Colt .45 Ruger Workup - Reader's Contribution

Editor’s note: After noticing I haven’t done jack in following up on the Ruger .45 Colt series, a Real Guns’ visitor took matters into his own hands and did his own write up as follows. A copy of this also appears in the letters section, it is very complete and very useful information.

Colt .45 Ruger Workup

The gun: Ruger Bisley Blackhawk, .45 Long Colt, 7.5″ barrel w/ rosewood grips.

Key measurements: Compared to my .45 New Model Blackhawk (NMB), 7.5″ barrel, mfg. in 1976.

• Chambers:  NMB: .487″ – .488,”  Bisley: .484.”  As the case heads of my brass measure ~.477″, both appear excessively large.

• Cylinder throats:  NMB: .455″ – .456,”  Bisley: originally about .450.”  Honed out to .4525″ – .453″ according to directions in Veral Smith’s book, ‘Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets.’

• Cylinder length: 1.700″ for both.  No rim recesses so assuming a rim thickness of .050,” max cartridge length has to be less than about 1.750.”
  

Note: Comments below also apply to standard Ruger New Model Blackhawks and Ruger Vaqueros.  They are all capable of digesting the same loads (pressure-wise), although to many the Bisley grip frame feels better under recoil.  The Bisleys are a little heavier than the standard blued guns due
to steel grip frames vs. aluminum, and unfluted cylinders.

Modifications:

• Belt Mtn. base pin for nice tight lockup.

• Reshaped grips & refinished with True-oil.

• Lapped barrel to get rid of tight spot under frame threads, using lapping compound and instructions from LBT (Lead Bullet Technologies – Veral Smith [LBT  HCR 62  Box 145  Moyie Springs, ID 83845]).  Can’t swear this was absolutely necessary, but it didn’t seem to hurt any.  Seems to reduce leading.

• Honed out the cylinder throats to ~.4525 (can just push a .452″ cast bullet through with fingers).

• Someone apparently did a trigger job on the gun before I got it.

Brass:
Standard (unplated) Remington and Winchester.  The Remington cases have been loaded 9 times and haven’t lost one yet.   Trimmed once to ensure that crimps would be uniform.

.45 Long Colt cases are huge by traditional handgun standards.  For standard-sized revolvers, only the .454 Casul (a derivative) and the wildcats such as the .475 and 500 Linebaughs exceed it, and perhaps the .50 AE.  Volume is about 10% greater than a .44 Magnum and in fact, loaded .44 rounds will often drop into the case mouth of a fired .45!  Compressed loads with smokeless powder are all but unknown with this cartridge.

This additional volume, along with the 11% increased surface area of the .45 bullet base, are the reasons that appropriate 300 gr. bullets can be driven to essentially the same velocities as a .44 mag. but at lower pressures. Keep in mind that a .45 300 gr. bullet is also going to be shorter than a
300gr. .44, preserving case capacity if correctly designed and reducing friction from the bearing surface being shorter.

Primers:
Winchester LP for my hunting loads, since that’s what my primary data source (Hodgdon #26) used.  Tried some CCI Large Pistol Magnum once and did not detect any differences.

Data:
There is really only one complete reference that I know of.  It is the Hodgdon #26 data manual in the ‘Silhouette Loads’ section.  Their new #27edition pales in comparison.  #26 lists loads between 25,000 and 30,000 CUP with bullet weights from 155gr. to 350 gr., using IMR, Hercules (now Alliant), Winchester, and of course Hodgdon powders.  Quite a spread! Curiously, no data with H110 for bullets lighter than 300 gr., although the #27 does have H110 data for 240 gr. to 300 gr. bullets.  As the #27 just recently came out, it may be possible to still find a new copy of the #26. No serious .45 Long Colt shooter should be without one! No data in this write-up as there’s plenty of it around, if you know where to look.

Data can be found from the following sources.  Pressure levels vary quite a bit:

• Hornady 4th edition: 250 and 300 gr. XTP.  No pressures given; velocities are from a 10″ Contender.  300 gr. XTP has two cannelures, although the text does not say which one to use.  I used the rear cannelure, as that gave me an OAL similar to the Speer, Sierra, and cast bullets I was using.

