Sellier & Bellot .45 Colt factory ammunition

[That Guy]

Ever since I got my first .45 Colt firearm I have had issues with the available factory ammunition. Most of it is extremely wimpy cowboy action ammo that, at least in the case of Magtech, is extremely dirty to boot. But this year I've noticed that Sellier & Bellot made .45 Colt ammunition has been available in local gun shops. It has been quite difficult to get hold of, with several stores only having a single box of ammo available and thus making ordering from them uneconomical. But I did manage to grab one box of S&B 230 grain FMJ when buying something else, and had the chance to shoot it. Naturally the battery in my chrono was dying so I only got a few readings, but out of my 4" barrel S&W 625 a three shot average came to approximately 870 fps, giving the round a power factor of 200. Out of my Winchester 94 Trapper, the average of four rounds was 1227 fps for a power factor of 282. Not crazy hot, but that's not what I was looking for - I just wanted something that's above CAS mouse fart power levels and doesn't foul the gun as badly as Magtech loads. This S&B ammo fulfills both requirements so for factory ammunition I'm quite pleased! Especially since I never did manage to upgrade to a proper reloading press, the funds always ending up going to something more vital. So I am quite pleased to find an alternative ammo source to my Lee hammer loading kit. Reloading with that thing is just so very, very slow and tedious work.

S&B also makes.45 Colt ammunition with a more traditional 250 grain LFN bullet. I've yet to try that one due to the aforementioned difficulties with actually getting my hands on the ammo. Has anyone else tried it? The published specifications seem to indicate that this might be a wimpier load, but without trying the ammo you never know - the published specifications do not always correlate with reality very well.

[LockedBreech]

I've never had any issues with Sellier & Bellot ammo, it's good stuff. When I got my Mossberg 590 Federal Flitecontrol buckshot was nowhere to be found so I just grabbed a box of their clear-hulled 00 buck. Patterns pretty dang well for me so I never felt a need to change it. While I haven't shot mass quantities of it, their pistol ammo has been just fine for me in .380, 9, .38 Spc., .40, and .45. Glad you found a load that works.

[Crazy Dane]

Back when a had a few .45 Colt guns this was my go to ammo Buy Blazer Aluminum for USD 97.99 | CCI (cci-ammunition.com)

It is listed at 1000 fps but exceeded that out of my 5 inch and 7.5 inch guns. I took several whitetails with that load and none ever made it out of sight. The only drawback is the aluminum cases were a touch sticky.

[okie john]

No idea about S&B 45 Colt ammo, but I've had excellent results with it in 9mm and 45 ACP.

I really like HSM cowboy ammo in my Model 29-2. They make cowboy loads: one with a 200-grain bullet that's slow, inaccurate, and useless, plus one with a 240-grain bullet that's accurate and does right at 1,150 fps in a 4" barrel.

They also make cowboy loads for the 45 Colt, again one a 200-grain bullet and one with a 250-grain bullet. I'd try a box of each, but I'd bet that the heavier one will do what you need.


Okie John

[JTMcC]

No idea about S&B 45 Colt ammo, but I've had excellent results with it in 9mm and 45 ACP.

I really like HSM cowboy ammo in my Model 29-2. They make cowboy loads: one with a 200-grain bullet that's slow, inaccurate, and useless, plus one with a 240-grain bullet that's accurate and does right at 1,150 fps in a 4" barrel.

They also make cowboy loads for the 45 Colt, again one a 200-grain bullet and one with a 250-grain bullet. I'd try a box of each, but I'd bet that the heavier one will do what you need.


Okie John

Its odd, to me that they call their (.44 mag) "hard cast 240 @ 1150 fps" a cowboy action load but they do. I have a box of it but haven't shot any of it.
I emailed them a couple years ago and ask for the brinell number on that bullet, I don't remember the answer but it truly is "hard cast".

[foxj66]

I have shot/been around a lot of it being shot at work in 9/40/45 and its good ammo.

[okie john]

Its odd, to me that they call their (.44 mag) "hard cast 240 @ 1150 fps" a cowboy action load but they do. I have a box of it but haven't shot any of it.
I emailed them a couple years ago and ask for the brinell number on that bullet, I don't remember the answer but it truly is "hard cast".

Yep. Funny how Elmer Keith just wanted a hard-cast 250-grain SWC at 1,200 fps and this load pretty much delivers that.


Okie John

[Caballoflaco]

No idea about S&B 45 Colt ammo, but I've had excellent results with it in 9mm and 45 ACP.

I really like HSM cowboy ammo in my Model 29-2. They make cowboy loads: one with a 200-grain bullet that's slow, inaccurate, and useless, plus one with a 240-grain bullet that's accurate and does right at 1,150 fps in a 4" barrel.

They also make cowboy loads for the 45 Colt, again one a 200-grain bullet and one with a 250-grain bullet. I'd try a box of each, but I'd bet that the heavier one will do what you need.


Okie John

The HSM 240gr loading was one of the only fun commercial loads I found for my 3inch model 29 when I thought that gun was a good idea. I never did shoot meat or chrono it unfortunately.