Your favorite load for BBC 45LC & BBC 357?

[.38SuperMan]

I’ve recently purchased 2 new Henry BBB carbines, one in 45LC and one in 357. I’ve developed a nice mild and accurate plinking load in the 45 and I’m now working on a mild and accurate 357 load.

I keep several powders including HS6, HP38, CFE Pistol, Bullseye and Unique. I have both 38 and 357 brass and have been working up my load as a 357 but could easily switch to 38. I just plink and will never hunt, too lazy, too much arthritis and to old.

I chronographed several loads using HP38, HS6 and Bullseye. I’ve used a polymer RNFP 158 gn, unknown brand of 158 JHP and just gave 125gn XTP a try. I found my rifle likes the generic 158 JHP’s with a moderate load of HS6. Its very mild shooting, very clean and quite accurate.

Today I loaded 15 rounds of 357 with the XTP 125’s over near minimum load of HS6. To my surprise and hearing everyone rave about the xtp bullets, I wasn’t impressed at all. I shot from a rest at 50ft and got a 4 in group. Terrible! I then took 12 rounds of the generic 158 jhp’s over a mild load of HS6 and shot a 1” group with 12 rounds.

I have a lot of experience with HS6/540 in major loads in 38 super. I understand HS6 performs its best with a heavier bullet to push against and that could be the issue so before I give up on the xtp’s in my Henry I think I’ll try some other powders.

The question now, what bullets and powder combinations do you load? I’d love to come up with a load that both my S&W 28 4” and Henry like but I’m a realist and wound up with different bullets and loads for my Blackhawk and Henry 45LC’s.

Thanks for your information!

[JEBar]

we've found for 38/357 that Rose Distribution Zero bullets in 110 & 158 gr jacketed hollow point bullets are economical and perform well .... the 110's we load for my wife's Smith J Frame and Henry really like the 158's ... in the 158's we use 14.8 g or W296 or H110 ...

[.38SuperMan]

I was looking at the zero bullets earlier and the 158’s look identical to the ones I have. I bought a box of 500 25 years ago and they’re not marked as to what they are.

I’ve been on the lookout for some 296 or H110 locally but the shelves have been picked clean. When I find some I’ll pick it up. Meanwhile HS6 seems to do a great job.

Thanks!

[BigAl52]

I have about 15lbs of HS-6 so I have played with it in several calibers. Hornadys 125xtp might need to be pushed harder to perform well in the Henry. Try some 158 gr XTP with 2400 and you will see why people rave about the XTP. I like 9.2 grains of HS-6 under one of the Rose 158grhp bullets. Then I like the Rifletom load of 11.5 grs of 2400 and the Missouri Cast 180gr pugnose bullet. Try your HS-6 in 45 colt it works there t0. Im not a big fan of 296 and 110 becasue its full bore or nothing with those powders. YMMV

[Shakey Jake]

I like 2400 or h110 for my .357 loads. Both perform about the same. Using IMR 4327 for LC with 250 gr XTP. So far it's working well.

[CT_Shooter]

My Henry BBB Rifle and Uberti SAA Revolver are both chambered in .357 and I'm a big fan of ZERO 158 grain JSP/JHPs. I've worked my way through a few thousand of them.

My H110 load for those bullets is comparatively mild to most of the re-loaders here; 13.9 grains and WSPM primers. I only shoot at paper and don't really see any point in beating up my guns. They're accurate and have no recoil to speak of in the BBB and only a mild recoil in the revolver.

According to Hornady's 9th Handbook, the velocity from the rifle should be ± 1550 FPS and from the revolver ± 1100 FPS.

[Rifletom]

.38SuperMan, here's three loads I use in my two Henry's.
BB brass/20" barrel: 12.5-13.0gr 2400 and Missouri coated 158gr rnfp
BB brass/20" barrel: 11.5gr 2400 with Missouri coated rnfp. These two loads have proven very accurate in my rifles and for others. These are .357
BB steel/20" barrel: 8.0 gr Unique with Missouri 250gr . Very accurate. 45 Colt. Hodgdon Universal works well in the .45 Colt also. I just have a bunch of Unique. And it works. Enjoy your Henry's 38.

[.38SuperMan]

I have about 15lbs of HS-6 so I have played with it in several calibers. Hornadys 125xtp might need to be pushed harder to perform well in the Henry. Try some 158 gr XTP with 2400 and you will see why people rave about the XTP. I like 9.2 grains of HS-6 under one of the Rose 158grhp bullets. Then I like the Rifletom load of 11.5 grs of 2400 and the Missouri Cast 180gr pugnose bullet. Try your HS-6 in 45 colt it works there t0. Im not a big fan of 296 and 110 becasue its full bore or nothing with those powders. YMMV

9.2 gr of HS6 under the 158 jhp is exactly what I’ve found to be really good.

I have been using HS6 in my 45LC loads with a 250gr Lead polymer coated RNFP and getting great results too.

I’ve found HS6 or old 540 to be a very versatile and clean powder.