• Speer #12:  200, 225, 260, and 300 gr. bullets.  Data for the 300 gr. Uni-Core is at 25,000 CUP.  No mention of pressures for other bullet weights, but they appear to be substantially less.  Velocities from a 7.5″ Blackhawk.  The 300 gr. bullet has two cannelures and the instructions
  clearly say to use the rear, although the listed OAL for that load is incorrect if you do so.  Probably just a proofreader error.

• Sierra 3rd edition:  Only shows data for their 240 gr. bullet and unfortunately not the 300 gr..  No pressures given; velocities listed for both a 7.5″ Blackhawk and a 10″ Contender (in different sections).  Only one cannelure in the 300 gr. bullet so there’s no doubt.

• Accurate #1:  Data up to 20,000 CUP with a variety of bullet weights and brands.  Lots of data, wish it was a little hotter.

• Hodgdon #27: Shows data for H110 and H4227 for Sierra 240 JHC, Hornady 250 XTP, Nosler 260 Partition, and Speer 300 Uni-Core, all to 30,000 CUP.  Useful but disappointing compared to #26.  Strangely, on the bottom of the page with that data, there is a picture of a Colt SAA, a gun you should never shoot these loads in!  Another proofreader error?

• Pet Loads, (Ken Waters) sixth edition (these articles may also be in some earlier editions):  From Handloader March 1975; data for 190 gr. – 250 gr. bullets, loads divided into classes for different revolvers.  No pressures given.  From Handloader Jan. 1991, but for Winchester Trapper
  carbine; data for 200 gr. – 260 gr. bullets.

Bullets:
This information is concentrated on the ‘appropriate’ 300gr. and heavier bullets for hunting loads.  There may be others but these are what I have used. ‘Appropriate’ 300 gr. (and up) bullets are those which can be loaded to an OAL’s approaching 1.650″ or even a little more.  This is way over SAAMI
specs but easily fit in the Rugers.  Also provides a visual confirmation that this is high-pressure ammo.  Some bullets have two cannelures, so they can be loaded as long as possible.  The heavy ‘LBT’-designed cast bullets are outstanding in this respect.  They typically have a nose-to-crimp length
of .350″ – .375″ giving an OAL around 1.650″ – 1.670″ which saves case volume. 

As an example, a cast 325 gr. WFN-GC takes up about .430″ of the case below the mouth.  Compare this to a typical 255 gr. SWC which takes up about .370.”  This is a 27% increase in bullet mass, with only an 8% decrease in case volume!  (my cases measure about 1.100″ from the head to the case
mouth)  The 300 gr. jacketed bullets below can be loaded to about the same OAL and use about the same case volume as the 325gr. WFN.

• Sierra:  300 gr. flat point.  Has a single cannelure.  Nice wide nose, very hard core.  Closest jacketed design to the WFNs, doubtful that it would expand.

• Speer:  300 gr. Uni-core flat-point.  Has two cannelures.  Their data calls for using the rear cannelure.  This bullet has the plated jacket (same technology as the Gold Dot) with exposed lead on nose.  May expand a little.

• Hornady:  300 Gr. XTP hollow point, also has two cannelures.  The obvious choice if you want expansion.

• Cast:  My cast bullets are ‘Boar Slammers’ from Ballistic Advantage in Abiline, TX [Ballistadv@aol.com; (915) 529-3363].  Picked up some at a gun show in Austin and have been ordering them ever since.  They offer the following LBT designs in .45 cal: Wide Flat Nose Gas Check (WFN-GC) at 260, 300, and 325 gr.; and the Long Flat Nose Gas Check (LFN-GC) in 300 gr.  All sized between .4515″ and .453″ at your request.  They originally did not offer the 300’s so my loading and hunting has been with the 325’s.  Very hard, expansion is highly unlikely.  Beartooth Bullets [(208) 448-1865  P.O. Box 491, Dover ID 83825] also has a bunch of the LBT designs.  Both companies offer a variety of calibers.

All of the above bullets will group 6 shots around 2″ at 25 yards from a rest with either of my guns, depending on how well I can shoot on a given day.  Pretty amazing when you consider the dimensional differences in the guns, the types of bullets, and my limited load development (one powder, one primer, and working up to max loads from Hodgdon #26, basically), not to mention that I’m no great pistol shot.  The only common factors are long, heavy bullets and 7.5 ” barrels.  Don’t let anyone tell you that a .45 Long Colt won’t shoot.  Generally, you don’t need a spotting scope to see your groups at 25 yards!  Try that with a 9mm sometime.

