45 Colt- Medium loads: One powder the rest of your life

[jessejaymes]

Just dipping my toes back into the single actions.  Just took possession of a 5.5" Ruger stainless Bisley in 45LC.  Finally have property I can shoot on in the County.  Lots of steel.  I took in 500 of Matt's 280 SWCs at the same time.  Those coupled with a fresh supply of Starline had me smiling all weekend.  I have found a smile at 12.3 gr of HS-6.  It's available locally at this time.  I snagged 2 more pounds just to be certain.  I only have a MagnetoSpeed rifle type chronograph so I have no clue the FPS or ES.  I can say that this load is juuuuust starting to get the attention of my palm after a few cylinders.  Easy enough to handle.  But I know it's there.

I ran 10.5 Unique as well.   Both loads have very good accuracy.  Same POI at 30ish yards.  The Unique loads don't sting, they feel slightly under the HS-6 loads.  I DO STILL have a bit of 2400 on hand and I will try a few rounds with that.

Looking to lay in quite a stockpile and having missed the boat on many things powder and primers in the past.....Powder Valley has both 2400 and Unique in stock.  If I am going to eat a HazMat fee....I am going to grab several pounds of powder.

As far as recoil and performance I think I am right where I want to be.

Is there a clear winner in these powders for the performance level I am at?  10 grains of Unique seems to be "The" load in many chambering and bullet weights across the board.  Seems to work in nearly anything.  2400 is a 1970s "Old School" powder that has been outdated and replaced?  I ran it in many chamberings I think?  Maybe 454, 480 and 45LC?  But it's dirty and erratic PSI?

Was thinking more powder in a case to fill the empty space is a great thing.  Never tried 4227 for medium loads.  Actually have not seen that one in many many years and never used it.

My next revolver will be either a FA 83 in 6" or the BRF and have it cut to a true 6" in 454.  I don't want or need the HP.  I simply want the platform.  Would like one very nice and very accurate revolver to hunt with and wear an SRO type red dot.

Is there one powder to rule them both with 280-315 bullets at 1050-1200 fps?

[38 WCF]

Tite Group for me 7.2 grains

[jeffer]

AA9

[gnappi]

Bullets of 315 grains @ 1200fps in a .45 Colt is now thought of as a "medium" load? I'm seriously behind in my reading :-)

[bigbore5]

Tite group, Longshot, #9, Enforcer. There's so many choices.

Personally I tend to use #9 or Universal more than all the rest combined.

[sharps4590]

If I were going to settle on one powder it would be Unique. I've used it in every handgun cartridge I've loaded for, (a bunch!), and results were always satisfactory if not always the best load. I've used it in probably 20 different rifle cartridges for reduced, cast bullet loads and of course in shotguns.

It has been said of drillings that they aren't the best at any one thing but, they are so good at so many things. That's how I see Unique.

[lar4570]

Looks like you would be better off with two powders.
Your HS6 or Unique for medium 45 colt should do nicely.
I like 4227 for almost Heavy 45 Colt loads.

For your future 454, 4227 would also be a good choice for less than top end loads.
4227 has a burn rate similar to H110/296, it's just a little bulkier. Also you don't have to load it hot and heavy to get it to burn correctly.

2400 is still a great powder.

[bradshaw]

James.... permit me to answer before reading your thread. Spotting “... 280 SWCs... 12.3 gr of HS-6... starting to get the attention of my palm...,” I’d DEEP SEAT over 11 or 11.5/HS-6. As you have the Blackhawk 5-1/2” .45 Colt, proving its bore, groove, and cone check out, it’s a genuine six-shooter with my much favored 1:16” twist. For steering a spectrum of slower moving bullets, my experience says 1:16----not Dick Casull’s .454 twist of 1-turn in 24 inches. I consider the slower twist a velocity caper. some bullets hold accuracy well at a magical twist, yet are prone to veer or keyhole going through meat.

A light load of fast powder produces less recoil than a moderate load of medium powder in .45 Colt. To lighten recoil with HS-6, I would lighten the charge slightly. If you can simultaneously target & chronograph, you can can correlate each shot to its POI (Point of Impact). That is especially important as ES (Extreme Spread) grows, wherein the slowest shoot prints highest. I pay little attention to Sd (Standard Deviation) in a 5-shot strong, as it takes more rounds to be meaningful. Extreme Spread when accuracy backs it up, not the other way round.
David Bradshaw

[jessejaymes]

Good Copy Sir. I've gone back and read many historical threads on load data and 45. I've read many thread of "Deep Seating". I am just a touch confused over the idea. There's a beatufil and purposeful crimp groove on all of my bullets. The concept is to ignore this and apply a rather firm and engraving crimp into the driving band?

And if so.....this 1/32" deeper seating changes pressure and load characteristics greatly?

[edk]

Feb 12, 2024 10:29:15 GMT -5 jessejaymes said:

Good Copy Sir. I've gone back and read many historical threads on load data and 45. I've read many thread of "Deep Seating". I am just a touch confused over the idea. There's a beatufil and purposeful crimp groove on all of my bullets. The concept is to ignore this and apply a rather firm and engraving crimp into the driving band?

And if so.....this 1/32" deeper seating changes pressure and load characteristics greatly?

Yes, or alternately get yourself a bullet mold with the crimp groove placed to accomplish the same thing.

[Odin]

Seat the bullet so that the entire front drive band is inside the case. I believe David seats so that the front drive band is .020-inches or so below the case mouth. This should be accompanied by an appropriate decrease in powder charge, as has been indicated.

Deep seating increases neck tension, which promotes more consistent ignition/velocity/and hopefully accuracy. Less powder also suggests less recoil as there is less ejecta mass.

[tullymars]

I use lots of both of those powders but if forced to choose one it would be Unique if price and availability were equal. Unique will do a little more work with less powder than HS-6. IMO
Unique has been harder for me to find in last few years as with a lot of Alliant powders, and HS-6 has been a really good sub.

[pleadthe2nd]

As Bradshaw said, I like 11 gr hs6 , 250-270 lead bullets

[revolvercranker]

I've been shooting Unique for 52 years. I'm tired of hearing that Unique is dirty, Alliant has cleaned up a lot of their powders. What are you guys doing, shooting your guns in a surgical operating room? If you want to know dirty shoot BP.

[bradshaw]

jessejaymes.... check out DB Photos Vol. XL (40). Been deep seating since my teens, when I started swaging half-jacket Semi Wad Cutters, with pure lead core in copper 1/2-jacket. Swaging produced a bearing surface of copper & lead, without crimp groove. So I roll crimped over the sharp, soft lead shoulder. To keep from crimping into the lead, I seated the shoulder anywhere from .020 to .060” below case mouth. Accuracy proved not just good, in the case of the .44 240 SWC deep seated over 17/Hercules 2400, with CCI 350 primer, phenomenal from my early 6-1/2” Model 29.

Deep seating is great for lead bullets loaded light & medium velocity, and great half-jackets, home-swaged or made by Speer (and recently discontinued).

When deep seating a bullet with long bearing surface, including conventional jacketed with crimping cannelure, I make a dummy to check for unimpeded drop into the chamber. Chamber pressure spikes when the case is pinched between bullet and chamber.
David Bradshaw