I have had good results with Italian made guns. The ACP cylinder is very handy, don't ignore it.
yes ,I figure it will be great when ammo prices come back down for the Hardball ammo maybe even load for it as well

I am wanting to use a Soft cast Lead Hollowpoint 225 -250 grain bullet somewhere between 900 and 1000 FPS and would like to stay somewhere close to the SAAMI specs if possible.
What Powder would give me good accuracy and case fill for the Velocities and bullet I am wanting to use ?
My two favorite powder for standard pressure loads in the .45 Colt is 7.1 grs of Win 231 and 8.0 grs of good 'ole Unique. I use these two loads with most every lead bullet from 200 to 255 grs with excellent results. These loads will be at SAMMI levels.
Never used the 231 but used unique a lot when I was Loading for a Smith 29 over 40 yers ago.
Man time flies !

Winchester Large Pistol primers be ok ?
Winchester large pistol primers are excellent. I can't begin to count how mant thousands of them I've used.

Starline case be ok ?
Yes, but so are Winchester, Remington, Federal and others.

Although I have cast bullets for a 44 Magnum years ago I am not interested in casting anymore.
Where can I buy such a bullet ?
I'd start looking at Midway.
I will try Midway,Hopefully they will Have some soft Cast Hollow Point Bullets.

Also what size bullet do I need do get for the New Pistol ?Are the barrels on the new guns needing .452 or .454 bullets ?
I personally prefer .454" bullets in the .45 Colt, but most modern Italian made pistols are made with tighter specs than American ones. So .452 bullets generally work OK.
Ok,I am going to slug the barrel and the Cylinder throats when It comes in,I was just thinking about ordering some components before it even gets here,more I think about it the more I think I will wait .

I have had good luck with RCBS and Lee dies
Will The Lee 3 die set be good dies for the 45 Colt ?
Yes. I have RCBS, Lyman, and Lee and they all produce good cartridges one properly adjusted.
Good to know the Lee 45 Colt dies dont have a bad rep when In 45 Colt.

Thanks

You're welcome. Hope I was of some help.
Joe

Yes you are helpfull Joe
Thanks
Craig

[bcraig]

You're doing the right thing to ask for suggestions, and there are a bunch more of them out there. The .45 Colt is a great cartridge to load for, and many of those loads use very versatile powders. I have a Blackhawk that I shoot with a Ruger-only load, but the Colt clones are absolutely my favorite with the factory-equivalent loads. I've shot everything from paper targets to coyotes and deer with my Uberti. I really don't need anything more.

I have owned several Ruger 44 Mags,a couple of Smith Model 29 and a Colt New Service but never a Colt SAA or a Clone.
Killed deer with the 44 Mags some with factory loads and some with a LBT 280 Grain WFN Water dropped wheel weights and about 21 Grains of 296 .
The hard cast were superbly accurate but not nearly a fast a Killer as the expanding bullets.
I did make some Paper patched 300 Grain LBT LFN bullets for use in a 10 inch Contender out of pure lead and they were spectacular killers .

Craig

[DocRock]

Any data published in a credible manual and NOT marked as "Ruger Only" or the like is within SAAMI spec. Also, lead bullets are slightly lower pressure than jacketed bullets in any event. What powders do you have?

[bcraig]

Hi
I only have a little bit of Winchester 296 and A couple of hundred Winchester large pistol primers both probably 20 years old.

[DocRock]

Well, Win 296 is not a powder suited to SAAMI spec loads in 45 Colt, nor is it a powder that should downloaded below published data.

I use HS-6 for 45 Colt but there are a number of good powders that will work well. The challenge may be finding pistol powders in light of the recent surge/panic.

[bcraig]

Well, Win 296 is not a powder suited to SAAMI spec loads in 45 Colt, nor is it a powder that should downloaded below published data.

I use HS-6 for 45 Colt but there are a number of good powders that will work well. The challenge may be finding pistol powders in light of the recent surge/panic.

Ok Thanks
I Say I have those but am not sure where
they would be in the house and would rather just buy powder and primers than turn
the house upside down looking for them !