.45 colt loading question - .451" or .452" bullets

[d'zaster]

Hey Guys,
I recently purchased an Uberti Thunderball .45Colt w birds head grip (Pietta) and have set up the press to crank out handloads.

I have a considerable supply of .451" bullets for loading 45 ACP. Is it OK to use these? Checking my various load manuals, .452" is specified but I've seen some loads on-line that used the .451".

The gun has an incredible trigger and I am looking forward to shooting it.

 

[PapaG]

Get your calipers out and measure the cylinder throats. If they are over .452 or so you're likely to get leading with cast bullets. Jacketed may or may not be accurate. I use .454 in my Rugers for cast, .452 jacketed. Manuals take second place to actual sizes.

 

[AJC1]

In jacketed you should try them and see how your accuracy is. Lead needs to be as big as you can get.

 

[d'zaster]

I did see some references to .454 but I thought maybe this was for older guns. Interesting. OK time to take some measurements.

 

[Hondo 60]

Usually jacketed bullets are .451
And lead are usually .452

Before I started casting my own, I bought several times from MBC (Missouri Bullet Co)
Had excellent accuracy.
Tiny bit of leading - a long strand from a COPPER Chorboy wrapped around a mop or brush
gets the lead out

Gotta be copper, some knock-offs are copper coated steel.
Those are NOT good for your barrel.

Gun sounds great! Please let us know how it turns out

 

[DocRock]

What do the cylinder throats measure? What’s barrel groove diameter ?

 

[Mostly Lead]

I load both 45 ACP and 45 Colt, roll crimping an ACP bullet would require some thought.. perhaps your bullet weight/style allows for that though.

 

[Charlie98]

Essentially, what everyone is trying to say is... every firearm is different. I don't know how good the QC is on your Uberti, but Rugers can suffer from mismatched cylinder throats, for example. Pick a bullet you want to try, give it a shot. If the accuracy is there, great, if it's not... I would start with measuring the cylinder, and if you can, the bore. If the cylinder is mismatched, you can send it off and have the throats reamed... that usually fixes it.