General purpose.45 Colt bullet

[Scott Tschirhart]

If you have read my posts in the last couple of years, you know that I’ve been working with the .45 Colt cartridge as a hunting and general woods loafing load.

I’ve settled on the RCBS 45 270 SAA bullet for hunting but I need something else for daily use.

The parameters I set were a 250-255 grain cast bullet that is commercially available at 900 feet per second.

These have each done very well:

[Scott Tschirhart]

The other parameter was that they had to feed snd function and provide useable accuracy from my 66 Winchester and the Marlin Cowboy.

The bullet with the blue lube is from Montana Bullet Works. The one with the red lube is from Rim Rock Bullets and the knurled one is a Hornady Cowboy bullet.

Each shoots well under 8 gr of 231. The Rim Rock seems to be the most accurate and, despite having a very small lube groove, it leaves a nice lube star on the muzzle of each of my revolvers and both rifles.

Five shots at 100 from the Marlin with factory sights. Leaning against a stock trailer. This is about as good as I can do with any iron sights.

[samsi]

I like the looks of that Rimrock bullet, thanks for the tip.

My GP load these days is the 260 Keith from Matt's Bullets with 8.5 of either Unique or Power Pistol, don't think I've ever shot it from the carbine come to think of it.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I like the looks of that Rimrock bullet, thanks for the tip.

My GP load these days is the 260 Keith from Matt's Bullets with 8.5 of either Unique or Power Pistol, don't think I've ever shot it from the carbine come to think of it.

I can’t find Unique anymore, which is why I went to 231.

But I still prefer Unique and probably always will.

[samsi]

I've got 2 pounds of Unique left, even less of the Power Pistol. I may try Longshot in the Colt since I have most of a pound that was supposed to be great in .44 Special. It was accurate enough but recoil was more abrupt than I cared for, seemed like a real quick peak to pressure. Maybe it'll be more polite in the bigger case. On the plus side it works nice in .32 H&R.

[Old Savage]

Keith type 250 ish

[Scott Tschirhart]

I can’t get the Keith style bullets to shoot well at extended ranges with the carbines.

[COSteve]

I can’t get the Keith style bullets to shoot well at extended ranges with the carbines.

Me either, however, I've had some good luck with X-Treme's plated RN bullets in both 200 and 250 grn at ranges out to 200 yds in both my 19" carbine and 24" rifle.

In addition, no leading.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I can’t get the Keith style bullets to shoot well at extended ranges with the carbines.

Me either, however, I've had some good luck with X-Treme's plated RN bullets in both 200 and 250 grn at ranges out to 200 yds in both my 19" carbine and 24" rifle.

In addition, no leading.

I don’t understand why a Keith style SWC doesn’t fly well out of a levergun.

[Bob Hatfield]

Back in the day (2000) Midway had a sale on the Hornady 255 swaged bullet. But it wasn't the normal flavor. It was 500 round boxes for IIRC around $20. They were a commercial bullet made the exact same shape purported to be made by Hornady. There was no knurling but a few little itty-bitty rings with the whole bullet covered in some kind of sticky lube with the powdered stuff on it.
I'm not lying when I say that those bullets over 8 grains of 231 would bounce pop cans at 75 yards all day from an Uberti 4-3/4-inch 45 Colt. People at the range thought I was some kind of trick shot. (They didn't know anything about barking with dirt). Especially after I did it one handed. Alas though the metal around the firing pin hole couldn't take the pounding and eventually primer metal would flow back around the firing pin and lock up the revolver. FWIW, I read that Linebaugh liked the 255 with 8 gr. of 231 for general shooting in the .45 Colt.

Bob

[COSteve]

I don’t understand why a Keith style SWC doesn’t fly well out of a levergun.

It doesn't seem to do well at extended ranges as the large medplat bleeds off the velocity too fast for me. I also have to jiggle the lever every once in a while on my carbine as they don't feed as well as a round nose or truncated cone does in my carbine.

