Good Advice. And per your experience, I'll stick with 244 as long as l can find it.
Good suggestion about the dowels and labeling. I've seen that done on a number of You Tube presentations and I'll do the same.
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New to Reloading, and I'm starting with 45 Colt
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Good Advice. And per your experience, I'll stick with 244 as long as l can find it.
Good suggestion about the dowels and labeling. I've seen that done on a number of You Tube presentations and I'll do the same.
GeoDudeFlorida
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You didn't mention which reloading manual you purchased. Just looking up loading data and assuming all you have to do is pour powder into a case and push a bullet on top is a good way to end up with a nifty new nickname like, "One-Eye" or "Lefty." Please acquire a good manual and read the first several chapters about the basics, the do's and don'ts of reloading. The best way to get started is to follow a set of step-by-step instructions which explain why each step exists and how to proceed, from setting up a bench to choosing a powder and projectile.
That's the best advice I can give and if buying a manual is too much effort, well... good luck to you and try not get anybody else hurt when you blow up your gun.
RealGun
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The primer pin needs to be really tight using two wrenches or a vise and wrench. Washing brass can glue in the primer, so there is that. If problem persists you might try a Lee universal deprimer die and have a spare pin in the bargain.
RealGun
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SAA 45 Colt doesn't use magnum powders. Good choices burn pretty fast, and the popular choice of TiteGroup takes up the LEAST space. With the OP's Challenger single stage how is this going to be problem? You have a tray of powder-charged cases and you scan them for contents in wide mouth, 45 Colt cases.
AJC1
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If it's his first time loading trailboss would be worth the extra expense for the first few pounds till good and comfortable. Vhit makes tin star and I know imr makes an sr powder but dont know the number. Unique or herco are second tier choices for a complete new guy.
Man I don't know how but stuff happens.
I refuse to load pistol cartridges on a single stage press or anything I have to manually manipulate.
I load handgun on auto index machines with powder checks, I use Winchester 231 or 296 and have never had a issue.
I loaded from age 13 to 16 on a single stage press and I made mistakes looking at charge blocks..... maybe I am just stupid idk.
Trail boss the go to in my stash for ammo I am uncomfortable with.
As I stated in my opening comment, "I'm just starting off with reloading". I have the Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook, but I also like to hear directly from folks experienced in this process. I did the same while building my collection of pistols and rifles (new and old) over the years, and found that I always picked up a nugget here and there from wiser heads. I'm doing the same now BEFORE reloading my first round.
Good advice. Thanks.
35 Whelen
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Be careful for sure, but reloading isn't rocket science and you're not going to wipe entire subdivisions off the map if you make a small error. I started when I was 12 or 13. Your Lyman manual will teach you all you need to know. Read it carefully.
The 45 Colt is a pretty easy cartridge to reload. The large case will work with many types of powders. For loads that reproduce the "original" ballistics (250-255 gr. lead bullet @ 850-900 fps) you can't beat powders such as Red Dot or 700-X, and since they're popular with shotgun shooters, they're usually pretty easy to find. For all-around loads Unique works great.
I'm dead against powders such as Trail Boss. I know they eliminate the possibility of double charges, but I feel they also lead to apathy and carelessness.
The Uberti's for which you are loading are tough firearms. The revolvers will easily handle loads in the 20K psi range, so if you stay with published 45 Colt data, you won't have any problems. The '73 lever action will also handle 45 Colt loads just fine.
35W
The 45 Colt is a pretty easy cartridge to reload. The large case will work with many types of powders. For loads that reproduce the "original" ballistics (250-255 gr. lead bullet @ 850-900 fps) you can't beat powders such as Red Dot or 700-X, and since they're popular with shotgun shooters, they're usually pretty easy to find. For all-around loads Unique works great.
I'm dead against powders such as Trail Boss. I know they eliminate the possibility of double charges, but I feel they also lead to apathy and carelessness.
The Uberti's for which you are loading are tough firearms. The revolvers will easily handle loads in the 20K psi range, so if you stay with published 45 Colt data, you won't have any problems. The '73 lever action will also handle 45 Colt loads just fine.
35W
Atavar
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Personally I feel safer about preventing double charges by loading in a block.
