Range Report: 45 Colt Handloads using Titegroup

[Noah Zark]

Breaking new personal ground here. For years I used Unique for 45 Colt, 8 gr under a 250 gr bullet. Well, I used up all my old Unique powder; it was made before the changes were made to the powder.

I decided that since I'd have to re-evaluate Unique loads with the newer version, I might as well try some new-to-me powder. Based on the recommendations of friends and published sources, I thought I'd give Titegroup a try and bought a can Saturday.

I've standardized somewhat on the Berry's/Rainier 230 gr plated swaged bullets for both 45 ACP and 45 Colt, since all of my guns have .451/.452 bores, and I bought many thousands of those bullets up until the beginning of this year. Probably have a lifetime supply, seeing I'm halfway to 108.

I loaded up twenty 6.0 gr of Titegroup under Berrys 230s and headed to the range yesterday afternoon with a USFA Rodeo Storekeeper with ejector rod, and my new 5" Uberti Schofield. This was an impromptu trip because other planned events finished earler than expected. Instead of pasting up paper targets, I elected to break up partially broken claybirds under the 25 yd target holders.

The short USFA Storekeeper was first up, and after loading five rounds the new handloads went off with a satisfying "BOOM" and only a little bit of recoil. I hit anything I placed on top of the sights with a 6 o'clock hold, 5/5, at that 25 yd distance. Five more shots were duplicates of the first five. My wife was watching, having came along to the range with the promise of a soft-serve on the way home. She wasn't in the mood to shoot herself, and with fuel costs being what they are, I didn't want to make two trips. When I spun the Storekeeper's cylinder and watched the empties fall out, she said, "Nice shootin' there, Deadeye. But you've always done fine with short barrels . . . " And to think our 30th anniversary is tomorrow . . . but I digress.

Next up was the new Schofield, which had only a few Winchester and Remington factory loads through it thus far. I wasn't happy with the trigger pull and overall feeling of the action after I got the Schofield, so earlier in the week I popped the barrel latch and sideplate off and took care of a couple burrs and lubed contact points with Tetra Grease, then reassembled and dry fired the gun probably 250 times. Made a world of difference in taking the trigger pull down to 4.6 lbs from over 8 lbs.

The new Titegroup load performed just as well in the 5" Uberti, once I figured out where to hold the front sight in the rear notch. The front sight blade edge is in the white, and I need to remember to blacken because the glare really plays tricks on my eyes. Again, once I got the hang of the sights, I was busting bits of already-dead claybirds. The much-heavier Uberti didn't climb near what the light little USFA Storkeeper did, but the recoil in either gun was there but satisfyingly so. The Uberti came straight back while the USFA rose about a foot and tried to roll in the hand. The checkered black rubber/plastic grips tend to dampen the rollback, though.

Ejection of empties from the Uberti was simple and complete. The empty cases tend to not fall out of the Schofield chambers by gravity as they did with the Storekeeper. The reason is apparent on closer inspection of the chamber walls. The USFA chambers are smooth; not a toolmark to be seen. The Schofield's chambers look like an Edison Phonograph Cylinder master. I fully expected extraction difficulty with the Uberti, but that hasn't happened. The cases kick out fine.

Titegroup is clean burning in this load; there are no unburned grains of powder evident in the case. However, because the load is fairly light (my trusty old Oehler 33 said 832 avg FPS) the sidewalls of the cases are smoky. I said smoky, not sooty. There's no large amounts of soot on the cases with this Titegroup load as there is with Winchester factory Cowboy loads. The dark smoked areas are thinner and don't wipe off as readily as the schmutz on the Winchester ammo, either. I'd like to find a powder that didn't generate as much schmutz on the cases but with a such light load and cases that drop out of smoothwalled chambers I dunno if that's possible.

I'm very pleased with the initial results of Titegroup in the 45 Colt, and I look forward to trying it in the 45 ACP when I convert the Dillon SDB back to that die set.

Noah

[CowboyTutt]

NIce report, Noah. I may have to try that stuff. I've been working with HS 6 and a 300 grain Hornady XTP JHP for "social work". Seems to work pretty good too.

-Tutt

[Andrew]

Thanks for the report.

Is it really your 30th tommorow? Congrats!

Heck, you've been married longer than I've been alive.

[Noah Zark]

. . . Is it really your 30th tommorow? Congrats!

Really. I can't believe it either.

And I can't believe I'm halfway to 108, too.

Thanks!

Noah

[O.S.O.K.]

Congrats on the anniversary Noah! Quite an accomplishment these days.

My spouse and I are looking at 26 years this August, but I'm a little younger than you. I'm only half way to 94

Oh, and thanks for the Tightgroup report. I've used it as well and like it. But my favorite pistol powder is still W231.

[rjohns94]

congrats on 30 years. blessings to you and your wife in your marriage.

Nice range report.

[Yance]

Noah;

Good shootin' and congrats on the 30 years. Must be some kind of REAL undersatandin' Lady.

