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I don't want to use straight lead
You wouldn't want to use "straight lead" in a .45 Colt, it should be alloyed, something like wheel weights, but not "hard cast." The 255 gr. flat nose bullet is a traditional load in .45 Colt. The Unique loads have always worked for me; I've tried others including Trail Boss.

I no longer cast bullets, but when I was doing it, I concentrated on the ones that were more expensive to buy. Like .45 Colt and .45-70. No sense wasting time on .32 revolver bullets when you could buy them by the hundreds for a low price.

If I wasn't a bullet caster, one I would buy: Hornady 45 Cal .454 255 gr FP Cowboy™ Item #12458. These are cold swaged, not cast. This is a traditional profile .45 Colt bullet, they use a mica lube on it that works well. The bearing surface of the bullet is knurled, the mica gets into the knurling and ensures good lubrication. I've used lots of these in .38 Special and .45 Colt. Today, they cost between $49 and $60 something per box of 200, if you can find them in stock.
 
I have been shooting lubed lead bullets from my 45 colt carbine for years without any leading. I load them to go 1500 to 1900 fps and make sure they fit the bore. I size them .454 instead of the .452.
I will say powder coating is much cleaner. No more cleaning wax lube out of my dies.
One of the best things about the 45 colt carbine is I can load 160 gr bullets that recoil like a 22 mag, all the way up to 325 gr that are loaded to the lower end of 45-70 data. [ think trap door rifle pressure]
Good Luck DR
 
I've used 250 grain plated RNFP (Berry's and Rainier), 255 grain SWC lead, and coated 250 grain T&B RNFP for 45 Colt. After using up the plated bullets I started loading this caliber with, and shooting up some old 255 grain SWCs, I have most recently been using the coated T&B bullets. I like them. The price is good, quick shipping (Travis is not far away), and great service. I'm mainly loading for a couple 45 colt lever actions, and I also have a Ruger Vaquero but haven't fired it much. I have found Universal powder works pretty well for me, but I also experimented with some others before settling on Universal as my main go to for the plinking loads that I use. The 250 grain bullets ring the steel good!
 
how soon they forget
I cann'ot believe you had forgotten the very most favorite cartridge I load .tch,tch,tch
I've been shooting 200 grain rnfp's for year,s,the cases seal better with 250's but when I shot cowboy the 200's recoiled less.
Brazos makes great coated bullets and about the same price as
Travis at T&B who is great to buy from.
of the powders u asked about Unique is the top choice and has been the .45 coltgot for years for thousands.
me, I scored 3 jugs of Trail Boss last year and 6.3 in a hand gun gives a nice glow, lol.i'll have some to shoot when I see u ?? in sept ??
I have 500 bullets coming from Outlaw bullets in florida, but he does not coat.They work great for steel clanging and no problems with leading,coated are superior that way though.
 
forgot, as to price ,Oiutlaw lands for a dime a bullet, Brazos about 12 cents,also take a look at Badman ,another great supplier i've shot with them for years.
I mised it,what gun r u shooting, Mike?
 
A couple things Mike, the 230 bullets you ordered have no cantilever but the 250gr RNFP bullets do so you'll need to careful with the crimp. I see the 230gr bullets are listed as being .452 and that is correct for the 45 Colt. Generally those bullets are sized to .451 for the 45 acp. Also RN bullets aren't recommended for tube magazines due to the outside chance of primer detonation in the tube. That's why tube magazines get FP type bullets.
 
You wouldn't want to use "straight lead" in a .45 Colt, it should be alloyed, something like wheel weights, but not "hard cast." The 255 gr. flat nose bullet is a traditional load in .45 Colt. The Unique loads have always worked for me; I've tried others including Trail Boss.

I no longer cast bullets, but when I was doing it, I concentrated on the ones that were more expensive to buy. Like .45 Colt and .45-70. No sense wasting time on .32 revolver bullets when you could buy them by the hundreds for a low price.

