Newbie USFA Rodeo owner needs ammo recommendation

[gunsrfun1]

Hello:
I recently acquired a USFA Rodeo, 4 5/8" barrel, in .45 Colt. I am not a Cowboy Action Shooter; I had just always wanted a Colt SAA, but knowing that I could not afford one, when I saw this Rodeo in a local gun shop, I grabbed it. It appears to be unfired.
Now I need an ammo recommendation. I want to keep costs down, but don't want junk. I am planning on buying 100 rounds for starters. I'll just be using this for some informal fun shooting and plinking.
The two most popular weights seem to be 250 grain and 200 grain. At first I was looking at Ultramax, but I have since found some other brands that are cheaper. (e.g., Northern Hills Precision, etc.) Some are lead nose, some are copper plated.
Here are my criteria, from most to least important.
My #1 criteria is reliability. I don't want junk ammo that will misfire, throw fliers everywhere, or ruin my gun.
My #2 criteria is accuracy. I would like something that shoots POA/POI. I realize that all guns are different, but generally speaking, does the Rodeo like one bullet weight over the other?
My #3 criteria is recoil. The less, the better. But not if I have to sacrifice accuracy.
My #4 criteria is historical accuracy. Not sure what the actual bullet weight was "back in the day." But if I am going to play cowboy, I might as well go all the way.
And of course, I would prefer not to pay through the nose.
So ... now that you know what I am looking for, what are your recommendations on bullet weight, and brand, based on your experience with the USFAs? And if there are brands to avoid, let me know that as well.
Thanks!

[Kent Shootwell]

I shoot a 230 grain slug in my rodeos and they shoot point of aim. 230 grain is period correct for the government ammo.  I can't help you on that expensive store bought cartridges as my hand loaded ones are less then 1/3 the cost and would be my recommendation for you to start doing right away. You don't need a $500 set up to reload. A Lee loader kit is about $30 and makes fine loads.

[Pettifogger]

Any standard SAAMI spec ammo will work fine.  Generally, the heavier the bullet the more recoil.  Most of your criteria will only be known after you test fire the ammo in your gun.  On criteria #4 virtually no one that is shooting in competion is going to use original spec ammo.  (250/255 grain bullet over 40 grains of BP or a modern smokeless equivalent.)  The stuff simply has to much recoil for competition.

[yahoody]

Man up Pilgrim!

Buy some Winchester or Remington 250 gr. lead round nose factory loads and shoot them.
Yes they recoil but they will also more than likely be the most accurate thing you'll shoot from your USFA guns.

Once you get through a 1000 of them or so you can stray from the cowboy way and start shooting them pussy loads.
At least then you can say BTDT don't need no more.

[yahoody]

Forgot   Welcome to the forum! 

Most of us have shot factory and once you start shooting a lot...you'll likely want to start hand loading and then there are all kinds of options.

[Jake C]

Welcome to the forum! You can go for factory loads (I found Winchester's .45 Colt Cowboy ammo to be pleasant to shoot), but I can't recommend hand loading enough. It's a lot of fun in its own right.

[yahoody]

Hey Guns, Just busting on ya and shouldn't have.  My apologies for my rudeness.
My USFA guns  generally shoot the 230s pretty good.

Here is a list of .45 Schofield ammo worth trying.  Nothing wrong with the lwt bullets.  I shoot a lot of 160s in my .45s using the Cowboy Special case.  I have a bunch of the 45 Schofield cases just haven't bothered to load them once I got the even shorter and wimpy 160gr. loads made up with the .45 Special case.


http://www.midwayusa.com/find?dimensionids=10062

[Cholla Hill Tirador]

 I owned a USFA 45 Colt up until a few months ago. FWIW, Mine, a 5 1/2" 100% American produced example shot 250-255 gr. lead bullets at around 850 fps to the sights. Ironically, that is why I sold the revolver!
  Enjoy yours!

Cholla