Big Boy 45 colt Hot ammo

[FlyingFinn]

Well Gunny, I may need some of that right size nuke info. But I'll probably start another topic for that one!

I may have reloaded off and on for a number of years. But I certainly claim no level of expertise. I'm alwayz learnin'!

I am surprised to learn in this thread that Buffalo Bore is NOT a member of SAAMI.

Hard to understand from my ignorant self of a gun buyer and user, that at least Ruger has not "lobbied" SAAMI to revisit the 45 Colt specs. Maybe Henry RA can carry that torch. If my fuzzy memories serves me correctly, I read that the SAAMI specs WERE updated to modern smokeless powders for the 45 Colt caliber in the 1950's!!

[fortyshooter]

I shoot 250-255 gr. cast lead bullets loaded with 8 to 8.5 gr. of Unique in my "weaker built" 1873 Uberti rifle .45 Colt and it is a good load that shoots well and has some punch. 9 gr. load same bullet would be fine in a beefier Henry action and easy to shoot and would take care of most field issues.

[GunnyGene]

Well Gunny, I may need some of that right size nuke info. But I'll probably start another topic for that one!

I may have reloaded off and on for a number of years. But I certainly claim no level of expertise. I'm alwayz learnin'!

I am surprised to learn in this thread that Buffalo Bore is NOT a member of SAAMI.

Hard to understand from my ignorant self of a gun buyer and user, that at least Ruger has not "lobbied" SAAMI to revisit the 45 Colt specs. Maybe Henry RA can carry that torch. If my fuzzy memories serves me correctly, I read that the SAAMI specs WERE updated to modern smokeless powders for the 45 Colt caliber in the 1950's!!

Could be. I googled SAAMI, and the last edition was 2016. But I have no clue what that consisted of in detail. https://saami.org/

[wvhills]

hope this link works, its from buffalo bore's website, you can select the ammo and click "more info"
this is on the 45 colt deer grenade, https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l ... tail&p=335
on the "Heavy" ammo they state its too long to cycle thru the Big Boy

i am pretty sure i also emailed Henry and asked about the Buffalo bore and underwood ammo for use in a BB, but dang if i can find it.. and don't want to guess what the response was..

i have not used it, loading some 270saa to the mid range pressure level, first batch was too long for the henry and had to single feed it, am deciding if i want to work on the internals of the Henry or not, but seating deeper will increase pressure, unless i reduce powder, working up a load for the Henry and my Blackhawk,,,, anyway sorry for the side track, thats all coming later... point is i have not shot the Buffalo Bore mentioned above, but i would. they also have some good tech articles in the "catagories" tab..

stay safe, as always, its your call
regards

[Travlin]

I have trouble understanding why one would buy a .45 Colt rifle and then at least think about loading it to perform like a .44 Magnum. The original 45 Colt case had a smaller rim that the ones we have today. At that time it didn't matter because the Colt revolvers that were chambered for the .45 round used a rod ejector. When colt started making the New Service double action revolver there was trouble with the extractor star slipping off of the excuse for a rim so the cartridge got a healthier rim. The old cases were of the "balloon head" design and would hold 40 grains of black powder and until the .357 came along in 1935 the big Colt round was about as good as it got from a revolver. The .44 Magnum case was designed from the start as a high pressure round. Elmer Keith and the boys at Remington and Smith and Wesson knew what they were doing.

[Chucksolo1]

Factory "Cowboy" loads are really accurate in both my BB Steel and my Armi San Marco SAA. Full power loads are fun to shoot in my BBS, but not so much in my six shooter. I love the .45 Colt cartrudge.

[Chucksolo1]

Cowboy loads shoot great in my BBS and SAA, but full power loads are NOT fun to shoot in my six shooter. Back in the day, my brother and I loaded up some .45 Colt shells at very mild power. Chronograph showed them to be at 725-750 fps. On a sunny day, you could see the bullet travel to the target. Ammo was extremely accurate to 100 yards, Unfortunately I can't remember the loading data as it was back in the early '80s!

[JEBar]

that's pretty much the same place I am in loading for our 44 Mags .... full power loads out of our Redhawk are painful to fire (arthritis) .... out of or BBS they are fun to fire .... I'm working on a light load for the Redhawk

[fortyshooter]

Cowboy loads are certainly not like the original Colt .45 load which with BP was a 250-255 gr. bullet going 850-900 FPS.
With Unique powder you can duplicate that load with 8 to 9 gr. and stay within the top of the 14,000 PSI level for Colt 45 which is safe for all modern
firearms rated for smokeless powder Colt 45.
Cowboy Action loads are milder at around 750 FPS for the Cowboy Action shooting sport where you want a low recoil round for faster repeated and accurate shots.
From what I hear the Henry lever action is same in design as the Marlin which is strong. I wouldn't see any issue with the Ruger Blackhawk type loads in a Henry rifle but NOT the 1860 Henry type or the 1873 Winchester type.

[Rifletom]

Cowboy loads are certainly not like the original Colt .45 load which with BP was a 250-255 gr. bullet going 850-900 FPS.
With Unique powder you can duplicate that load with 8 to 9 gr. and stay within the top of the 14,000 PSI level for Colt 45 which is safe for all modern
firearms rated for smokeless powder Colt 45.
Cowboy Action loads are milder at around 750 FPS for the Cowboy Action shooting sport where you want a low recoil round for faster repeated and accurate shots.
From what I hear the Henry lever action is same in design as the Marlin which is strong. I wouldn't see any issue with the Ruger Blackhawk type loads in a Henry rifle but NOT the 1860 Henry type or the 1873 Winchester type.

forty, I couldn't agree more. Just as a forum example, look at my .45 Colt loads: 250gr rnfp and 8.0gr Unique. Right about 1025-1050 fps from a 20" barrel(chronographed). Then, RR's load in his 1860 Uberti Henry. 7.0 gr Universal and a 200, sometimes 250 gr cast bullet. He's probably getting about the same MV. Not sure what his barrel length is, but, we are both on safe ground.
I won't be loading my .45 Colt any warmer than that. Any hotter, .44 mag is the answer.