I'd like to know more about your impression of the Uberti Schofield. I have a friend who's been waiting a couple of years for Cimarron to bring them back to their line. Recently he mentioned the Uberti, but I haven't seen one to check out.

[Ysabel Kid]

NZ -

Can't believe no one else mentioned that this post is in desperate need of PHOTOS!

Congrats on the shooting, the new Uberti - and the 30th anniversary! I'm half way to 88 now, and the wife and I just celebrated 19 years this month. Gotta start working on something big for 20!

I tried Titegroup a few years back after an article in the "Blue Press". I like it as well.

[awp101]

Congrats on all fronts!

Halfway to 72 here and we'll be on number 11 next month.

When I spun the Storekeeper's cylinder and watched the empties fall out, she said, "Nice shootin' there, Deadeye. But you've always done fine with short barrels . . . " And to think our 30th anniversary is tomorrow . . . but I digress.

Other than I can't get my wife to the range, that sounds like my wife. Maybe they're related somewhere down the line...

[Jaguarundi]

Nice reload report and congrats on the 30th !

[Noah Zark]

NZ -

Can't believe no one else mentioned that this post is in desperate need of PHOTOS!

Me either. Here ya go:



Thanks!

Noah

[AndyM]

Nice report - I also use Titegroup for my plinking 45 colt loads. 6 grains does will in both my Ruger Blackhawk and Puma 92 rifle. I tried HS-6, Unique, but settled on Titegroup. clean burning and low charge weights add up to alot of fun shooting for me.

Also Congrats on 30 years!

[Ysabel Kid]

NZ -

Can't believe no one else mentioned that this post is in desperate need of PHOTOS!

Me either. Here ya go:



Thanks!

Noah

If your screen appears to be sweating, pay it no nevermind - that's my drool coming through!!!

[Noah Zark]

. . . I'd like to know more about your impression of the Uberti Schofield. I have a friend who's been waiting a couple of years for Cimarron to bring them back to their line. Recently he mentioned the Uberti, but I haven't seen one to check out.

Yance:

I bought my Schofield clone after asking around, and I received a lot of good, valuable input including some from our Ysabel Kid who has a 7" version.

Mine is marked "Stoeger, Accokeek, MD -- A. Uberti Italy" First, they are HEAVY. Heavier than they look, and I first set out to get a 7" but in the hand a 7" Schofield feels like a 16" Buntline, weight-wise. I'm exaggerating, but the 7" is very heavy and forward-balanced. That's what steered me to the 5". Still heavy like a 6" N-frame S&W, but much more balanced.

The Cimarron Schofields were made by ASM, and are generally held to be junk. That leaves Three choices: Uberti/Stoeger, Uberti/Beretta (Laramie), and Uberti/Navy Arms. The Beretta Laramie is actually a copy of a Third Model topbreak, with a slightly different gripstrap than that of the Second Model that I have. The Beretta Laramie is kinda spendy, about $100-$150 more than a Navy Arms or Stoeger Second Model Schofield.

I originally bought a used Uberti/Navy Arms 5" Schofield, but the cylinder stop bolt recesses were cut a bit off and the cylinder would lock up too far to the right. There was lead deposits on the right side of the exterior of the forcing cone and I returned the gun before shooting it. No point, I know what it feels like to shoot a revolver that doesn't index the cylinder properly.

The cylinder in the pictured Uberti lines up perfectly, and there's no visible lead spitting. Sometimes you get a blast of hot air (gas) and I attribute that to a 0.009" B/C gap. It's a little wide by S&W, Colt, and Ruger revolver standards, but has the benefit of being a bit self-cleaning when shooting dirty loads. Kinda a trade-off.

The trigger pull out of the box was almost 9 lbs on my Lyman digital gauge. The action felt a little "gritty" so I removed the cylinder latch and sideplate, took out the lockwork and cleaned everything. I removed a few obvious burrs and dabbed contact points with Tetra Grease. Upon assembly, the trigger pull was cut in half, and it's now 4.6 lbs, with a crisp break. THAT made a world of difference in how the gun handles at the moment of firing, and considerably shrank group size. I've not had it on paper, but if I had to guess the 5" Uberti probably does 3"-5" at 25 yds. In contrast, that USFA 3" Storekeeper with ejector rod has been on paper at 25 yds and I got one big ragged 1.5"-2" hole, twice.

The sights on the Uberti Schofield are well-regulated for a 230/250 gr bullet at 800-900 fps. My 5" is dead-on regulated for windage, but it took a bit getting used to vertical placement of the FS blade in the rear sight notch. The rear sight is kinda funky; there's a square notch at the bottom, then two outward-tapering surfaces that look like a sectioned countersink. I had to play with placing the FS blade at the top of the sight, in the center of the top of that "countersink," or lowering the FS blade to the top of the square notch. I use one hold for Winchester factory Cowboy stuff, and another hold for my Titegroup handloads. If your friend buys one, he'll likely have to experiment, too. NBD; it's part of "getting to know" any new gun.

