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S&W .45 colt load?

jack simpson

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 11, 2011
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Kentucky
I already load for my Ruger Bisley. But am looking at a Mountain Lite, and do not want to loosen it up to bad.
Anyone have a mid range load for this gun?
Thanks
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

Uberti1873CattlemanHombre5-5_0124.jpg


My load:
24 gr. H110, 250 gr. XTP 45200, crimp into cannelure, 1.6"

a) My 1970's Uberti Iver Johnson Cattleman 1873 Colt SAA 45 LC clone 4.75" barrel

Must calculate on Quickload at 6.5" barrel, because of cylinder length adds to effective barrel length.
Quickload thinks: 21,434 psi, 1226 fps

Chronograph measures: 1220 fps

b) My Winchester 1894 Ranger 45 Colt 16.25" barrel

Quickload thinks: 21,434 psi, 1532 fps

Chronograph measures 1536 fps

c) My Ruger Blackhawk 4 5/8" barrel

Quickload thinks: 21,434 psi, 1218 fps

Fired one shot, and the hammer cut into my hand, never shot it again in 5 years. I intend to deburr the hammer.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

24gr of H110 under a 250gr bullet is a serious stout load in any 45 Colt.

In a Smith I would look at HS6, Blue Dot or 2400 for a medium range powder. For range play you can't go wrong with Unique.

Best I remember, back when I was shooting a lot of handguns/revolvers in 45 Colt, several of the well known revolver smiths said "keep your loads under 1100fps in Smith Revolvers or you will beat them apart".

Look up articles by, John Taffin, Jim Taylor, Brian Pierce and Paco Kelley. That should give you plenty of info.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

Yes, many people are saying 9 grains of unique,topped of with kieth style 255
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

Stay in the confines of reloading manual loads. Unique is a good choice. Never use loads shown "for Ruger Blackhawk" as they are just too much for the S&W cylinder. The cut that allows the cylinder to lock is in direct relationship to the charge hole. Not a problem for the M29 44 mag but, as the 45 Colt requires larger holes, it makes a spot there quite thin.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shoot4fun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Stay in the confines of reloading manual loads. Unique is a good choice. Never use loads shown "for Ruger Blackhawk" as they are just too much for the S&W cylinder. The cut that allows the cylinder to lock is in direct relationship to the charge hole. Not a problem for the M29 44 mag but, as the 45 Colt requires larger holes, it makes a spot there quite thin. </div></div>Knowing that for nearly 10 years this has been on a website:
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/revserv.htm#rowland
Convert S&W 25/625 (.45ACP) to shoot .460 Rowland $100.00
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/460loadchart.htm
That is 40,000 c.u.p.

These are dial caliper measurements of my guns and Quickload pressure estimates of my handloads:
The S&W 29 N frame 44 mag has .090" chamber walls. [I have always run 30 kpsi]
The S&W 25 N frame 45 Colt has .069" chamber walls.[I have always run 28 kpsi]
The Ruger Black hawk 45 Colt has .073" chamber walls.[I have shot 22 kpsi]
The Uberti Cattleman 45 Colt has .060" chamber walls.[I have always run 22kpsi]
Stevens 410shotgun 45 Colt brass .265" thick chamber walls [I have shot 111 kpsi]

Maybe this means we could be pushing the 44 mag harder than the max book load.

 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

What pressure can you reach in those Bowen Custom revolvers where they offset the little notch in the cylinder away from the chamber for max wall thickness? Heck, I bet you can run those 60,000 psi.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

However, in my Colt New Service 45 LC, made in 1916, I shoot 7.0 grains Unique behind a 255 gr Keith swc. It is mild, accurate, and recoils like a .22.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shoot4fun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">as the 45 Colt requires larger holes, it makes a spot there quite thin. </div></div>

I don't you could blow up a Ruger single action revolver if you tried.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

I guess YOU are the all knowing authority, so excuse me for my evidently worthless post. Here is another one that you should not bore yourself with.
Measure walls all you like but the measure you are giving probably is not in the area I was referring to.
I always shot stout 45 Colt loads in the Blackhawk but not outside the recommended loads. I did see a Bisley model Ruger take a double charge of 14 gr of Unique once and survive. A great testament to the gun, but more to the luck of the loader. While I could work easily at the upper limits of "standard" loadings for 45 Colt in the S&W with no issue I was never one to want to. I always thought it would be good to enjoy it for years instead of one or two shots. This thread makes me wish I still had both the Ruger & S&W back.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

When Armi San Marco was still in business they were notorious for cutting their cylinder stop notches too deep and in turn would actually punch through the chamber walls. I haven't seen this in any Uberti copy. Biggest thing with 45 Colt is wall thickness of the cases. A good many Rugers have been blown up by guys trying to magnumize the 45 Colt
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

I shoot, I am thinking 21 grains of h110 with a ww 310 gc wfn in my ruger bisley, it is a hand full but according to john linebaugh disortation on heavy loading the .45 colt is way under what they will handle. He has tortured tested the S&W with some crazy loads. I think I will stick with 9 grain Unique and 255 gr. hard cast, with an occasional 20 grain 296 and 310 hard cast carry load. Either one of those should not exceed 24,000 cups.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

Sorry was trying to cut and paste some excerpts from John Linebaugh but thought might not go well here.
Thanks
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

I have shot 40 gr H110 behind 405 gr bullet in 45 Colt brass, but the bulk modulus of H110 ball powder is high [won't compress] so the OAL is 2.1", not the 1.6" of a 45Colt or 1.765" of a 454 Casull.

This is NOT a mid range load. It wrecks the brass and kicks too hard, but was a fun experiment. I knew I could get away with that, in part because the chamber wall thickness was .265".

There may be steel out there cylinder steel that has at yield strength of 70ksi [dead soft annealed]120 ksi [easily machinable] or 260 ksi [specialty steel to be machinable], but when I see a 45 Colt chamber that is .265" thick, and knowing the S&W 25 revolvers with .069" chambers have been going through hell with 460 Rowland loads for 10 years, I knew I could get away with it.
 
Re: S&W .45 colt load?

In linbaugh's explanation. He said running them at say 24 grain of h110 with a 300 grainish bullet would eventually stretch the frame on the S&W, but his own words were that he had some 2500 rounds on one mod. 25 loaded with 24 granis of h110 and a 260 bullet