Has anyone had issues with HSM Cowboy ammo in .45 Colt?

[1KPerDay]

I got a few boxes of this recently and just shot it for the first time. I tried it in my 1851 .44 “navy” with Taylor’s cartridge conversion cylinder and the recoil was significantly lighter than my 250 grain MBC handloads at about 800-850 FPS. I also had issues in that gun because either the COAL was too long or the bullets were pulling a bit from recoil and growing too long. I tried them in my Remington today and the first shot I was like, wow! That didn’t feel much lighter than my loads. The next felt almost like a squib the recoil was so low. The next was moderate, then another with strong recoil, then another really light one. Luckily I was hitting all the plates so I could hear whether the bullets exited.

I’m going to pull 10 and weigh the charges but was just curious if anyone had had issues lately. They seem to have a pretty good reputation from what I could find.

 

[Mycin]

FWIW, I've shot a few hundred of their .357 Cowboy loads and have been pleased with the quality.

 

[Pat Riot]

That’s odd. When I got back into CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting) in 2016 I used their ammo quite often in .45 Colt, actually it was the same load you have in the photo and I recall it all being very consistent.

I would definitely contact them with the batch info off your ammo and talk to them.

I have also shot other ammo of theirs with no issues at all. I have not used much of their ammo in the past couple of years.

 

[1KPerDay]

Well I haven't had time to pull them all but the first three charges weighed 6.7, 6.6, and 6.7 so... we'll see if they're all that consistent. There was DEFINITELY something weird about the 20 rounds I fired though. I wonder if it's just very position sensitive. Powder looks very similar to W231; very small grains of flattened ball powder, somewhat shiny dark gray color.

 

[1KPerDay]

6.7
6.6
6.7
6.1
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9
6.8
6.7

The 6.1 one may be user error as I was using an impact puller and depending on how hard you swing it some powder can fly out of the top past the little collet thing. The other charges are consistent enough to make me think it was probably my fault.

I’m going to shoot a few more and make sure to elevate the muzzle before each shot and see if that makes any difference.

 

[ontarget]

The powder charges may be consistent but is it possible that they are contaminated? From your description it doesn't sound like a powder position problem to me. But I'm not an expert. I put a couple of boxes of those through my El Patron when I first got it and they shot very consistently.

 

[1KPerDay]

They all look fine and dry. Minimal lube which appears to be limited to the lube groove and the area around where the bullets were seated. Brass is new and shiny clean inside.

 

[Siscowet]

I used some HSM 44 spl Cowboy ammo in my 44 Magnum and found it extremely dirty and difficult to clean up the stainless steel cylinder. Seemed consistent however. I have used their 308 ammo and it was fine.That is the extent of my experience with it.

 

[Huntolive]

I've shot plenty of their HSM bear 45 Colt plus p and found it to be excellent and quite effective on deer when I don't want to use 454 casull. Good breasts for reloading too
Oops Brass...

 

[WrongHanded]

I've use HSM cowboy loads before. Possibly .45 Colt (I once had a BH in that cartridge). I would assume the QC is poor right now as they're probably running a lot of overtime to meet demand.

 

[Aim1]

I used some HSM 44 spl Cowboy ammo in my 44 Magnum and found it extremely dirty and difficult to clean up the stainless steel cylinder. Seemed consistent however. I have used their 308 ammo and it was fine.That is the extent of my experience with it.

I shot a box through my SW 686 and 629 and it shot well. Cleaned up easily but I'll keep that in mind.

 

[1KPerDay]

I finished the 50-round box and made sure to elevate the muzzle vertically before each shot, and lowered it gently to the POA. All rounds fired and felt the same (moderately strong/good recoil). I can't imagine that position sensitivity would make that much of a difference but I'll try a few more shots "normally" when I get a chance.

In the 1851 the last 1/2 shots would need to be helped into position as I believe they were pulling under recoil a tad and the OAL is right at the ragged edge. in the Remington NMA "Sheriff" I had no issues. Fun revolver!