Favorite 45 Colt Cowboy loads?

[armoredman]

Just curious what 850 FPS or less Cowboy loads people here like. I'll be starting with a Lee 255 gr FP, and have a mold for a 200gr SWC as well, with AA#2 and Ramshot ZIp, for starters.
Thank you for your replies

 

[Boom Vang]

Real cowboys, or costume cowboys?

250 grain cast RNFO and 6 grains of 700-X shoots very well for the latter.

 

[armoredman]

Well, I have ridden a horse, but that's as close as I get. So SASS style shooters, I would say.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Just curious what 850 FPS or less Cowboy loads people here like. I'll be starting with a Lee 255 gr FP, and have a mold for a 200gr SWC as well, with AA#2 and Ramshot ZIp, for starters.
Thank you for your replies

I’m kinda old fashioned so I like 8gr of Unique under a 255gr Keith-type SWC. I’ve been loading Stateline for a few years because they have a flat base and tend to be very consistent.

45 Cal 255 gr SWC H&G 501 Cast Bullets - Stateline Bullets

45 Cal 255 gr SWC Keith Type Hard Lead Cast Bullets for Reloading or Handloading. H&G 501, excellent cast lead bullet for the 45 Colt.

statelinebullets.com

My Ruger Vaquero is a Gen1 and is built more like a Blackhawk but that load is fine for any modern revolver.

 

[.45Coltguy]

8.0gr Unique under a 250gr rnfp coated bullet[Missouri or T & B bullets], Starlin brass and Win LPP. OAL is:1.580" Works well in my SAA replicas, Pietta and Uberti/Taylors.

Those Stateline bullets look good. Might just order some. Thanks Geo'.

 

[Charlie98]

As most mentioned... Unique under any bullet, ranged for whatever weight and velocity you want.

I've also found some other good alternates... like RedDot/Promo, and even something like TiteGroup will work, although because of how hot TG burns, I don't like it particularly for indoor shooting of cast bullets.

Given the sedate velocities you are looking for, I would not go any slower than Unique/Universal/AA#5, and the lighter the bullet, the faster my powder would get. Unique works well with 250-270grn bullets, but I'd pick something like RedDot for sub-225grn bullets.

 

[zeke]

Am not a cowboy shooter, but do like shooting the Rugers in 45 LC. Favorite load is 7.5 gms hp-38 under 200 lrnp for just 850 fps from 4.5 in barrel. Unfortunately some sights need to be modified to accommodate the lighter bullets at 25 yds. Am liking the Lee 255 lrnfp, but use it for specialized 45 acp load.

 

[BBarn]

Since you already have Accurate #2, I'd start with it. I also like W231 and Red Dot in the 45 Colt. Biggest disadvantage with the 45 Colt is case fill. Accidental multiple charges are a definite danger that needs to be checked carefully during the loading process. The large case will hold a quadruple charge of some powders and a double charge of most powders is easy to overlook in the large case.

 

[.38 Special]

Eight grains of Unique with a cast 250 is becoming the "2.7 grains of Bullseye/148 HBWC" load of the .45 Colt world. I've used it a bunch. With Unique so hard to find, I have been dipping into my keg of 700x more often. I haven't really "settled" on a load yet, but somewhere around six grains should be the ticket. And yes, AA2 should do the job as well, again with six or six-and-a-half grains probably getting to the OP's desired velocity.

As @BBarn points out, though, with fast powders you are using just a pinch in the bottom of the case, and the risk is obvious. Not only am I getting away from that, I'm also moving away from smokeless entirely. Blackpowder has been easier to find and cheaper to buy - as compared with smokeless - and it's a great deal more fun!

 

[Nasty Canasta]

My favorites would be the batch of 200 Lone Ranger rounds I made. I only use them on bad guys & werewolves so I still have most of them. They do shoot well with 8.5gr CFE Pistol & 250gr flat nose bullets & a tad under 900fps.

 

[Charlie98]

I only use them on bad guys & werewolves

With all that shiny bling... I'll bet you have trouble sneaking up on them while they are robbing the First National Bank, or rustling cows... Or... it may stop them in their tracks, a good looking rig like that turns heads!

 

[armoredman]

Nice! Thank you all for the suggestions, looking forward to trying something this weekend.

 

[BW460]

My 4" Ruger Redhawk likes a 250 grain RNFP over either 8.5 grains Unique or 9.0 grains of Power Pistol.

 

[GooseGestapo]

The OP asked about Acc#2 and ZIP with 200 and 255gr bullets.
With the 200gr, try 6.0 gr of Zip or 7.0gr of #2.
With the 255gr. Start with 5.0of Zip or 6.0gr of #2.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Smokeless: 7.5gr Unique with a 250 cast Hunter's Supply bullet
BP: 35gr 3F with the same bullet.

 

[armoredman]

I THINK I might have a partial bottle of Unique somewhere, and CFE Pistol might be hiding at the back of the powder magazine, I almost forgot about them, thank you for the mental kick in the pants there,

 

[Captain*kirk]

I THINK I might have a partial bottle of Unique somewhere, and CFE Pistol might be hiding at the back of the powder magazine, I almost forgot about them, thank you for the mental kick in the pants there,

Unique is still available. Check your regular supply places. 7.5 grains goes a long way, even with a single pound.

 

[armoredman]

Yeah, that's why I like #2 - my standard cast 9mm load uses 4 grains, meaning I'll run out of lead before I run out of powder. I didn't see Unique last time I was at CAL - I'll look at Scheels next time I am up there.

 

[Roverguy]

26 grs 3 fffg OE and 5-7 grs cornmeal under a 200 grs Big Lube cast bullet.

 

[derek45]

 

[armoredman]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I powdercoated some of my cast 255gr Lees and loaded some testers with 6 and 6.5 grains of AA#2, since it's what I have the most of. We'll see how this works - thank you again to everyone.

 

[Dane R. Marley]

Any Red Dot recipes? I have 3lbs of Red Dot and 4lbs of 700 that I need to use.

 

[MarshallDodge]

It has been a while since I have loaded 45LC so I pulled these from my database. The first two are warm loads, shot from a Ruger Blackhawk using Starline brass.

230gr Winchester HP, 9.5gr Unique

200gr Plated FP, 9.5gr Unique

250gr LRNFB 4.2gr Hodgdon Clays

230gr LRN 7.5gr Hodgdon Universal

 

[.45Coltguy]

Any Red Dot recipes? I have 3lbs of Red Dot and 4lbs of 700 that I need to use.

6.0gr Red Dot under a 250gr rnfp coated[or plain cast] works well in my two .45 Colt replicas. Nice shooting load.

 

[Dane R. Marley]

6.0gr Red Dot under a 250gr rnfp coated[or plain cast] works well in my two .45 Colt replicas. Nice shooting load.

I just completed 65 45LCs with a 250 gr ceramic coated bullet over 6.0 grs of Red Dot. I have 35 more to load.

I will be shooting these loads from my S&W Mountain Pistol. I got this S&W back in the early 90s and fired it last year for the first time.

Thank You for your reply.