45 LC SWC bullets

[sundance44`s]

Picked up a box of bullets the other day ...without my glasses on ..got home opened the box ..I`m now the proud owner of 500 SWC ( semi wad cutter ) 200 gr bullets . Maybe they were in the wrong place on the store shelf ..possible ..lets blame them anyway . Has any one loaded these in 45 colt and if so how did it work out .I`m loading for my Remmie conversion cylinders useing LEE loading equipment .

[sundance44`s]

Loaded a few of these SWC bullets last night , my conversion cylinders are the short ones for Uberti remmies ..made it a little difficult , had to seat the bullets alot deeper in the cases so they won`t lock up the works , just enough left out for a neck crimp . Would have been a lot easyer with the Pietta remmie conversion cylinder .

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Doesn't it get ya when you have to respond to your own post?

I don't have a .45 LC, but I think you are on the right track to use them.  Are they "hardcast?    Too hard, and they lead a bit more, and sizing gets important.  In a lever,the little shoulder might be a hangup.  I had to go to a RNFP for my 1866 in .38Spl.

BTW Ken Waters, in PET LOADS, often talked about crimping over the shoulder of the bullet as an option.

[sundance44`s]

Well  didn`t figure too many had tried these strange looking animals ...lol i wouldn`t be eaither if i had of had me glasses on ..was able to crimp just below the shoulder ..all`s well with the crimp ...don`t expect a problem there .. they are a bit hard casted , oregon trail laser cast . cheapo`s indeed ...been useing the same in RNFPBB for a while now ...good for papper punchin .

Maybe if no one has tried them ..i can shine some light on them ...I`m gonna shoot some of these animals this weekend .

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

 Good Shootin'!  But of course, all shootin' is good.

[Bristow Kid]

Never loaded any but have shot some thru my Ruger Blackhawk.  Seem to shoot fine never used them for CAS just punching paper.

[Dakota Widowmaker]

Practice ammo in the making...

I really like the 200gr RNFP bullets I get from Red River Bullets in St. Paul, MN.

For BP, I shoot 255gr big lube boolits cast by Mark Whyte. 1/2 the price of Meister "SPG" lubed and with ZERO hard fowling afterwards.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Howdy

The crimp and OAL is your 1st point, as you've already found.

Laser Cast aint 'zackly cheapos - they're good quality.  When I first went to the Darkside, the only bullets I had to use for 45 Colt (in my Colt clone or Remmie clones) was that exact bullet.  I loaded a dummy to check that it would fit/function in the 6 guns I have in 45 Colt.  It worked fine in my Ruger, my AWA 1873 Colt, my Uberti Remington 1875s, and my Rossi 1892 Winchester.  It WOULDN'T function in my Uberti 1866 Winchester 'cause of the shape of the shoulder.  As to hard or soft cast, if you MUST use smokeyless - it'll work fine.  If you decide to use those hard bullets with BP, it'll do OK, but I'd advise running a wet swab thru the gun and spraying the action after each stage to keep the fouling and accuracy OK.  Soft bullets with good BP lube and BP, of course, will work fine.

I have also done this successfully.  I'm not advocating doing this, but it's an alternative idea for you to think on.  It worked just fine for me this last weekend on about 150 rounds.  I realize that what I was shooting was RNFP bullets, NOT SWC, but this method worked using hard cast bullets, waxy smokeyless lube and BP.  In my '66 I squirted a dollop of my home brewed lube - about 1 part Beeswax to 4 parts Olive oil - yes, it's very soft, but I've had no problem with it either summer or cold, rain or shine, C&B or pan-lubed - into the chamber after loading up the magazine.  That way, when I levered in the 1st round, the bullet pushed the lube in front of it just like a C&B pistol.  It kept things lubed enough that I had NO problem shooting all 3 boxes of ammo without having to swab or spray.

Remember - a bad day shooting is better than a good day working!

SHB

[sundance44`s]

Got a chance to test fire some of these SWC bullets today ..yep i got the OAL right and the crimp ..i was really impressed or maybe i just shot well today ..they do fly good and straight ..was hitting the small bullseye 3 out of 5 shots at 15 yards ..my uasual is only maybe 1 or 2 bulls out of 5 shots with the RNFP bullets ... i call these Oregon trail bullets cheapo`s because at 24 bucks for 500 i can`t cast them any cheaper , with time involved . I`ve always used the subs like 777 or APP powder in my target loads ..just keep the windex bottle handy and a squirt every now and again on the cylinder pin and down the barrel .
Sir Charles was right on about useing a shoulder crimp ..( good call )   i was trying to go just under the shoulder and had to redo a few ...the shoulder crimp is the way to go .The Uberti Remmie Conversion cyclinder was just a tad short . The Pietta remmie conversion would be much more forgiveing .
Been thinking of loading some smokeless bullets with Trail boss this winter to shoot on the indoor range ..guess i could save these SWC `s for that use .

[Galloway]

Those bullets are about perfect for duplicating the 44colt which I believe the 58 conversions used. A 45caliber 200gr bullet.

[sundance44`s]

Had a chance to shoot another 50 of these SWC bullets the other day .. these bullets do shoot pretty good ..i haven`t tried them in my Marlin as of yet .. next time out i`ll run a few through it . Also I`ll test them from a bench against some RNFP bullets .. from shooting free hand they seem more accurate , the bench will tell the difference if any .

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

They should be accurate.  Elmer Keith designed them to be an ideal bullet for most uses, from plinking, to hunting, & to targets.  I left them for RNFP, as my 1866 in .38 Extra Long (.38 Spl.) wouldnt feed them without a bit of hesitation, as a slice of the shoulder of the bullet was squished off going in the chamber.  Otherwise i would have stuck with the Keith for most pistol uses.

[Grapeshot]

Picked up a box of 185 grain SWC's in .451 persuation once.  When I got them home, I ran them thru my Corbin Bullet Swage Machine and turned them into .454 HBRN bullets that shot real well out of my 1858 Remington w/R&D Conversion Cylinder.