45 LC Rifle Loads???

[Moondoggie]

Tried doing the search thing, but my key words were too common, so here goes...

I've got a Winchester Model 94 in 45 Colt. Looking at the hotter loads section in my Speer Manual it cautions to use them only in Ruger Vaqueros, Redhawks (IIRC) or TC Contenders. (But not in a S&W mod 25???)

Would these higher pressure loads be safe in my rifle? I think they probably would, but thought I'd better ask. I'm looking for info for 250 gr plated bullets and 296 or 231 for powder. I'd never load any hotter than about 95% of these loads anyway, and then only after working up a little at a time using my chrono.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Wil Terry]

Your Winchester '94 45colt Will Handle All The Loads Designated For Ruger

Big frame revolvers with equanimity.
The plated bullets may well be less than a steller success in your '94. The only way to find out is to test them.

 

[redneck2]

Look for Paco's articles at http://www.sixgunner.com

Once upon a time there was a real good one on .45 Colt in levers..HTH

 

[BluesBear]

The Winchester action is strong enough to handle the TC/Ruger only loads.

However I have seen more than a couple of Winchester (and Rossi) lever action rifles in .45 Colt that had chambers slightly on the large side of generous.
Beware that heavy loads might work the brass a little more than you are used to. So inspect your cases carefully before reloading.

 

[Werewolf]

^^^^^^^ +1

I called Winchester about this a couple of years ago and they said the model 94 would handle Ruger Pistol loads which means up to 27,000 PSI or so. They wouldn't own up to more and I had to talk to a guy in their engineering group to get them to admit to that.

That said the action and barrel are the same as that used for the 30-30. Obviously the larger caliber carves more metal out of the chamber and barrel than it would for the 30-30 so the pressures the .45LC will withstand will be lower than those of a 30-30. How much is anyone's guess.

I second finding the Paco article on lever guns chambered in 45LC. Very informative. IIRC Paco uses H110 for his really hot loads which is pretty close to if not identical to W296.

Personally I'd only use gas checked or FMJ bullets for hot .45LC loads out of a Win M94. OTOH, in my experience, AA#5 and AA#7 work real well with lead out of a .45LC Rifle...

 

[Moondoggie]

Thanks for the help!

The plated bullets are just for initial experimentation....mostly because they're flat nosed. I'll use the balance for pistol loads.

I've got plenty of other high power rifles, I'm looking to load some stuff that's a little more effective than lead bullets/cowboy action loads.

 

[Clark]

Some measurements I made:
45 Colt, 16.25" barrel Winchester 94 Ranger with open sights , 250 gr. XTP, 24 gr. H110, 1.603" heavy crimp into canalure, 1536 fps, 1.5" 4 shot group at 50 meters

Quickload predicts 1507 fps and 20,050 psi.
If I tweak Quickload to give the right velocity by changing the OAL to
1.565" [the effect of a heavy crimp], then the pressure prediction goes
up to 22,098 psi.