[.38SuperMan]

Loading supplies around my area are a little scarce right now. Fortunately I have a really good supply but locating a specific powder is tough. On the way to a neighboring town today I stopped into a little shop and they had one pound of H110 so I bought it. I’ve not used any H110 before so it’ll be interesting.

[JEBar]

I’ve not used any H110 before so it’ll be interesting.

until very recently manuals recommended powder charges with H110 to be the the same as those for W296 .... historically we treat them as be the same powder when loading our 357's

[.38SuperMan]

Thanks for the info.

[Rifletom]

.38SuperMan, here's three loads I use in my two Henry's.
BB brass/20" barrel: 12.5-13.0gr 2400 and Missouri coated 158gr rnfp
BB brass/20" barrel: 11.5gr 2400 with Missouri coated rnfp. These two loads have proven very accurate in my rifles and for others. These are .357
BB steel/20" barrel: 8.0 gr Unique with Missouri 250gr . Very accurate. 45 Colt. Hodgdon Universal works well in the .45 Colt also. I just have a bunch of Unique. And it works. Enjoy your Henry's 38.

btw, that .357 load above using 11.5gr 2400 uses the Missouri coated 180gr rnfp bullet. A very good load.
Sorry for the lapse there.

[Team Roper]

I was shooting mostly Unique with my 255 gr. Keith SWC in my 45 Colt Marlin and was getting good accuracy at 75 yards with it using my 4 power scope about 1-1/4" 5 shot groups. Been working with HS-6 with that bullet and have even tightened up that group to 3/4 inch to 1 inch at 75 yards. Could be I found my deer load or not because I have another mold being made for a different style bullet. Reason for 75 yards and not 100 yards is because I can't see the dang target that far with this stupid cataract.

[BigAl52]

HS 6 works good in the Colt. How much are u usin Roper

[Team Roper]

HS 6 works good in the Colt. How much are u usin Roper

To be honest, I am a tad over max because my 255 gr. Keith SWC bullets actually weigh in at around 262 grains. I worked up to 10.7 grains of HS-6 with a CCI 300 primer. Most of what I see is 10.3 is max for a 255 grainer. My avg. Velocity is 1140 fps. This is out of my Marlin 1894.

[BigAl52]

Haven’t played much with the 45 Colt its not really a caliber I have a huge interest in. That being said in no way am I saying its not a good caliber just isnt one of my favorites. I think the HS 6 load I had was at the 10.3 mark.

[bdbrown66]

I'm using Accurate #9 and 250gr XTP or 240gr XTP Mag bullets for stiff hunting loads in my 45 Colt Henry. 1600-1700 fps and very good accuracy. I've tried H110 and I like A#9 much better.

[Hunting jack]

For my AW 45LC big boy I take 45LC brass and trim it back to 1.260 Fed 155M primer 21.5g of H110 SJHP the COAL is 1.640 so it works through the action well and it flys out at 1369 FPS. This is my rainy day deer gun. Just got my 357X model when I work up a load I’ll let you know

[Rifletom]

I'm using Accurate #9 and 250gr XTP or 240gr XTP Mag bullets for stiff hunting loads in my 45 Colt Henry. 1600-1700 fps and very good accuracy. I've tried H110 and I like A#9 much better.

1600-1700 fps MV from a .45 Colt!? Isn't that a bit hard on the rifle? That's a lot of power in that chamber. Wow!

[bdbrown66]

I'm using Accurate #9 and 250gr XTP or 240gr XTP Mag bullets for stiff hunting loads in my 45 Colt Henry. 1600-1700 fps and very good accuracy. I've tried H110 and I like A#9 much better.

1600-1700 fps MV from a .45 Colt!? Isn't that a bit hard on the rifle? That's a lot of power in that chamber. Wow!

Strong loads, yes. Excessive loads, no.

The load data that I used from Western Powder was for their "30k PSI" loads, which some others refer to as the "Ruger/TC Contender" loads. Consider this: The same Henry rifle receiver/barrel is used for both the 44 mag and 45 Colt rifles. The only difference between them is the slightly larger diameter of the chamber and bore (.429 vs. .452). Given that SAAMI spec for 44 mag is 36k PSI, it is evident that the Henry rifle is plenty strong enough to withstand pressures approaching that number in 45 Colt. Working the numbers backward from 36k PSI, and adjusting for greater bolt thrust in the 45 Colt, brings us to the 30k PSI number for strong actions in 45 Colt. (Note: these are not my numbers; they have been developed by ballisticians and experts who have the proper training and equipment)

You also have to factor in the strength of the brass. Old 45 Colt brass was weak. However, Starline makes their 45 Colt brass with the same strength as their .454 Casull brass...which is well above the level needed for 30k PSI loads.

What this all means, then, is that you can get equivalent results from a strong 45 Colt load/firearm, as you can with a SAAMI-spec 44 mag load/firearm, and at less pressure (30k PSI vs. 36k PSI).

If you want further info on this, please look into the writings of John Linebaugh and Paco Kelly, who have really pushed the 45 Colt to its limits to see how far it could go. For the record, I'm not going anywhere near that far.