FMJ .45 colt bullets

[Che762x39]

Looking to play around with +p .45colt loads

Unless you already invested in a 45 Colt rifle. Why not a Marlin or a used Winchester lever gun in 44 Magnum? I met a professional hunter, he got paid to kill wild boar and after killing 100s of pigs he recommended the 44 Magnum.

As a reloader I prefer the thicker and better designed 44 Magnum cases. I had a Ruger Blackhawk 45 convertible and a T/C 10 inch barrel. 45 Colt brass have a short life span, with hot loads, compared to the 44 Magnum.

Elmer Keith was truly a genius.

[Maht_g]

Already own the rifle, it belonged to a close friends Dad who passed away recently and I was very close with. I’d like to find a use for it besides punching paper, the previous owner would get a huge smile to know his gun killed something after he was gone.

[JagerDog]

45 Colt > 44 mag

Most don't shoot enough hot stuff to make case life an issue.

[Maht_g]

Once I get the load developed I’d only shoot the hot rounds at pigs, I’m sure I won’t lose enough cases to hardly notice. 20 rounds will last many years I’m sure

[Maht_g]

[wbunning]

[scotty99]

[wbunning]

Ok.. So I made a couple dummies. First.. the bullet has a crimp cannelure as well as a second crimp groove:


When seated to the middle of the CANNELURE, the OAL came out at 1.663". That's too long for the Henry. It had to be finagled into the tube, and would not feed.:


So I pressed the bullets farther into the case and re-crimped at the shorter crimp groove. OAL is right at 1.60" at that point, which is the specified max for 45Colt, and they loaded and fed fine.



So, I would say work up loads carefully with this bullet seated to OAL of 1.60", and watch pressure signs. It will most likely be a deadly s.o.b. on pigs :-)

[Maht_g]

Ok.. So I made a couple dummies. First.. the bullet has a crimp cannelure as well as a second crimp groove:


When seated to the middle of the CANNELURE, the OAL came out at 1.663". That's too long for the Henry. It had to be finagled into the tube, and would not feed.:


So I pressed the bullets farther into the case and re-crimped at the shorter crimp groove. OAL is right at 1.60" at that point, which is the specified max for 45Colt, and they loaded and fed fine.



So, I would say work up loads carefully with this bullet seated to OAL of 1.60", and watch pressure signs. It will most likely be a deadly s.o.b. on pigs :-)

[wbunning]

I re-seated one more time at Speer's recommendation for seating in the rear cannelure at 1.640". My Henry still wouldn't eat it.

[scotty99]

[CGT80]

Did you look at the hornady xtp mag bullets?

I have used the 0.452" in 240 grain at about 2200 fps and the 300 grain at 1900-2000 fps in my revolver. They list a 0.451" diameter also. I don't know how they would feed in the rifle and I was running roughly 45 grains of W296 in the 460 cases, so there's no comparison to 45 colt brass. I only use the 45 colt brass for light loads in the revolver.

I have used a sierra jacketed bullet to 1400-1500 fps for my mid loads, something like a 44 mag, but I don't recall the particular bullet. They were great for nailing silhouettes at 100 yards or so and they were meant for 45 colt. They were good enough to hit the turkey and chicken silhouettes.

It seems that most jacketed bullets should be fine for what you are doing and I have found that heavier bullets really pack a punch on steel. I'm not a hunter, so no help there.........I use my grandfather's deer rifle for silhouette matches.

[Maht_g]

I was actually looking for more penetration than expansion to get thru the heavy bones and muscle of wild pigs. That’s why I initially asked about fmj bullets. There are a bunch of options for “defensive” hollow point projectiles but they are designed for a different purpose than I’m looking for. I want a heavy, flat point bullet that will stand up to relatively high speed for the caliber. Barnes xpb are supposed to penetrate as well as expand, no jacket to separate. Speers 300gr jsp would be perfect in my mind as long as they will feed in my rifle. Lehigh makes an extreme Penetrator that would be sweet, supposed to create big would while punching thru obstacles... but so would a plain ol RNFP fmj... dilemmas... going to call Speer right now about that second groove on their jsp...

[Maht_g]

Called Speer, and asked about the upper groove for crimping... his response was an ***-covering “we cannot recommend crimping in the upper groove as it may create over pressure issues, and we don’t have load data for that round in rifles.”

So could probably be done if one was careful to watch the primer for signs of pressure. For $15 for a box of 50, I’ll probably get a box and play with it. Start low and see what happens... worst case is they get loaded to 700fps and sent to their reckoning on my steel range.

[ruggyh]

Try Hornady 225 FTX- designed for 45 Colt lever guns- rated 1900 fps

If you are in the bay area give me a call and will give you a couple to try

408 476 0886

be safe
ruggy