Best Load EVER!?

[StrikeEagle]

Hello, Friends

I've been reloading since 1973 (I think) and I reload perhaps 20 different calibers. I ALWAYS look up the data before I set up to reload... except is ONE case. This is when I use the very very best load I have ever found for any caliber. It's emblazoned forever on my brain:

45 Colt, 250ish Cast Bullet, and 6 grains of Red Dot

This load is an incredible joy to shoot. It's a medium load, and I fire it out of a Colt SAA, 5.5 inch, second gen revolver. It's heavy enough to give me a good feeling of a powerful gun going off in my hand, but it's by no means 'stiff' or overpowering. It's the kind of warm friend you can hang out with for a long day at the range. It's not timid, but nor is it bossy. It's JUST RIGHT.

But the main attraction of this load for me is the REMARKABLE accuracy. If space aliens captured me and I was forced to shoot a match with the top alien pistolero, with the entire Planet Earth as the stakes... I would pick this gun and this load.

I hear about Unique as being the 'powder of choice' for .45 Colt... I've tried it. It's 'ok'. But if you ever want to make your .45 Colt stand up and SING... please do try this recipe. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Do any of you have ONE load that stands out to you as being head and shoulders above everything else in ANY caliber?

best,
StikeEagle

Exodus 22:2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

 

[Ghost10750]

My best is

45ACP, 185gr plated FN with 6gr of Bullseye in WIN brass and Win LP primers. Punches 1 hole at 15yards all day from a Ruger P97. I also tried Unique and did not like it in the 45, but it works great in the 357 or 38.

 

[Black Snowman]

Interesting that pet loads should come up. In WildReloadingForSSGAlaska's recent post "help with .308 loads" dan newberry posted a link to his work here www.clik.to/optimalchargeweight that has some really interesting information.

I have a pet load of 168 grain Speer moly HPBT in a IMI military case with CCI LR primer pushed by 42.0 grains of Varget. I'm going to use Dan's system to try and fine tune it but as it is it works great in my CZ 550 and even better in my Dad's A-Bolt Eclipse.

 

[P95Carry]

Back in 80's, I did some long range handgun shooting ...... competitively. This required shooting from 100 and 300 yds. A lot of guys went for max ... everything! Typical was .357 BlackHawks, with 180 grain bullet over - well - heavily compressed charge of Blue Dot!!

I was using Redhawk and found that full house .44 mag loads didn't do all that well ... good trajectory maybe but - not tight enough. Almost by chance I found that a sorta approx ''44 spl'' type load worked incredibly well.

This was 8.5 Red Dot pushing a home-cast plain base 250 grain Keith SWC ... and though it did need ''lobbed'' at 300 yds in particular ..... was amazingly tight grouping, even if slow. This of course may have been gun/shooter specific ... the Redhawk was a 6" tube.

I do also find that a slightly sub-max .357 load I use has proved very sweet (for me!) ... it suits revo's and ..... also my Win 94. It is a Lyman cast 158 SWC with gas check .... over 14 grains even, of Vhit N-110. Strong but not abusive!

Disclaimer - Any load figures mentioned above are NOT recommendations .... simply stated and personally used examples.