45 Colt crimp?

[Henry45]

I'm having some issues with a lot of blowback on 45 colt.I'm loading 200 grain round nose flat point with 6.3 grains of Trail Boss. It's a nice shooting load but it's awful sooty. I'm thinking that I may not be crimping hard enough. I'm thinking it's not got enough crimp to seal the chamber due to 45colt being a thick wall case vs something like 44-40.

What are you guys dimensions at the crimp vs. case? My OAL is 1.580. Like I said, it shoots sweet, but man it's blowback even soots up the end of the shell, and your hand.

Shooting it in a Uberti 58 New Army Conversion.

Thanks!!

 

[ljnowell]

Your problem isn't crimp. It's the fact that you aren't building enough pressure fast enough to seal the case. With a powder like that, and a light bullet there isn't anything you can really do about it.

I like AA#2 and WST in 45 colt, but they will both do the same thing.

 

[midland man]

I use 250gr mbc cowboy #1 bullet and 6.8gr greendot and mine runs much more cleaner and shoots very good, in both my rossi 92 16in barrel and uberti hombre model colt saa pistol 4 3/4in barrel, never tried trailboss tho!

 

[ku4hx]

Your problem isn't crimp. It's the fact that you aren't building enough pressure fast enough to seal the case. With a powder like that, and a light bullet there isn't anything you can really do about it.

I like AA#2 and WST in 45 colt, but they will both do the same thing.

This ^^^ In spades ...

 

[rcmodel]

Bump it up to 6.5 grains and see if that helps.

rc

 

[25-5]

I've been loading .45 colt for years. For a pair of Vaqueros and now my 25-5. I only use a light to medium crimp on a 255gr RNFP from Missouri Bullet, but I have only used Titegroup. Never had blowback or a noticeable soot problem.
Same for my .44 spl. loads.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I shoot the same bullet and 6.0 grains of TrailBoss. It blackens the cases because like mentioned above, it doesn't develop enough pressure quick enough to swell the thick case. It shoots so good though, I'll just put up with it. My Blackhawks and Marlin rifles all like it, so it is what it is.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Sunray]

6.5 is the max load for a 200 with Trail Boss. OAL is 1.6" though. Crimping or not crimping won't change the soot issue. Doesn't have anything to do with sealing the chamber either. Especially when you're close to Max already.
Don't know for sure, but Trail Boss was designed for CAS shooting. Might be a tick smokey on purpose. That doesn't get any more of a WHAG though.

 

[Lafitte]

I use Trailboss powder at max recommended load in most cases.

Lafitte

 

[ljnowell]

6.5 is the max load for a 200 with Trail Boss. OAL is 1.6" though. Crimping or not crimping won't change the soot issue. Doesn't have anything to do with sealing the chamber either. Especially when you're close to Max already.

Don't know for sure, but Trail Boss was designed for CAS shooting. Might be a tick smokey on purpose. That doesn't get any more of a WHAG though.

Yes, it most certainly does have to do with not expanding the brass before it can blow back around it. It's common in low pressure loads in any caliber.

 

[Henry45]

I was thinking I may have to up the powder charge like RC said. I use 6.0 in 44-40, and it seals great, but the case mouth is much thinner also. Will just put up with it if going to 6.5 doesn't seal it off. It shoots fun, my wife shoots the lights out with the old cowboy guns and the smile on her face is worth all the soot to put up with...

 

[ljnowell]

I was thinking I may have to up the powder charge like RC said. I use 6.0 in 44-40, and it seals great, but the case mouth is much thinner also. Will just put up with it if going to 6.5 doesn't seal it off. It shoots fun, my wife shoots the lights out with the old cowboy guns and the smile on her face is worth all the soot to put up with...

My light 45 colts do it too, like you said, it's worth it for a good load.

 

[RealGun]

Lyman lists Red Dot as giving the best results with that bullet. As a fast burner in the same class as Bullseye, it would seem likely that the pressure would build quickly and seal off the mating of bullet and case, focusing more of the blast down the bore. A mild load would probably not work. Bullseye can certainly leave a mess.

 

[Red Cent]

As a SASS shooter for 10 years, the crimp will help. The trade off is a short case life. Some shoot 160 gr 45 rounds with velocity around 700fps. A very tight crimp will get rid of much of the blow by. The very tight crimp will hold the bullet just a tad longer to require the case to fit the chamber and spit out the bullet.
'Course, the real answer is 38-40.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I see the same thing with light loads in my .Winchester M94 24"bbl rifle. I up the charges incrementally till it goes away.
However, all my .45's are current modern production and will handle slightly heavier charges.
The data is driven low due to 110+ yr old guns still in use.

fwiw, the thinnest .45colt cases I've got are Magtech, and Winchester. Thickest are Top Shot and Starline. I segregate the Magtech and load them with light loads for cast handgun and "cowboy" type loads.
I load my "Wyoming" wilderness loads in the Starline! (11.2grn LongShot with 275grn RCBS SWC. See Brian Pierce's HANDLOADER article). Wyoming and Colorado have energy minimums for big game. These exceed energy (but not pressure) of many .44mag loads.
I was prejudiced against the .45 for decades. Now I "get it" -lower pressure,same power, but in my maturity, much prefer the milder loads... Lately, shooting up gifted/ inherited GreenDot. 6.5 grn with 255 Lee RFN very, very good!! but does "blow back" in the rifle...

 

[midland man]

goosegestapo I use mbc 250gr rnfp cowboy #1 with 6.8gr greendot in my rosi 92 16in barrel and my uberti hombre model 45c works very well and I don't have blowback in either one of them! just a suggestion... plus I load and shoot only in the rifle only I digress but I use sierra 300gr jsp with 20.8gr h110 and in that rifle only it shoots super accurate and has the power to boot!