The first rounds I fired in the Uberti were Winchester factory Cowboy loads, and after 20 rounds (four cylinders of five rounds each) the cylinder didn't want to rotate when cocking the hammer. I'd have to use my fingers to help the cylinder carry up. Back home I removed the cylinder and cleaned out the gas seal area. There was a bright spot at the base of the basepin and it was a smudge of lead. Once removed, the cylinder spun freely. I liberally lubed the gas seal area at the front of the cylinder with Tetra Grease and just last weekend fired another 50 rds of Winchester Cowboy 45 Colt without any cylinder rotation issue. I mentioned that to an experienced CAS shooter and he affirmed that keeping the gas seal arear on the front of a 45 Colt Schofield cylinder is a must when shooting dirty/sooty loads. He told me that it's nothing for a Schofield clone in 45 Colt to "freeze up" after 10-15 rounds of black powder. I don't shoot BP in any of my cartridge firearms so that's NBD, but if the grease works for BP it will also work for sooty smokeless loads, too.

The Uberti lockwork is fairly true to that of the original S&W Schofields, and that means you CANNOT hold the trigger and thumb the hammer as you can with an 1873 Colt or clone. As with any Schofield, you have to "cock the hammer, pull the trigger," -- lather, rinse, repeat.

I have $800 OTD with this 5" Uberti. Kinda spendy, but it's been on my want list ever since the Cimarron/ASM guns were introduced what, eight-ten years ago now? The early Uberti/Navy Arms Schofield clones had teething problems, too, but mine is a late-production Stoeger Uberti and so far there's no issues other than some typical fitment things that needed polishing, deburring, or lubeing. IMO, it's worth it.

HTH,

Noah

[Griff]

Congrats on yer 30th! And thanks for he report. Now this may seem a strange question from one that normally shoots BP, but... how clean does Titegroup shoot? Is the brass or gun dirty afterwards?

[J Miller]

Noah,

Love those pistols. Never shot a S&W copy like that. Someday maybe.

Congratulations on the 30th Anniversary.

Wife and I did our 26th last February, and I'm pushing half of 102.

Joe

[Nath]

Well done dude and congrats on yours anniversary. Sounds like you both have that special fire burning still, nice.
Like the revolvers.
Nath.

[Idiot]

Breaking new personal ground here. For years I used Unique for 45 Colt, 8 gr under a 250 gr bullet. Well, I used up all my old Unique powder; it was made before the changes were made to the powder.

Has Unique changed? I hope not much. I've been pouring Unique and Blue Dot into cases for years, even recently. I didn't know it changed. When did this happen and to what extent is the change?

[runfiverun]

noah that 6gr load is the one i use in my usfa's also
i like near5 gr in my acp's and auto-rim loads.
4 in the 9mm and 3.... in the 38's
all with their nominal weight bullets.

oh and about the only change to unique i have noticed is the shinier label

[Noah Zark]

Has Unique changed? I hope not much. I've been pouring Unique and Blue Dot into cases for years, even recently. I didn't know it changed. When did this happen and to what extent is the change?

The "new" Unique burns cleaner according to the manufacturer, IIRC from what I read from the original factory announcement some time ago. Shortly after it appeared on the market in 2001 there was a blurb in a gun rag about it delivering slightly higher velocities and the gun hack speculated that the new Unique was faster. This was since refuted in a flurry of announcements and follow-up articles by other gun writers. Some folks such as yourself haven't made any distinction and kept using the new version as a plug and play for the older version. I'm more of a "trust by verify" sort of person, and I'll get around to testing a can hopefully later this summer.

I don't think you have anything to worry about, and I apologize if my comments raised a false alarm with you.

Noah

Noah

[longarm4146]

I've3 been using Titegroup exclusively for my SASS loads since it came out....When I started shooting Double-duelist and Gunfighter I dropped to 5.2 grs with a Valiant 250 gr. RNF. That gives me about 725-740 fps out of my 7 1/2s and around 700 out of short barrels. At that rate your talking 1300 + rounds per pound at around $95 per 8lb keg. Pretty economical. Clean with real good consistency.

[J Miller]

Breaking new personal ground here. For years I used Unique for 45 Colt, 8 gr under a 250 gr bullet. Well, I used up all my old Unique powder; it was made before the changes were made to the powder.

Has Unique changed? I hope not much. I've been pouring Unique and Blue Dot into cases for years, even recently. I didn't know it changed. When did this happen and to what extent is the change?

Idiot,

Other than the packaging, and being slightly cleaner burning, I've noticed no difference between the current Alliant Unique and the older Hercules Unique. And I've been using the stuff consistently since about 1975 or so.

Joe

[Yance]

Noah;

That's the kind of helpful information I was hoping see.

I knew the early Cimms were made by ASM and not exactly "top quality", the reason they were dripped. Supposedly Uberti was going to be making their "new" version, but I don't know for sure.

Seems nearly all the "Spaghetti Western" guns need a little "adjustment" in the mechanical department, but are quite pleasing to the eye.

Thanks for the insights.