Powder:
Olin’s WW296 for all my hunting rounds, for the non-scientific reason that I happen to have a 3 lb. can.  It works well and I have not seen any compelling reason to consider changing until the can runs dry.  There are surely other powders such as H110, VV110, 2400, the two 4227’s, AA #9 and who knows what else that would also work, given appropriate data.

Dies:
RCBS carbide .45 Long Colt dies.  Had to file the semi-wadcutter seating stem flat for WFN cast bullets because the noses are so wide.  Still works fine with regular SWCs. Lyman ‘M’ neck expander die for the .45 ACP (very important!). The rest of my reloading equipment is pretty generic.

Loading techniques:
There are a couple of keys to success with heavy bullets.  Other than the correct data (which includes the correct OAL), the challenge is keeping the bullets in the cases under recoil and getting the powder to burn uniformly.

To keep bullets from pulling out under recoil, don’t focus exclusively on crimp.  Case neck tension is absolutely vital and can’t be ignored.  If the difference between a bullet staying in the case is how much crimp you have, you are solving the wrong problem.  Get your case neck tension correct first!!  It is possible to get enough tension on a cast bullet so that you can actually see where the lube grooves are from the outside of the case. Now, crimp is important too, but just not the only factor.

First thing you do is get a Lyman ‘M’ die for the .45 ACP or something similar (or modify your existing expander plug to the correct dimensions and shape).  The expander plug in the ‘M’ die has straight sides and expands in two stages.  The first stage (on mine) measures about .4475.”  The second
stage is a little bigger, about .452,” and only expands to this level right at the very top of the case.  So what you get is the majority of the case neck is .006″-.008″ under the bullet diameter, depending on bullet diameter and brass spring-back, with a small ring at the top of the case at or just over bullet diameter to help start the bullet.  This process leaves a nice step for the bullet base to sit squarely on.  The bullet is less likely to get cock-eyed as it is seated.  If you are shaving lead or find the bullet hard to start when using this die, try a little chamfer on the case mouth after expanding.

The ‘M’ die will cost you about what a good box of bullets will, and will save you all kinds of grief.  It’s a real bargain. Compare this design to the ‘standard’ neck-expander die.  As an example I’ll use the expander that came with my RCBS dies, which is probably typical.  It has a straight section measuring .449,” and then a taper to a final diameter of .463.”  Obviously we don’t run the case mouth all the way up to .463,” just enough to flare the case so we can start the bullet.  As you can see there are potential problems.  First, case neck tension is going to be less. The obvious cure would be to carefully reduce the .449″ diameter by a couple of thousands.  Second, flaring the case mouth is going to be somewhat
dependent on case length, and third, the funnel-shaped case mouth is going to make it more of a challenge to get the bullet started straight.

Seat all bullets so the case mouth ends up near the top of the crimp groove. Then give ’em a good firm crimp to make the powder burn uniformly.  I mash the crimp clear to the bottom of the groove.  You can even experiment with different amounts of crimp.  With that much crimp, it may be easier to seat
and crimp in two different steps.

To increase neck tension with cast bullets, a useful trick is to try some that are sized .001″ larger than the previous batch.  You can often feel the difference when seating the bullet.  If you still can’t get enough tension, and your expander plug is not too big, measure the sizing ring on your die. Head to a gun show or well-stocked gun store and start measuring sizing dies.  Don’t forget that .45 ACP and .454 Casul sizers could be used if you can’t get a .45 Long Colt die that is the right size.  In fact the Sierra 3rd edition specifically mentions this as a possibility.  As an example, my RCBS .45 Long Colt sizer measures .469″ whereas my RCBS .45 ACP sizer is .467.”  Something in that range is plenty tight.  Last resort would be to try different brass.

Performance:
No hero stories here.  I have shot two small hogs with the .325 gr. WFNs at short range.  The hogs just fell over and died in their tracks, so performance could hardly be faulted.  Complete penetration both times, as expected, once broadside and once end-to-end.  Much more research is planned
in this area!

Just for comparison, I have shot two hogs at short range with a .30-06 (165 gr. Nosler Partition).  In both cases a shoulder was broken, and still the hogs ran a little way (20 or 30 feet, which is not bad for a hog).  So there are no flies on the .45 Long Colt for hunting.

Shooting two pigs with a Bisley isn’t statistically significant, but it’s hard to argue with the results (and it sure was fun).  Just don’t count on recovering any bullets! 

Good luck and happy hunting.

Mike