45 Colt

[D.Hayden]

For anyone loading 45 Colt.. what's a common powder?

These are all listed that I have.. just what's more suitable?

Titegroup

W231

Clays

Or skip these and get something else?

Thanks, Dave

[Caspian_45]

Trail Boss works well. Nice light load would be in the 6 grain area for 230/250 lead bullets.

[Modoc]

Dave,

The usual questions: what firearm, type of load? I've used Trail Boss and Unique, Goex FFFg, but this is for CAS loads. Goex is the easiest, just fill a 45 schofiield case, pour into the Colt case ans seat the bullet. Unique was 6.5 gr with a Laser cast 200 gr RNFP crimped in the groove.

[D.Hayden]

I bought a cheap Tarus Judge to play with. Went to the store, saw a cannister of Trail Boss.. I thought it was empty - lol - must be like a shotgun power..

Got some 250gr bullets coming.. I won't shot it much.. just playing around

[Caspian_45]

The bottle of TB is only 9 oz. too. It's not 1 lb like most other powders. Very bulky powder.

[JD45]

Between the 3 you named, I would use the one that gives the best accuracy. I've tried them all, and it depends on the gun and other components. Unique sometimes shoots great at under 950fps.

For max "Ruger only" loads with heavy(300gr.+) bullets look no further than H110.

[h8dirt]

Of the powders you mention, I have tried Clays and TG. TG probably is the most forgiving (relative to a very small load in a very large case) but the recoil is a bit sharp (comparatively). I also tried Trailboss. TB shot well for me but, at least in my case, was prone to irregular metering due to static charges (that have never affected any other powder) hence powder not dropping cleanly in my Dillion 550B -- yes, I did all of the dryer sheet tricks, etc, but I just decided that TB was too much of a pain and moved on to Clays. Clays shoots relatively clean, meters well and, for me, was the most consistent and accurate of the powders i have tried. Others on the forum will have other experiences that you should value and evaluate as well. This forum is fortunate to have a bunch of good folks that are smart, experienced and very helpful.

Danny

[CGT80]

I like win 231 better than trail boss for 45lc. Trail boss seemed a little too light. There wasn't any recoil, but then again I'm using a 460 S&W, and the velocity was pretty slow. 231 will get you to 1100 fps or so, which is the highest velocity listed for a standard 45lc load on winchesters web site. win 296/h-110 will go faster, but it is listed for the contender guns. In my case, I have heard that a hot load in brass that is shorter than what the cylinder is made for, can be a bad thing. I figured I would load 45lc light to medium speed and just load the 460 brass for more punch.

I am using trail boss for light 460 loads since 231 isn't listed and seems like a bad idea in such a huge case. For this it shot well. 231 is my favorite powder. I use it for 9mm, 40, 45acp, 38spl, 44spl, 44mag, 45lc.....I haven't tried the other powders you listed.

[Jeff Matzka]

8.5 grains of Unique under a 255 LSWC or 250 gr. LFPRN. A nice, accurate load. Not too terribly stiff in the recoil dept., either.

[45PlottHound]

I have used Missouri 250gr lead, Hornady Cowboy 250 grain and Hornady XTP 250 grain bullets. The lead loads I usually use 5.0 grains of Titegroup for a nice soft fun range load. I have also used Power Pistol but didn't like it very much so scratched it from my records.

Now wait for it.

I do on occasion load up the 250 grain XTP's with just about 20 grains of AA5744. It is a little intimidating at first when you consider I load up my Sharps with a 405gr in a .45-70 at around 21.6 grains of 5744.

This is a Ruger T/C load and should only be used in gun with a strong enough action. It has some kick, not as bad as you would think. BTW this is a listed load in the Hornady manual, it is a few tenths of a grain below the lower listing.

That's why I stick with TG and lead.