If I wasn't a bullet caster, one I would buy: Hornady 45 Cal .454 255 gr FP Cowboy™ Item #12458. These are cold swaged, not cast. This is a traditional profile .45 Colt bullet, they use a mica lube on it that works well. The bearing surface of the bullet is knurled, the mica gets into the knurling and ensures good lubrication. I've used lots of these in .38 Special and .45 Colt. Today, they cost between $49 and $60 something per box of 200, if you can find them in stock.
Lead is not an easy critter but leading is caused by over heating the base of the bullet where melts and fouls the rifling. I was young and stupid before I found out. Best way to stop it in cast bullets is by using a gas check to protect the base. Must have had check provision in the mold while casting and applying the gas check during sizing. Otherwise, use faster burning powder with a low charge to start with. A really good source other than me is the Lyman manual. It has most accurate loads and wisdom of stuff to avoid. That is how I learned early 70's because friends were mostly young and clueless too. Anyway, lead is tricky even with cartridges the were made for lead.
 
Lead is not an easy critter but leading is caused by over heating the base of the bullet where melts and fouls the rifling. I was young and stupid before I found out. Best way to stop it in cast bullets is by using a gas check to protect the base. Must have had check provision in the mold while casting and applying the gas check during sizing. Otherwise, use faster burning powder with a low charge to start with. A really good source other than me is the Lyman manual. It has most accurate loads and wisdom of stuff to avoid. That is how I learned early 70's because friends were mostly young and clueless too. Anyway, lead is tricky even with cartridges the were made for lead.
That sa about lead, lube and such is hilarious. Lead bullets can be fired in magnums with magnum loads, if coated with a good polymer. Gas checks work too, buy a bit of a hassle in the self do it casting world, plus really expensive if you can find them, like primers. The side of the bullet is not what causes leading. That is caused by too hot of a load melting the base of the bullet.
 
Who's bullets are you using? First off, I don't want to use straight lead. Coated would be okay I suppose. Thinking of using Berry's plated, 250 gr. Or even better, a little lighter, 200gr? I loaded Berry's 150s in the Win 94 .30-30 and they worked great. The plating takes a little crimp just fine, and they were accurate.

These are priced real good https://kcbulletcompany.com/bullets/45-lc-250gr-coated-projectiles/ But out of stock. :(

Id rather not be sitting on 500 of these. To start anyway. https://bayoubullets.net/45-lc-250-gr-rnfp-500-ct/
Berries are good but they are not cheap.
 
Who's bullets are you using? First off, I don't want to use straight lead. Coated would be okay I suppose. Thinking of using Berry's plated, 250 gr. Or even better, a little lighter, 200gr? I loaded Berry's 150s in the Win 94 .30-30 and they worked great. The plating takes a little crimp just fine, and they were accurate.

These are priced real good https://kcbulletcompany.com/bullets/45-lc-250gr-coated-projectiles/ But out of stock. :(

Id rather not be sitting on 500 of these. To start anyway. https://bayoubullets.net/45-lc-250-gr-rnfp-500-ct/
255 lead are what I have always. The rest aren't accurate, at least when I tried them in my new service Colt. About 750 fps with unique gets the job done without leading. I prefer accuracy over velocity, unless I'm killing something which is a totally different game. Mike
 
Who's bullets are you using? First off, I don't want to use straight lead. Coated would be okay I suppose. Thinking of using Berry's plated, 250 gr. Or even better, a little lighter, 200gr? I loaded Berry's 150s in the Win 94 .30-30 and they worked great. The plating takes a little crimp just fine, and they were accurate.

These are priced real good https://kcbulletcompany.com/bullets/45-lc-250gr-coated-projectiles/ But out of stock. :(

Id rather not be sitting on 500 of these. To start anyway. https://bayoubullets.net/45-lc-250-gr-rnfp-500-ct/
Mike, are you a blast from my past when prices were reasonable, say 6-8 years ago?
 
