Slugnut wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 11:14 am
I just purchased a Henry, 45LC, All Weather. I'm wondering if you guys could give me a little insight on to which reloading bullets gives the best accuracy the Nosler .451, 250g HP or the Hornady .452, 250g. XTP ( or are the 300g more accurate ). Also with what powders. I know all rifles like different bullets/loadings, But I'd like to have a starting point, I'll be using this set-up mostly for hunting deer / bear, 100yd. max. Thank you guys for your help and experience in advance.
Be glad to help. First of all, congrats on your new rifle. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.
I've tried a lot of different bullets in mine, mostly jacketed ones. Here's what I've found:
1. Overall, the 250gr. XTP (.452) is a very consistent bullet, and can be pushed fairly hard. I've got them running up near 1700 fps, and that's what I used for deer season last year. Having said that, they really flatten out at that velocity, so I'm switching to the 240gr XTP Mag bullets for this year. They are a much tougher bullet, designed for the .454 Casull, etc., and so far accuracy seems to be good as well.
2. The 240gr Sierra JHP (.4515") is a very accurate bullet; in fact, it's what I was using when I shot the groups at the beginning of this post. It doesn't like to be pushed as fast, tho. Keep them to a max of about 1550 fps, and they shoot well. Of course, that is plenty sufficient for most things.
3. I've been somewhat disappointed in the 250gr Nosler JHP's. Maybe it's because they are only .451, but they also don't like to be pushed hard. Like the Sierra's, keep them to about 1550 fps max, and they do OK. Sometimes very well, but it can vary.
4. The 250gr Speer Deep Curl has a really, really huge hollow-point. I've only tried these on paper, and they were OK but nothing to get real excited about. I might be concerned about lack of penetration if I were to use them for hunting.
5. The 260gr Speer JHP is a decent bullet, OK accuracy-wise, but holds together well, and is inexpensive. Again, I think maybe the fact that they are .451 is an issue.
As far as powder, I've come to really like Accurate #9. I started with H110, but didn't get the results I wanted and it seemed to leave me with very dirty cases. From what I understand, it needs a real strong crimp and ignition can be an issue in cold weather. I have found that Accurate #9 gives me all the velocity and consistency I need, is much easier to ignite, and doesn't leave nearly as much soot on my cases.
Also, if you do decide to try the 240gr XTP Mags, you will find that they load a lot longer than the regular XTP's, due to the bullet profile. What I did was to trim my brass to 1.270", seat to the top of the cannelure. That gave me an OAL of 1.630", which is over the max COL for .45 Colt, but I had no problem with them cycling or firing in my rifle. Check by making a dummy round before you load any of them up.
Cheers,
Brian