[Walt]

I remember in one of Hickok 45's videos he was showing that with his Marlin Cowboy Limited 1894 in .44 mag his bullets were keyholing at just 25 yards. He increased his cast buillet diameter by .002" and his bullets shot straight thereafter. It might be wise to slug your barrel.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I remember in one of Hickok 45's videos he was showing that with his Marlin Cowboy Limited 1894 in .44 mag his bullets were keyholing at just 25 yards. He increased his cast buillet diameter by .002" and his bullets shot straight thereafter. It might be wise to slug your barrel.

No keyholing with groups like this at 100. No lead and lube lasts the whole barrel.

[Sarge]

The Lee 452-255-RF, cast at 11 BHN and sized .0454, over 8.5 grain Universal load did 864 fps from a 4 1/2″ EAA Bounty Hunter and (shooting from improvised rests) immediately grouped 1 1/2″ to 2” at 25 yards, right on top of the front sight.

My old 16” Puma lever action did 1113 fps with it and kept three of them in 3 inches, at 100. I raised the rear sight elevator a couple of steps and put a half dozen on a 200 yard plate; and the were hitting the plate straight on. If this was my only 45 Colt bullet, I wouldn't complain.

[6pt-sika]

When I fiddled with a couple Marlin’s in 45 Colt and a Vaquero the only thing I loaded for them were the Lee offerings in 200 and 255 plain base . Had six cavity molds for both . They did pretty darn well for me .

[LeverGunner]

Interesting discussion. Thanks all for sharing. Nice job Scott on sorting out those loads. And nice shooting too.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I have a set of Skinner sights on the way. Much easier on my eyes.

[J Miller]

Back in the day (2000) Midway had a sale on the Hornady 255 swaged bullet. But it wasn't the normal flavor. It was 500 round boxes for IIRC around $20. They were a commercial bullet made the exact same shape purported to be made by Hornady. There was no knurling but a few little itty-bitty rings with the whole bullet covered in some kind of sticky lube with the powdered stuff on it.
I'm not lying when I say that those bullets over 8 grains of 231 would bounce pop cans at 75 yards all day from an Uberti 4-3/4-inch 45 Colt. People at the range thought I was some kind of trick shot. (They didn't know anything about barking with dirt). Especially after I did it one handed. Alas though the metal around the firing pin hole couldn't take the pounding and eventually primer metal would flow back around the firing pin and lock up the revolver. FWIW, I read that Linebaugh liked the 255 with 8 gr. of 231 for general shooting in the .45 Colt.

Bob

Bob,
Those were Remington bullets. Shot tons of them and they shot well out out everything I put them through. Annoyed me no end when they discontinued them.

As for my everyday bullets, it's either the Ideal 454190 sized .455" like the factory bullets or others like the mentioned Remingtons. I load those over 7.1 grs of 231 or 8.5grs of Unique.

I've never had problems with Keith bullets if pushed just a bit faster than factory, say by 9.0 grs Unique.
All of my lever guns feed it fine, but I don't have a toggle link style rifle so that isn't a problem. They do need to be sized at .454" or better even with rifles that have tight .451" +/- grove diameters. At least all of mine have been that way.


Joe

[Bill in Oregon]

Sarge, I have relied on that Lee 255 for many years at the times I had something in .45 Colt.

[Walt]

I sure like Skinner sights. I did need to replace front sights on a couple of my leverguns. Others were fine with the originals

[Griff]

My all-around favorite 45 Colt bullet is a 200 grain RFN. I initially started shooting this bullet in my 1911 as a practice round in place of our issue 200 grain jacketed duty ammo. Tried it in my SAA and found it shot just a sweet. I usually buy them thru Southwest Ammo in Mesquite, TX... a Rucker Bullet Co. product. But, they're available from any number of casting outfits as it's a Magna mold design. I can also cast them from a 6-cavity Lee mold I've had for nearly 30+ years... (but, buying them is so much more convenient)!