That's not bad. There's these too for copper jackets.
Man, that's why I have no desire to shoot straight lead again. I did that once with a S&W .44 mag. BIG gun, stainless 6" barrel. I wasn't shooting magnum pressures. I was loading .44 special loads and, probably, 200 gr slugs. I might of been able to play with powders more, but I wasn't thrilled with the platform. Awesome gun, but not for me. Hopefully the guy that bought it enjoyed it, and is still enjoying it.
The m29 is a punishing gun for everyone involved. Dan Wesson much easier to shoot and won more silhouette matches than the next 50 Smith's. I was there. My 10" Dan will shoot 4 1/2" at a hundred yards.
 
That sa about lead, lube and such is hilarious. Lead bullets can be fired in magnums with magnum loads, if coated with a good polymer. Gas checks work too, buy a bit of a hassle in the self do it casting world, plus really expensive if you can find them, like primers. The side of the bullet is not what causes leading. That is caused by too hot of a load melting the base of the bullet.
I always chuckle when I read things like how you have to keep lead bullet velocities under 1,000 fps to avoid leading. Myth.

Things like bullet diameter, throat dimensions, proper lube and hardness are important. Once you get those things right for the specific application, leading almost always goes away. I had .44 magnum cast bullet, plain base loads pushing 1600 fps in a rifle, with no leading.

Sometimes there's an issue with the throat or bore in an individual gun causing leading; that can be a real headache. That's where I've found powder coating to be a real game-changer for cast bullets. No more leading, lube-sizers and sticky lube, and it's a lot more forgiving when it comes to bullet diameter.
 
I've nearly worn out an SW 54 lC using Oregon based Laser Cast lead nearly exclusively, Brian and Karen Combs sold out to 1661294641836.png in Montana albeit still good stuff. I shot many boxes of it using up 12 pounds of inherited Hercules Red dot which worked good but glad to have used it up as it is a dirty dog in a revolver so took to wearing gloves. The next bunch of boxes I bounced between Unique and bullseye as I could come across them with Unique some what more accurate for me it seemed..

No their not coated, but good alloy combination and lubed well, and since I clean my gun regularly, I never considered I had a lead problem. Best of all, I, and my friends, have shot thousands for very low cost. I use Laser cast in my 45-70 for target shooting with the same great results.
 
You wouldn't want to use "straight lead" in a .45 Colt, it should be alloyed, something like wheel weights, but not "hard cast." The 255 gr. flat nose bullet is a traditional load in .45 Colt.
I guess I should have said "Bare" lead. :D As in nekked?
how soon they forget
I cann'ot believe you had forgotten the very most favorite cartridge I load .tch,tch,tch
I've been shooting 200 grain rnfp's for year,s,the cases seal better with 250's but when I shot cowboy the 200's recoiled less.
Brazos makes great coated bullets and about the same price as
Travis at T&B who is great to buy from.
of the powders u asked about Unique is the top choice and has been the .45 coltgot for years for thousands.
me, I scored 3 jugs of Trail Boss last year and 6.3 in a hand gun gives a nice glow, lol.i'll have some to shoot when I see u ?? in sept ??
I have 500 bullets coming from Outlaw bullets in florida, but he does not coat.They work great for steel clanging and no problems with leading,coated are superior that way though.
Oh no Mike, I remember! And yes, I was going to ping you, I just keep forgetting. We'll be down there on the 12th. I figured you would have seen the post of the new toy and chipped in. And here y'are!
forgot, as to price ,Oiutlaw lands for a dime a bullet, Brazos about 12 cents,also take a look at Badman ,another great supplier i've shot with them for years.
I mised it,what gun r u shooting, Mike?
This thread https://www.northwestfirearms.com/t...houghts-on-the-rossi-lever-guns.422955/page-3

I've got 230 gr Blue Bullets coming. 250 count
 
I just learned of some of my money being flushed down the toilet! Everyone talks about how great Lee factory crimp dies are? I just learned the lesson that there are TWO kinds of Lee factory crimp dies!
There is a:
Lee factory crimp die.
And there is a:
Lee factory COLLET crimp die.
If you're wanting a sweet roll crimp. You'd better make sure it's a collet crimp die. :s0020:
 

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