45LC questions from Noob

[Redbuffalo]

Hello all,

I am new here and have a few questions.  First, let me say that I am a retired LEO and have always had me some guns, working and hunting.  I started reloading in response to the attempted gun bans of the early 1990's, before the Gingrich revolution.  My reloading has been limited to rifle cartridges and I haven't blown up any rifles yet.

All my life I been wanting a saddle gun combination in 45LC.  Since they would be toys and not a working guns I never got around to it.  Happy to say I finally took the plunge!   

I recently ordered a New Vaquero with a 5.5 inch barrel and a Cimarron 1873 Sporting with a 24.25 inch barrel.  Now comes my rather noobish questions:

I carry a Colt 45 acp Officers model.  I find it to be the perfect carry gun for me as it is compact, reliable, ammunition is easy to find, and it is a 45!

I have never reloaded the 45 acp although I have the dies, mainly because factory ammo was inexpensive.  Now that I have the Vaquero and the 1873, I will prolly start reloading for both these and the Colt acp.

I am looking for a powder and bullet that will cycle through all three and provide decent stopping power.  I really don't want to scale down the loads from what I would use in the Vaquero for protection on the street or in the woods.   I know the gun has a 14,000 psi limit and there is tons of info out there on the web, but sorting through it all is confusing at best.

Can y'all give me any advice or point me to somewhere that I might find useful info?

Thx a lot for reading.

[Camille Eonich]

I'm a bit confused by your post but I'm going to try to answer it based upon my understanding.  You should have a good current reloading manual since you have been reloading for so long so that's the first place that I would check for load for the self defense load in the Vaquero.  If you don't then a lot of the powder companies have put some of their data online.  Of course that's not going to give you the diversity that something from a reloading book will give you and won't be able to see different powders and loads compared for accuracy.  I like Red Dot pretty well so I went to Alliants web site and found this.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipeList.aspx?gtypeid=1

As far as feeding the ammo that you choose to load the acp is going to be the pickiest of the three guns so if you find a load that it likes to eat then you shouldn't have a problem with the other two.  Of course your personal defense loads are probably not going to be SASS legal.  I'm not sure if NCOWS has a cieling on FPS or power factor or anything like that so I won't even attempt to go there.


Hope that this is at least a little help to you.

[Redbuffalo]

Yes, you answered me just fine.  I understand that the acp will be the touchy one.  I was thinking of Hornady's 230 grain LRN, but am little concerned about jamming a round nosed bullet into the loading ramp on the 1873.  I would prefer a 200 grain for plinking and such, but they all seem to be SWC and that concerns me with the acp.  Probably have to go with Win 231 powder, or maybe 700X as my local gunsop doesn't carry a huge selection and I won't pay HazMat shipping if I can help it.

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[Shotgun Franklin]

I never found the .45 ACP to be very picky. Try a 200 gr RNFP bullet in all three. If you want to limit yourself to just one powder then go with Unique.  If you want to try several powders then Unique in the Auto and for carry loads in the Cowboy guns. Try Trail Boss in the Cowboy guns for fun shooting.
With the .45 ACP start with a light load and work up. You first need a load that will cycle the action then try various amounts of powder and different bullets to find the most accurate. Stick within limits in the reloading books and you will be fine, it's mostly just finding the most accurate/powerful load for your gun.

[Redbuffalo]

Thanks for the response.  I like the thought of the RNFP and will give it a try.

[Camille Eonich]

The '73 lifts the cartridge straight up and the cartridge remains level all the way into the chamber.  Straight up and straight in so no problems with OAL or bullet shape so long as OAL is within spec for the caliber and fits within the chamber.  The simplicity of the design of the toggle link rifle is fantastic!  I had to have a little direction the first couple of times that I took one down for cleaning but after that no problem.

[Redbuffalo]

Well, just finding brass and bullets for .45LC is a chore in itself.  Finally found a place that sold Starline brass and Hornady bullets, had them in stock, and didn't want a second mortgage for them.

I will be loading 255 gr. Hornady Cowboys (LRNFP) with Starline brass and Win LP primers.  Gonna start with HS6 powder, probably around 9.5 grains to start.  The Hodgdon data doesn't list a 255 gr load, but does have 250 starting at 9 gr. and maxing at 10.5 gr.  I saw on the M.D. Smith web site that a range of 9-10.5 grains was Hornady's recommendations for this bullet, as well.  So all being different instead of equal,  I will give this a whirl and see what happens.

BTW, the Hornady 255 Cowboy is .454, this isn't a problem with the New Vaquero is it?

[Camille Eonich]

It shouldn't be but then my .45s are OM Vaqueros.  I liked the .454s in those.  Seemed to be just a touch more accurate.


Gosh I need to get my high powered rifles back out.  I love working up loads for accuracy and watching those groups get tighter and tighter.

[Blackpowder Burn]

Shotgun Franklin gave good advice.  I have had the 45 LC stuff and reloaded for it a long time.  I only recently acquired a 1911 in 45 ACP.  I load a 200 LRNFP over Unique for both cartridges and it works extremely well.  A nice mild load is 7 grains for the 45 LC and 5 grains for the ACP.  You can go up on the charges if you want more power.

[WyrTwister]

Yes, you answered me just fine.  I understand that the acp will be the touchy one.  I was thinking of Hornady's 230 grain LRN, but am little concerned about jamming a round nosed bullet into the loading ramp on the 1873.  I would prefer a 200 grain for plinking and such, but they all seem to be SWC and that concerns me with the acp.  Probably have to go with Win 231 powder, or maybe 700X as my local gunsop doesn't carry a huge selection and I won't pay HazMat shipping if I can help it.

     I load .45 ACP for 1911's and .45 LC for a lever gun and a wheel gun .

     I cast my own bullets .  I have a Lee mold for 230 grain RNL that is shaped like USGI Ball FMJ .  It feeds slick as snot in the ACP .  I have also shot this bullet in LC .

     The wheel gun does not care what the bullet nose shape is .  I have found lever guns to be more picky about the shape of the bullet nose .

     I have several lever guns , they all feed RNL or RNFP OK .

     I prefer the Lee 255 or 200 RNFP molds for the lever guns , sized to .454" .

     I shoot Bulleseye or Unique for ACP and Unique for LC .  I recommend Unique over Bulleseye for beginners , Unique is not quite as easy to overlook a double charge .

God bless
Wyr