Help with Barnes .45 Colt load for 94 AE

[SPROCKET]

I just got box of 250gr XPBs for my 94 AE. Unfortunately being built for the .454 Barnes never did any load development for the Colt. The best guidance they could give me was to expect a 10% bump in pressure.

Does anyone have any general guidance for developing loads for Barnes bullets? Given what they cost, trial and error could get pricey quick.

[J Miller]

Sprocket,

I'm not familiar with those Barns bullets. What is the reason for the !0% pressure increase?

Now since they are a common weight, I would check out Hornady, Speer, and Nosler bullet data for their Ruger T/C loads. And perhaps back down from their starting point some.
The ONLY problem with my idea is I'm not familiar with H110/296 and Lil'gun which seems to be the most commonly suggested powder for heavy loads.

Now If you are using powders like 2400, 4227, and the like then I'd say simply go to the starting loads and go from there very slowly.

Joe

[SPROCKET]

Sprocket,

I'm not familiar with those Barns bullets. What is the reason for the !0% pressure increase?
<snip>
Joe

Barnes are all copper. Apparently they're stickier(?) going down the bore than jacketed or lead. They also recommend seating .03-.07 off the lands for the same reason.

[iceman]

Could it be since they are copper, they would be longer than lead thus taking up more case space to respect overall length?

[cecil]

iceman got it. They take up more case capacity and have a longer bearing length (dramatically longer than traditional bullets of the same weight in 44 qand 45). Not only is copper lighter than lead, the hollow points can be HUGE. Would suggest looking at load data for 300 grainers.

Does Barnes have a new manual out?

[J Miller]

Thanks for the update on the Barnes bullets.

I'm not sure how I would proceed at this point.

Joe