Herco - for 45 LC and 45-60 WCF

[Gabriel Law]

I have three different containers of Herco.  I think I'll set this one aside, and give the other two a try.  It's as if the powder is defective/old/whatever?  I appreciate your comments.

[Gabriel Law]

Two things have come to light.

First, in the Winchester 76 in 45-60, the 13 gr. load of Herco and the 300 gr. BACo bullet with the 5/8" length of high density foam over the powder performed very well, gave uniform ignition and decent accuracy at 59 yds. where my target ended up.  i'm pleased.

And secondly:  I think the issue with the bloopers in my revolvers using Herco is a result of using cheap Russian primers.  I don't think they are hot enough, and sometimes, lately anyway, some of the primers are pierced!!  I shall buy some Winchester or other American primers and give it another try, and will report.

[w44wcf]

Gabriel,
I have not yet used Herco in one of my .45 Colt revolvers but I recently tested Herco in my Marlin .45 Colt Cowboy rifle.  My goal was to = the original performance of the .44-40 rifle load of 1,300 f.p.s. with a 200 gr. bullet but in .45 caliber.

So....with 200 gr. bullets cast from my Lee 45-200 RNFP mold, I loaded up 10 rounds with 10 grs. / Herco ignited by Fed 150 primers.
I was very pleased with the results.  Velocities averaged 1,312 f.p.s. from the 24" barrel and grouped very well at 50 yards ..... In th 1" range

w44wcf

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[Gabriel Law]

That is good new indeed.  On Sunday, I purchased some Federal 150 primers for my 45 Colt cartridges.  I have loaded twenty rounds with 9.5 gr. Herco and 200 gr. RNFP bullets...will report on the results. 

I'm pleased to hear of your own success.  I loaded up some 45-60 for my Winchester '76, and am quite happy with the results so far.  My load to start was 13 gr. Herco with a BACo 459300 (300 gr) bullet.  My velocities are ~1200 fps.  I'm going to increase the load to 14.5 gr. and try to get the velocity p to around 1500 fps.

Thanks for responding.

[Frank V]

I have used just below the Speer & 10s maximum for the 250gr bullet with the Lyman 454190 for 3 years & really like it. Cases fall out of the chambers & very little soot is on the cases. I'm getting 2-1/2" groups @ 25 yds & moderate recoil. It is one of my "go to" loads in the .45 Colt.

I have no experience with loading the .45-60WCF, sorry can't help there.

[Bronco Six]

Hello. Like most everyone, I'm struggling to find pistol powder. I have an unopened 4 Lb can of Herco that I got probably over a year ago as a reserve for my 45 Colt caliber Vaqueros and a 45 Colt Uberti for CAS matches. I'm going to have to use it now. 

Goal in my handguns would be somewhere in the 770 to 800 fps muzzle velocities. I have been using 4.5 grains of Bullseye with acceptable recoil in my handguns, but the Bullseye has been used up. My 45 Colt Uberti lever gun is a 20 inch octogon barrel. I see from the above disucssion that one gent has used between 6.2 and 8.0 grains in his 44WCF cartridges.

I'm thinking around 6.5-7.0 grains for both Vaqueros and the Uberti. I shoot 200 grain RNFPs. I don't shoot the Uberti in long range competition. My only concern is chamber pressure in the Uberti. Any problem with the 6.5-70 grain range in your opinion.

Thanks

   

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

That was me who posted that suggestion.  So of course I say you are on the right track!

I'll go farther.  I use the same recipes at modest levels in .44-40 and .44 Rem Mag.  .45 Colt has about the same capacity with about the same bullet weights, so the powder charges can be about the same.

[Bronco Six]

Thank you very much Sir Charles! Your note was just what I needed in terms of comparable loads.
Regards
Bronco Six