Loads for 45 LC

[Nevada Mark]

Hi All,
   I'm new to CAS shooting but have been shooting and reloading modern gun for years. Just picked up 2 new USFA Rodeo's  ( consecutive numbers ) in 45 LC and a Marlin Cowboy in 45 LC, a few weeks ago. A question on reloading? I thought I would start with a 200 gr. bullet and Winchester primers, next step was to chose a Powder - the 2 powders I will start out with are Unique and Trail Boss. Can anyone recommend a good load for ether powder, also looking for something that will work well for both guns? (possibly same load) Anyone got some good loads to share with a newby?

[Sagebrush Burns]

Try 7.5 or 8.0 of Unique, should work fine in all guns.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Go to the source;

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

I have the 2008 Annual Manual.  In .45 Colt, and a 215grain Cast bullet, it show the following data for;

TRAILBOSS     5.5 gr    725 fps    8,100 psi                  6.5 gr       820 fps      10,300 psi

There is an article at page 60  In which Charles E. Petty suggests that the listed minimum loads of most suitable powders generally give sufficient performance.

ALLIANT produces UNIQUE powder and provides the following data;

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipePrint.aspx?title=Pistols+and+Revolvers&gtypeid=1&weight=200&shellid=36&bulletid=62&bdid=805

9.5 grains for 1061 fps seems somewhat excessive for CAS use.  Sagebrush's loads seem more appropriate.

PS 14 dec 08;  TITEGROUP is a good smokeless powder for CAS.  The Hodgdon 2008 annual manual says minimum is 6.2 gr for  881 fps, up to 7.2 gr for 983 fps, but I have heard of loads a slight bit less.  The best feature of Titegroup is that it is "position insensitive".  That means the load is stable regardles of where the powder lies in the case, front, back, or along the side.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Are you the same guy that posted over on the SASS Wire? I can tell you my load here. My standard Smokeless load for 45 Colt was 7.5 grains of Unique under a 250 grain lead round nosed bullet. Not as light as some would like, but not a bear stomper either. According to my old Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook the Max load with Unique and a 250 grain bullet is 9.0 grains.

Check out what Alliant has to say about Unique and the 45 Colt here:

http://www.alliantpowder.com/

[Oddman]

I have loaded 7 gr. Unique under a 200 gr. bullet for both rifle and revolvers for the last 5 yrs. No problems, I  use the same load for both 45 lc and 44-40 rds.