I weigh the first, middle and last charge, as well as any throw that feels “different”.
When the block is done I visually check the powder level in each and every case with a bright penlight to confirm the same charge in all cases.
This proofs against under charges as well as overcharges.
I know this goes against the grain of popular wisdom but it works for me.
If you are new to reloading measuring every charge is good not only for safeties sake but to build your expertise with your powder throw method and your scale.
Do verify your scale (especially digital) with check weights close the weight of your desired charge before every session.
If you cannot find or afford check weights you can take some bb’s, small nuts or similar sized items to a friendly jewelry or pawn shop and kindly ask them to weigh them on a calibrated scale. Put them in their own little package with the weight marked on it. Handle with tweezers, not fingers.
Check weights don’t have to be even numbers. If you know something weighs 12.42 grains and that’s what your scale shows then you’re good.
YMMV
I weigh the first, middle and last charge, as well as any throw that feels “different”.
When the block is done I visually check the powder level in each and every case with a bright penlight to confirm the same charge in all cases.
This proofs against under charges as well as overcharges.
I know this goes against the grain of popular wisdom but it works for me.
If you are new to reloading measuring every charge is good not only for safeties sake but to build your expertise with your powder throw method and your scale.
Do verify your scale (especially digital) with check weights close the weight of your desired charge before every session.
If you cannot find or afford check weights you can take some bb’s, small nuts or similar sized items to a friendly jewelry or pawn shop and kindly ask them to weigh them on a calibrated scale. Put them in their own little package with the weight marked on it. Handle with tweezers, not fingers.
Check weights don’t have to be even numbers. If you know something weighs 12.42 grains and that’s what your scale shows then you’re good.
YMMV
docbrown
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When loading on a single stage, I do similarly, but I check every 10th throw - especially if I am at the top of the ladder on the powder charge. One method that I use to verify the charge weight is to:
1. Place the case on the scale and tare the scale to 0
2. Throw the powder charge
3. Weigh the case (which, with the scale tared, will now show only the weight of the powder charge).
Lots of good advice on this thread for the OP to follow. Start low and work up your loads and before you know it, you won't know whether you reload to shoot or shoot to reload!
GeoDudeFlorida
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Lyman’s manuals are very good and the first chapters cover a lot of ground for beginners. One thing to keep in mind is they are intended to showcase Lymans equipment, including their cast bullet molds. For that reason, the Lymans manuals are better references for cast than jacketed; not that the jacketed data is no good, it is, but it’s a little more sparse than a bullet manufacturer like Sierra’s or Hornady’s.
I highly recommend The ABC’s of Reloading. Especially until you get setup.
For the .45Colt, I also highly recommend Unique as a good all-around powder. You can get good accuracy and loads from mild to wild depending on the projectile chosen.
Look for LSWC bullets in the 225-265gr range. Standard large pistol primers are all you need; magnum are not recommended. Try to keep revolver load velocity above 600fps and under 1000fps - which means you will probably want a chronograph, eventually. Depending on where you shoot, of course.
RealGun
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Trailboss isn't available unless already owned and won't be indefinitely. I think SR4756 is discontinued. Maybe 7625 too. Tin Star was too expensive and hard to find, when I considered it. I have Trailboss in enough quantity to hold me for some time. I think we need to continue to have something like that.
RealGun
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Understandable, but we need to work within the OP's context of a "Challenger" single stage. If one cannot scan a tray of powder charges, I wonder if the person should be loading at all.
RealGun
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Trailboss is no problem when not worried about what someone else will do.
GeoDudeFlorida
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My uncle Charlie’s test for us kids back in the day was, “make a decent pot of coffee.” This is back when stove top percolators were the order of the day. If you can’t measure beans into the grinder, grind the batch to a good consistency, measure the grounds into the basket, etc and wind up with a good pot of coffee, you’ll probably have trouble with getting powder into case and seating a bullet. I know that must seem quaint these days but it’s a good test of a person’s abilities to follow directions and focus on a task.
RealGun
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Good one! I immediately thought of the young man yesterday walking across the intersection transfixed by his phone, trusting fate and a stop sign.
