45 Colt w/ 140 grain round ball experiments

[Whit Spurzon]

Lee Mold 90442 .454” Round Ball - 140 grains
Roof Flashing Lead
Lube with Lee Liquid Alox
As Cast
Starline Cases (8x), sized in Lee Dies , trimmed to 1.285” & champfered.
Did NOT flare the case.
Winchester Large Pistol Primers
3.2 gr (Speer #11) & 5 gr of RED DOT powder ( 0. 7cc Lee scoop)
Seated – sprue mark down - to ~1.510” (~ half ball depth)
Lee Factory Crimped

5.5” Ruger New Vaquero
3.2 grain load = 261 fps to 418 fps. Primers backing out enough to make cyclinder rotation sticky. Case is very sooty and there is unburned powder in the barrel. Bullets just barely penetrate and stick into 4x Doug Fir beam back stop.

5 grain load = 487 fps to 565 fps.
Averaged 533 fps
1-3/8” group at 7 yards
POI = ~1” below POA
Primers slightly backed making cylinder rotation slightly sticky.
Sooty cases and some powder “zombies” left in the barrel.
~ 1 to 1-1/4" penetration into Douglas Fir backstop.



Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited, 20” barrel
5 grain load = 767 fps to 843 fps, averageing 796 fps.
Shot into an enlarged hole at 25’.
Some gas blowback and sooty case.
POI = POA at 25’
Rounds feed and cycled perfectly through the magazine. This would make a great cowboy or grouse load if it wasn’t for the blowback. Very accurate and soft shooting. 1-1/2" penetration into Douglas Fir backstop

[Chuck 100 yd]

COOL ! I have some origional BP RB loads for the .44-40.

[O.S.O.K.]

I would suggest a vegitable fiber wad over the powder charge and try Trail Boss powder. Did you crimp the top ball in as shown in chuck's reply?

I see no reason that these loads should produce unburnt powder and such inconsistent velocities other than the crimp being too little...

Good post! Keep em coming!

[1886]

Good post. I have found Solo 1000 to be a superior really light load propellant. 4.5 grs would be about right. Rem. 2 1/2 primers really helps cut down the standard deviation. 1886.

[Sixgun]

Thanks for the report--It will inspire a few of us here for the winter months. You will probably have to add enough powder to produce around 800-900 fps before you eliminate the sooty cases--but who cares--you gotta clean 'em anyway, and besides, then you will defeat your original purpose---------Sixgun

[Ysabel Kid]

How loud were these? Possible for basement practice in a development?

Thanks for the post!!!

[1886]

Sneeze. About that loud. 1886.

[adirondakjack]

it can be done. running em real slow would profit from one or two wonder wads to reduce case capacity.

I run a HB 120 grainer in the (acp length) Cowboy .45 Special cases with good luck at around 600 fps.

[Ysabel Kid]

Sneeze. About that loud. 1886.

That's what I was hoping!

[O.S.O.K.]

A primed case with wax pressed into it - about 1" worth to make a wadcutter works great for basement short range practice and isn't too loud. Does make a little smoke though... you pour the wax (parafin) onto some wax paper in a tray and let harden - then press the cases down into it.

[Ysabel Kid]

A primed case with wax pressed into it - about 1" worth to make a wadcutter works great for basement short range practice and isn't too loud. Does make a little smoke though... you pour the wax (parafin) onto some wax paper in a tray and let harden - then press the cases down into it.

Hmmm... I will have to give it a whirl!

[J Miller]

I loaded up a box of 457" 145 gr round balls not long ago. I used 4.0 grs of 231 per Speer #10. According to Speer this load produced 544 fps from a 5.5" Colt SAA.
I loaded them without a crimp, like the sample round I got from W30WCF. The rounds went off, but were dismal. Much unburned powder and due to lack of pressure the primers backed out and locked up both my OM BH and my IJ.
I've got to pull them down and up the powder charge. I'm also thinking of putting a styrofoam wad over the powder to keep it in place, and crimp in the equator of the ball.
The load was about as inaccurate as you can get. About all I'll say about it was the balls hit the back stop.

Joe

[GEOFF]

Whit,

Hey quit practicing, you'll get way ahead of the rest of us!

Are you over on the west side for Christmas?

Plenty cold over here, lots of plowing snow. Pulled out my 1883 vintage Marlin 1881 today and fired 5 rounds, just enough to satisfy myself I could load up the rest of the .45-70 tonight. Initial results look very promising. This is the gun that I bought from Wind this last summer.

Good post, and I thank you for the info.

Merry Christmas

Geoff

[Whit Spurzon]

Geoff,
Merry Christmas back at you. I've been hoping to get over and freeze my hind end off with you guys while knocking down a few of those silhouettes. I missed you the last shoot I did which I suppose is your busy season. Wind said offered a warm place to thaw out and it's my turn to buy the pizza. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try my hand at icicle silhouette in the next month or two. Might just have to bring another pard from the forum over and get him addicted too. (you up to it Griz?) On practice, hey, I'm only managing to knock down half of em.. I NEED all the practice I can get before I can even give you and Wind much to worry about. Did he tell you about me whiffing on FIVE boars the last time I was out? He doesn't do much walking when he partners with me... I've been trapped on this side since October. I did manage to get my "shed" started on my property over there thanks to a break in my employment... pictures at; http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/qq20 ... =slideshow Hope to see you soon.

Back on topic: They are still pretty loud. The rifle isn't bad, probably rimfire-ish, maybe a little more. I did Lee Factory Crimp them. I haven't tried seating them as deeply as Chuck's. I'll give that a roll next time. Thanks for all the insights!

[Grizz]

Whit,

My 4wd is going kaput on me so I'll wait for spring. I definately want to scare those targets with my scatter-rifle.

Grizz

[Pete44ru]

Great minds must think alike - I've also worked up some 140gr plain lead RB loads for my .45 New Vaquero, that (co-incidentally) look exactly like those .44 Gamegetters posted above.

I went a slightly different way, however - and made up Gallery Loads, using Goex FFFg.

I used once-fired, unsized cases (from the NV), reprimed with Winchester 150's, then dropped in 35gr of the FFFg, topped off by a .45 Ox-Yoke treated felt wad, seated firmily on the powder with a dowel.

I then spun a bit of Bore Butter around the edge of the seated wad, to fill the void between it and the case side, that the RB would create when seated.

I seated commercial Speer .454 RB's, left over from a RB muzzle-loading rifle I used to have.
When seated full down on the wad, the RB's mid-point was slightly below the case mouth, so I applied a slight crimp to keep unfired rounds from tying up the cylinder when other rounds were fired.

I used a home-made crimpimg die, made from a large cadium-plated 1 1/2" washer that happened to have the proper size inner hole, to almost accept the case mouth.
I chamfered one side of the washer's inner hole with a 1/2" drill bit's nose, then held the loaded case's mouth in the washer's throat while I loaded both into my bench vise for a teensy squeeze - about 1/10" .

I'll post my results, when I get a chance to get out to my club, after the holidays.

.