One of the beauty's of .45 Colt is you can run it from one end of the spectrum to the other. I even have some Ruger large frame only black powder loads that are like summoning Thor when you press the trigger. For most stuff, I run Silvertip.
One of the beauty's of .45 Colt is you can run it from one end of the spectrum to the other. I even have some Ruger large frame only black powder loads that are like summoning Thor when you press the trigger. For most stuff, I run Silvertip.
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
The SAAMI standard is going to stay low forever; Colt SAA cylinders are basically paper-thin over the bolt notch, and older guns were made with low-alloy, un-heat-treated steel. They just can't take any more pressure, at least not with a reasonable safety margin.Originally Posted by Digiroc
As you mentioned, handloaders and some boutique ammo companies load much hotter, and the cartridge can meet or beat .44 Magnum performance in a suitably strong gun. This article by John Linebaugh provides a lot of good info on what the .45 Colt can do in a strong, modern gun.
I just coveted and drooled at the same time!
"Backstabbers and window-lickers rise to the top of human organizations like oxygen-rich turds in a champagne fountain. I suspect it's been that way since at least the Bronze Age." _ Me. 2016
45 colt and black powder is so much fun. (Insert big smiley face here but I don't know how) So much smoke. Having to back away from the target so you don't have to pat out the embers when shooting at 3 yards. Having a small look into what the shootist over a 100 years ago dealt with during and after shooting. How difficult it was to shoot 50 rounds due to fouling. Fouling that turns into crud. Having to use a stick to push out the fired cases. Really, it was fun. For just the one time I did that.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
What bullet and bullet lube did you use?45 colt and black powder is so much fun. (Insert big smiley face here but I don't know how) So much smoke. Having to back away from the target so you don't have to pat out the embers when shooting at 3 yards. Having a small look into what the shootist over a 100 years ago dealt with during and after shooting. How difficult it was to shoot 50 rounds due to fouling. Fouling that turns into crud. Having to use a stick to push out the fired cases. Really, it was fun. For just the one time I did that.
Ive shot black in cartridges, the only time I had real problems was using the Speer soft swaged 44 bullets with no discernible lube. They have some sort of dry lube that didnt work all that great even with light smokeless loads. Gun design matters also. Rugers weren't designed for shooting black. If you look at small details of Colts, the way the cylinder bushing is V'ed to redirect fouling away from the base pin, and I believe the so-called "black powder bevel" on the front edge of the cylinder also helps. Those things and others add up to better performance with black fouling. Some modern black powder is nastier than that used in the past also, according to some that use various powders. It isn't a simple given that any cartridges loaded with (real) black and any ordinary bullet/lube combination are a clear example of how black powder cartridges performed in the past. Bullet lube plays an important part in alleviating fouling affects, as does powder compression and brand and granulation size for the particular cartridge.
Cleanup with good black loads can be simpler than some cleanup with certain smokeless loads. I never understood why some considered it a tortuous ordeal. The loads they used may have direct bearing on that though. Modern 45 Colt cases are also heavier/thicker and don't seal the chamber as well as older cases, which are still exemplified by 44-40 cases, which are usually preferred by black powder cartridge shooters because they seal the chamber much better. Modern 45 Colt cases can be annealed to help with that aspect.
Last edited by Malamute; 08-14-2016 at 03:19 PM.
I loaded up some lasercast 250 rfn over a case full of a black powder substitute that I had acquired. Not really a proper black powder load but what I could replicate. I wouldn't consider it a "tortuous ordeal" but there was a lot of fouling that made the ruger slower to operate but not unusable. It was a fun experience.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I bought a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan snub-gun, and installed the original, pre-Hogue GP100 factory grip. This grip was, apparently, designed by a twin brother, from whom I was mysteriously separated at birth. No grip works so well, in each of my hands, for one-handed and two-handed shooting.
This SRH Alaskan may well become my daily carry gun, after retirement, when my left side will become my new "strong" side. (Until I am sure I will default to a lefty draw, I will continue carry something at 0300, too; probably a compact Glock or SP101*.) Carry ammo will be determined, but no Casull-level stuff, for sure. The .44 and .41 Magnums I fired in the Eighties are almost certainly a large part of why my right thumb and wrist ache and ail today.
I live in an area surrounded by "soft" targets, so if the Lord decides to "send me," well, I will pick my shots carefully, and make big holes, to the best of my ability. (Keep in mind that the GP100 grip is the best of the best for my hands; nothing is better for me to pick my shots carefully.)
*A second gun remains a good idea, even in retirement, but after lefty carry becomes my conditioned default, "Gun Junior" might migrate to a different position than 0300.)
Last edited by Rex G; 08-14-2016 at 07:32 PM.
You didn't say it was a tortious ordeal, but posters Ive seen elsewhere seem to have that impression. When I tried it as a kid in my Super Blackhawk, I had to dunk the barrel and cylinder in the river and run a wet brush through it to loosen it up. It had nearly seized up from fouling. I later found out there was a bit of a knack to it to make it more enjoyable.
That load gave you a taste of it, but real black with good bullets and lube may make it a little more fun, and the gun run longer without gumming up. If you get over to Castboolits forum, they have a black powder cartridge section, a guy that goes by W30WCF does a fair bit of load work and experimentation with black and duplicating original loads in some things. Its fun reading.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...Powder-Journey
I asked him if hed done a post on 45 Colt black powder loads, he referred me to this thread he posted on the cowboy action forum. He sues the name W44WCF there.
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/ind...html#msg689833
Last edited by Malamute; 08-14-2016 at 07:54 PM.
We're in agreement about what other posts have said. I used your terminology cause I liked it. My vaquero didn't seize up but I needed to muscle through the fouling to cock it. I did very much appreciate the stainless steel. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
If I get into black powder stuff, I want to get a replica Colt Walker conversion and ream it for .45 BPM.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_Black_Powder_Magnum
Reply With Quote