EricBu
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Let me throw one more thing out there for you....make sure you don't use "Ruger Only" or "TC Only" load data, which is meant for modern 45 Colt firearms built on the equivalent frame as a 44 Magnum, and capable of much much higher pressure. Stick to standard, traditional Colt pressures.....Most reloading data will have a pressure listed. For classic 45 Colt, you want that number to be generally under 14,000 PSI. So get in the habit of double checking your load data, and making sure you aren't using a recipe that is much much hotter than classic colt loads, and WILL damage 45 Colts that were never intended for those loads.
GeoDudeFlorida
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I agree, in principle and in practice, but since the OP is relying heavily on internet wisdom, he will eventually be informed of the bare, ragged truth that European-made firearms are proofed to CIP standards, 15,900 psi (110 MPa) not SAAMI standard 14K psi (97 MPa). Therefore, the modern Uberti, Pedersoli, Pietta, et. al. Euro-proofed revolvers are made to withstand higher than 14K psi pressures. Not quite what we call "Ruger Only", SSP-only, or "T/C only" loads but, considerably higher than iron-framed Colts of the late 19th Century. My advice was to stick with certain weights of bullet, cast lead predominantly, and at lower than 1000fps velocities, to avoid having to talk about proofs and standards. But, that cat was going to escape the bag eventually so, better now, I suppose.
Basically, stick to what works in a Colt Peacemaker and go for easy-shooting, accurate, economical loads over "power."
RealGun
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One can be aware though that guns offering a 45 ACP cylinder have been considered proven for pressures in the 20K range. Ruger-only though is more like up to 35K. So, I consider 45 Colt loads to have three tiers of pressure range. I have shot Tier II loads in a Vaquero 5.5" and didn't enjoy it.
EricBu
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I understand what you are saying, but the CIP/SAAMI difference isn't even relevant here.....this is about something unique to 45 Colt (and a few other cartridges), in that there are 3 recognized pressure tiers that a new loader isn't going to know about. Even if he loads to CIP, any well made gun will handle it.......but NOT Tier 2 or 3 loads.
Even CIP isn't even bumping into Tier 2 loads, and about 1/2 the pressure of Tier 3 loads. Tier 3 loads are up there with 44 Mag pressures....and will likely send the top strap of a Uberti, Pietta, or Pedersoli down range instead of the bullet.
Any new loader diving into 45 Colt loading needs this pointed out to them, it's another data point that they can use to make sure they are rolling ammo that works for them, and it is definitely a point that only a long time 45 Colt loader would know about. "Oh, look, Ruger Only.....I have a new model blackhawk, that's a ruger, I'll try this cool 27 grains of H110 under a 250 RNFP, that should work fine in my gun!" Personally, I think somebody just needs to submit a 45 Colt +P specification to SAAMI, and get it standardized so that manufactures can more easily tell you if there gun will handle it. Until then, it's a crap shoot, and it's up to folks like us to make sure new loaders understand this little anachronism about 45 Colt so they don't send their topstraps down range.
EricBu
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Yep, that is one indicator that a gun can handle Tier 2......another is if it's built on the same chassi/frame as a 44 Mag...but that's on the owner to take that chance. I've shot Tier 3 out of my Henry X with no issue....Henry waffles and won't answer the direct question. I also have a 90's (maybe early 00's) era Winchester 94AE in 45 Colt. I called Winchester (back when they were still a real company) and they happily stated that it could handle any load up to the maximum pressure of a 44 Magnum. That gun has taken more than 1 elk over the years. I've pushed 250 grain bullets over 1700 fps out of both those guns.
GeoDudeFlorida
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Yup. That's why I mentioned it. Any new handloader who relies exclusively on internet wisdom needs to be aware that there are different standards for .45Colt which are NOT clearly stated, even by old-hands at this hobby. I'm not sure if the Lyman's 50th includes a discussion of "-er-only" .45Colt loads. My most recent edition is the 46th [EDIT: oops! I do have the 48th ed.] and it discusses Ruger-T/C loads in .45Colt at length. So does the Pistol & Revolver Handbook, which actually goes a step farther to include XP-100 data as well as Ruger-T/C. But you have to READ those manuals to know what they have to say on the subject. And now the OP knows to go read those sections and not just rely on internet wisdom.
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