Reloading The .45 Colt

(WC= WadCutter, SWC= Semi-WadCutter, HP= Hollow Point, RN= Round Nose, FMC= Full Metal Case, FMJ= Full Metal Jacket, JHP= Jacketed Hollow Point and if GC indicated, means Gas Check at bottom of lead bullet)

Loads for .45 Colt:
[See page on powder location in case affecting FPS elsewhere on pages]
(Note: These are near maximum loads, you should use 10% less to start, unless it is lesser of several loads or other indications like “mild” or “cowboy” etc.)
(See note on Powders below or read all about various Powders.)
Bullet sizes vary from .450″ for jacketed to .454″ for some lead in diameter. Most are either .451″ (jacketed) or .452″ (lead) and Sierra even makes jacketed bullets for the Colt SAA that are .4515″ splitting the difference. Due to different barrel lengths, type of bullet, seating depth, primer type and other factors, you may not get near the FPS charted. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. (See note on NEW Nitro 100 powder at bottom of page)

SAAMI pressures for STANDARD .45 Colt is 14,000 PSI MAXIMUM, but
for Ruger Blackhawk and T/C, levels in the 20,000 to 25,000 range are
considered more the norm. Make sure your gun can handle it before
you use any of these loads listed below with STARS (*).
Note that the “Ruger New Vaquero” uses a smaller frame and cylinder
like original Colts. Treat it like one.

Note: Powder Mfgs. Velocities in a test
barrel differ from a 4 4/5″ revolver by
about 175 fps and from 7 1/2″ by 50 fps.

(Note H110 & W296 are the same as of 2008 as is HP-38 & W231)
(IMR 4227 is same as H-4227 if made in Australia)
9-9-11

160 grain LRNFP (Lead Round Nose, flat point)

180 grain LRNFP (Lead Round Nose, flat point)

185 grain JHP Sierra

185 grain Berry’s HBRN (Hollow base round nose) Plated bullet designed for .45 ACP

200 grain LRN or SWC (Lead Round Nose)

200 grain JFP Sierra

200 grain LRN or SWC (Lead Round Nose)

225 grain JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point)

(THESE ARE MAXIMUM LOADS- HUNTING)

230 grain Round Nose LEAD (also see 225 gr. lead loads)

(Experiment with A5744 powder)

230 grain Berry’s RN Plated lead (full copper plating designed for 45 ACP)

230 grain RN Plated lead (full copper plating)and FMJ-RN bullet.

240 grain JHP Sierra

RUGER AND CONTENDER ONLY

250 grain lead RNFP Cowboy loads

250 grain Hornady XTP (.452)(Hot, Ruger, Contender only -not old Colts)

250-255 grain LRNFP (Lead Round Nose, flat point)

——————-Ruger Blackhawk, T/C only———————

250 grain Rainier Flat Point, Copper Plated

260 grain FMJ or JHP/h5>

260 grain JSP Speer

RUGER AND CONTENDER ONLY

300 grain JHP or Hornady XTP

310 grain Lead RNFP (Ruger and T/C Only)

350 grain JSP (Jacketed Soft Point)only RUGER and T/C

in pistol calibers than the old. The top of the can says “NOT FOR HANDGUN LOADS”. Use 10% UNDER any values you see here for N-100. The older was slower Fast-burning in pistol calibers. However, my first test with OLD Nitro 100 were very light, too light.

Discussion: The old Western Style COLT normally uses big, heavy and slow lead bullets. You can certainly use the Jacketed bullets fine, but don’t look for incredible speeds. Bullseye is a bit fast for this big cartridge and I don’t especially recommend it, but it will work. Unique is better. Unique and Universal still don’t fill the case up as much as a yet slower powder (like No.9, AA5724, H-110/W296, AA5744, and Alliant 2400).

Reference to Powder UP and Powder DOWN is to actually shake the gun in an up or down position before firing each round and gently bring the gun to the horizontal and shooting. In the large .45 case, a large difference has been noted in speeds. Normal powders vary quite a bit and also have a larger spread between shots. For example, No. 9 with 15 gr.* which is just a little over maximum Colt loads (but mild for Ruger) shot an average of 880.2 fps pointing up and 708.0 fps pointing down, but the spread between shots was 146 fps and 235 fps respectively.

With Accurate’s 5744 the speeds with 17.0 were 853 fps UP and 802 DOWN, but spreads were much better at 45 fps and 16.6 fps respectively. So both the up and down positions were closer in speeds and the spreads were noticeably closer. I would conclude this powder is much more consistent in speeds than others that I have tried in the .45 Colt.

Be very careful using the loads for Ruger and T/C (Thompson Contender) as these are maximum loads, even for these strong guns. A Modern rifle should handle these loads equally as well, such as the Winchester Model 94. Some people have tried to load the .45 Colt to levels of the .44 Magnum. Bad Idea! If you want those speeds and power, buy a .44 magnum.

A bullet with a copper gas check or copper plating is best for INDOOR ranges to keep lead vapors out of the air.

*
Bullseye, Unique and 2400 are products of Alliant (formerly Hercules) Powders.
Clays, Universal, HP38, HS6, HS7 and H4895 are products of Hodgdon Powders. HS7 is slowest of the group (Similar to 2400)
IMR Trail Boss, 4227, IMR 3031 and IMR 4895 are products of IMR (formerly DuPont) Powder Company.
Nitro 100, No.2, No. 5, No.7, No. 9, #5744, #2230, and #2460 are products of Accurate Arms Company

References: Accurate Arms Co. 1996 Reloading booklet – – Alliant Powder Co. Reloaders’ Guide (1995) – – Hodgdon’s Basic Reloaders Manual (1996) – – Speer Reloading Manual, #12 – – Winchester Reloading Components Manual, 14th edition – – Lyman Piston & Revolver Reloading Handbook, 2nd edition. – – VihtaVuori Oy Company, reloading booklet (1995) – – Numerous magazine articles on reloading special calibers and personal loads where noted.