If I'm shooting BP I still prefer my RCBS 45-225-CAV bullet which casts about a 230 grain truncated cone with a big enough lube groove that even in the 24" rifles I get a lube star on the muzzle.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I like the Montana Bullet Works stuff ... though it's a bit expensive. The one you've listed in the original post is nice. I've been using the LBT WFN designs in 280 and 300 with gas checks. Perhaps too hard an alloy for all around use. They're not going to expand, but they are going to hit hard and can be driven hard in a rifle with the GC.

[2ndovc]

I'll have to try the 270s, but you've gotten me hooked on the 300 grain bullets in the .45 Colt from an earlier post. A 300 gr. WNFPGC from Matt's bullets and the Hornady 300 XTP have both shot really well for me. Especially my Miroku '73.

jb

[oldebear1950]

I wonder what those bullets would do from my ROSSI 454 STAINLESS WITH 20 INCH BARREL.
As of now all I have fired in it have been my 45 colt reloads and 45 colt factory loads. I have shot them for function, and have never tried to see how accurate they are.

[Scott Tschirhart]

The Lee 452-255-RF, cast at 11 BHN and sized .0454, over 8.5 grain Universal load did 864 fps from a 4 1/2″ EAA Bounty Hunter and (shooting from improvised rests) immediately grouped 1 1/2″ to 2” at 25 yards, right on top of the front sight.

My old 16” Puma lever action did 1113 fps with it and kept three of them in 3 inches, at 100. I raised the rear sight elevator a couple of steps and put a half dozen on a 200 yard plate; and the were hitting the plate straight on. If this was my only 45 Colt bullet, I wouldn't complain.

Sarge,

That’s a really good looking bullet. No doubt that it would do just as well. Guess I’m getting lazy and buying my bullets these days but I think I should be able to cast what I need.

[Scott Tschirhart]

So what’s it for?

General purpose for me is to carry about on the earth. On weekends I tend to carry a single action on my hip and a few extra rounds in my pocket. If I see a coyote, armadillo or a snake, I generally will shoot it. Stray dogs get theirs as well.

But mostly I shoot steel plates and cactus leaves. So accuracy and consistency is more important than terminal performance.

The truth is that I’m a rifleman first and a .45 Colt rifle seems to be a potentially useful tool. .45 Colt is easy on the ears compared to a .357 Magnum.

I like to go to events where I can shoot with friends at the Shootists Holiday or the CSA gathering in Arkansas. For that I want a bucket of ammo so I can shoot as much as I want and share with others without fear of running short.

[Grizz]

The Lee 452-255-RF, cast at 11 BHN and sized .0454, over 8.5 grain Universal load did 864 fps from a 4 1/2″ EAA Bounty Hunter and (shooting from improvised rests) immediately grouped 1 1/2″ to 2” at 25 yards, right on top of the front sight.

My old 16” Puma lever action did 1113 fps with it and kept three of them in 3 inches, at 100. I raised the rear sight elevator a couple of steps and put a half dozen on a 200 yard plate; and the were hitting the plate straight on. If this was my only 45 Colt bullet, I wouldn't complain.

Thanks for the info. I ordered the mold for my on-going 45 development phases. Looks about perfect to me. It's the bullet shape that Underwood uses for their 255Gr 45 Super load. Makes me think about the Ruger LC again . . .

best,
grizz

[ollogger]

I've cast thousands of Lee bullets from the 200 - 255 & 300 gr. gc, hand guns, carbines & rifles, all the way from mild
to wild, used a lot of RL7 with a Rossi 24 in. bbl & the 255 Lee, that load would really bang the steel
now im all out of RL7 so switched to LiLGUN for fast loads in a rifle, mostly unique - titegroup & 231
for fun shooting hand guns



Brad

[Scott Tschirhart]

This old Ruger sure shoots! The Rim Rock bullet came out on top as it shoots well in all of my .45 Colts.

8 gr of 231 is the charge.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Can’t do any better than this.