.45 Colt rifle load info needed

[6MT]

I am looking for some load info for the 45LC round for a lever gun. I’ve decided on the bullet choice. It’s the Campro 250gr RNFP full copper plated. I have a lot of H110 powder that I use in my other levers in .357mag and .44mag. So I thought I’d try it with the 45LC.

There’s not a lot of info that I can find with this type of bullet. There is a few listings with a 230 FCP bullet.

Any info would be helpful.

Andy 6MT

[rugerfan]

What kind of lever gun? With regards to loading to the actions potential the Rossi/92 is only going to take Ruger level revolver loads, marlin is possibly a bit stronger.

[6MT]

It’s a Winchester 1892 (modern).

[rugerfan]

This should serve as a decent starting point. W296 and H110 are generally considered to be interchangeable.


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[6MT]

Aren’t those handgun loads?

[Pioneer2]

But those guns are built like a bank vault and can handle rifle loads.

[rugerfan]

Yes they are handgun loads, I looked into this a while back while loading for a ranch hand and the consensus was that the 92 action is no stronger than the revolvers. Thus Ruger level loads are about as hot as they should be loaded.

[colroggal]

25 grains of h110 is a fairly stout load, considering the standard for a 44 magnum with a 240g bullet is 24 grains. I load 24.5g of h110 under a hornady 240 xtp for both a marlin 1894 and a ruger blackhawk. Both are able to handle the pressure and the cases show no signs.

25 under a 250 in a 45 colt would have a might bit less pressure, but still be quite a decent thump. Any modern design should handle that easily. But I would still start at about 22 or 22.5 grains and work up.

It should be noted that h110/296 don't perform well with less than full cases. If a 90% load leaves too much space in the case, some kind of filler should be used. I've used everything from wadded up cigarette papers to dacron fiber. (Cigarette papers are better than tissue because they won't stay smouldering in the grass down range.)

Colin

[6MT]

Yeah my thoughts exactly. In the Sierra manual, they list some info for rifle for a 240gr FCP bullet with H-110. It shows an accuracy load of 21.5gr and a maximum load of 25.0gr. I was going to start at 21.5gr and chrony the load first.

I know from first hand experience about the all or nothing nature of H-110. I will see how much volume is in the case. I might take your advice about the filler. I also plan on using magnum large pistol primers to help with ignition.

[colroggal]

I was just looking at the hodgedon website and they list a 250g xtp load starting at 25.7g of H110 with a max of 26.5g. It should be noted this is under the ruger, freedom arms & t/c encore only loads for pistol.

The 92 action is strong and the Rossi clones are no slouch. Between the 1894 action and the Henry Big Boy (steel) I would think the Henry would be stronger because of its closed reciever - basically a 336 clone. Are they as strong as a ruger or a freedom arms? Dunno, but I would suspect the lockup is better than a t/c encore. The weak point on any lever is the chamber wall thickness where the barrel meets the receiver. On a 45 colt gun this area would be a bit less than 15 thousandths thinner than a .44 magnum chamber and the .44 is loaded to 36,000psi. Those pistol only 45 +p loads are listed at a max 29,000 cup. By my math that works out to 35,555 psi, but there really is no perfect comparison between psi and cup.

I dont know if I'd push to 26.5g, but if all goes well you should be able to comfortably work past 25.0g.

Colin

[6MT]

Thanks to all who have chimed in. Does anyone have a different powder that you would use for a rifle load with the 250gr FCP bullet?

Since H-110 has serious issues with "loading down", I'm thinking that maybe I should look into a different powder. It's just that I have a lot of H-110 and I thought I would try and use some of it.

I'm not looking for a buffalo load here. I wouldn't mind a medium light load for range plinking. So I'm thinking H-110 might not be a good choice.

What say you?

[rugerfan]

I have had good success in the past using 4227 as well.

[Battle Rat]

I've been using 16 gr of Bluedot with 250gr hard cast in a Mare's leg for 1300 fps.

[6MT]

I found a load to try with this bullet. I’m going to try 6.0gr of TiteGroup. On Steve’s reloading page, he lists this bullet for a rifle load at Titegroup From 5.6 grains to 6.3 grains with Winchester WLP Primer. Ganderite over on CGN suggested the 6.0gr load above.

Thank you to all who chimed in. I will be much happier (and so will the brass) not using H-110.