Help with Barnes .45 Colt load for 94 AE

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
SPROCKET
Levergunner
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:22 pm

Help with Barnes .45 Colt load for 94 AE

Post by 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.
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14885
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Post by 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
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
SPROCKET
Levergunner
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:22 pm

Post by SPROCKET »

J Miller wrote: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
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1706
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Canada

Post by iceman »

Could it be since they are copper, they would be longer than lead thus taking up more case space to respect overall length?
Happiness is a comfortable stump on a sunny south facing mountain.
cecil
Levergunner
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:30 pm
Location: Nw Wi

Post by 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?
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14885
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Post by J Miller »

Thanks for the update on the Barnes bullets.

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

Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
Post Reply