I know this topic is well covered but I didn't see anything on this particular questions. My apologies if I missed it.

My Hornady manual shows copper jacketed loads for the .45 Colt that reach a published max of 1300 fps with a 300gr. jacketed XTP. My Lyman's 48th book doesn't even list 300gr. bullets, and never exceeds 900 fps with either cast or jacket in 250gr. and up.

I do understand that the Hornady lists exclusively for the Ruger and T/C, and the Lyman is bound by old revolver construction. No problem. However, I've read some folks are loading the Ruger guns to higher specs with cast bullets.

So, If I have slugged my bore, and want to buy hard cast bullets, what additional information do I need in order to purchase the right 300 gr bullet/powder combination and what publication has hard cast bullet loads for the .45 Colt that reach approx 1200-1300fps, and/or can I use the existing Lyman loads and work up in .25 gr intervals?

Briefly, some of you may have read my post in Handguns wondering about the larger caliber revolvers. I'm revisiting the issues from a different angle.

I very much appreciate your patience and help.

EMC2

You can use the same data for hardcast as those published for jacketed with no adverse effects. The lead bullets will have less barrel friction, therefore, less pressure than the jacketed.

Wanting to push cast bullets at these velocities will just about necessitate the use of copper cups for the base of the bullet and a lube that will withstand the higher temps and velocity. As you apparently know, the bullet hardness is important. Soft lead at these velocities will lead the barrel quickly.

Accurate Arms manual lists some cast bullet loads, but likewise, don't exceed about 1,030fps with any of them.

As kdub has already said, you can use the same data for lead bullets as you use for jacketed, no problem. However, leading can be a problem at high velocities with lead, as he has also noted. Sometimes a gas check is effective, and certainly worth a try. A bullet of the correct size is important, as is a bullet that's hard but not TOO hard -- a too-small bullet, or a bullet too hard to upset and fill the bore, will allow gas to go around the base of the bullet and cause lead to melt and adhere to the bore. Get everything right, though, and you'll have a very satisfying handloading experience and some GREAT ammo.

Here is some heavy lead bullet data that should give you a pretty good idea of the velocity levels you can get with a good bullet. The lead bullets in question here are most likely from CP, but you would be better off with a similar BTB because you can get them in a far wider variety of diameters.

http://www.hodgdon.com/data/pistol/45coltlil.php

Okay guys, so here's what I have so far:

1) I can use the Hornady manual switching cast for the published Jacketed bulets.

2) I need a bullet with a gas check

3) I need a good lube

4) I need to find the right hardness.

kdub, I apologize if I mislead you, but I don't know much about cast bullets and hardness.

My follow-up questions are:

1) How do I know what bullet design (meplate and No. of grooves) and hardness to try first? Is there anyone at Beartooth who can make a suggestion?

2) If I buy lubed bullets, then use an aftermarket lube, would that suffice for the higher velocities?

Believe me, I'm not about to cram powder in the case and cross my fingers, but I feel more comfortable with a starting point I can trust.

Thanks again for your patience.

EMC2

Pick a bullet weight that you want to try from BTB, they pretty much all have a large meplat, all of them use a premium lube that you won't likely improve upon and are plenty hard for anything a cast bullet is good for. The bullets are lubed and sized when you get them.

Try to slug your cylinders and bore to determine the proper bullet diameter. You'll want to have the bullets sized for .002" larger than the groove diameter of the bore. Marshall Stanton is good at working with people to size the Beartooth bullets to customer's orders.

To slug the bore, clean well and then coat with a good, heavy grease. I use wheel bearing grease. An oversize cast bullet works best, but if all you have is .45 cal bullets, use them. Marshall recommends a fishing line sinker that's oversize for the bore and I agree. The bell type sinker with the brass wire removed works great. Grease the slug, also. Start the tapered end into the MUZZLE end and keep tapping the soft lead until the majority enters the muzzle. There should be a healthy ring of lead left at the muzzle that has been cut off and left behind. Take a wooden or brass rod and continue tapping the slug down the bore. It will soon become easier to tap down bore as the rifling engraves the slug. Drive all the way out at the breech. Wipe the slug of grease and measure the highest portions (grooves of the bore) to determine the exact diameter of your bore.

You want bullets to be .002" larger than your measurement.

As kciH says, if you order BTB's you won't have to worry about bullet hardness, lube or gas checks - they'll be sized and ready to go.

This is an interesting topic of discussion. The link is to our thread in the Marlin 1894 section. You may have seen it. While discussing high performance/heavy bullet loads for the .45 Colt I found there is not a lot of specific data available to the handloader and much of it is dated. Things are changing rather fast in this area and data as recent as ten years old is pretty much obsolete.
The current Handloader magazine has what may be one of the most important recent articles written on load technique for the .45 Colt cartridge, “Proper Bullet Fit” by Dave Scovill in Handloader #237. The most important aspect of loading for a revolver is the relationship of bullet fit to chamber throat dimension and barrel diameter. Second is bullet shape (design). The weight forward LBT style bullet as sold by Beartooth bullets is by far the best cast bullet design for high performance handloading. If you can get a copy of Veral Smiths “Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets” you will reduce your learning curve considerably.
Another excellent article is “Hunting Handguns – Heavyweight in the .44, .475 and .50 Calibers” by Ross Seyfried from Handloader #203, January/February 2000.
This is followed by the article: “Understanding the .45 Colt” by Brian Pearce in Handloader #217, June/July 2002. This was followed by a small clarification in the discussion of pressure in Handloader #219, “Clarification of .45 Colt Data.”

There are three links to John Linebaughs web site in the thread linked below. One article give high performance load data that has been pressure tested by Hodgdon. The other two are on the philosophy of heavy bullet and high-pressure handloads for revolvers. All three give valuable insight in loading the modern colt cartridge.

The articles listed above give some of the latest thinking of brass strength, revolver strength, bullet construction and fit, powder selection and probably the most important subject of all, reasonable performance expectations. All of them are well worth looking up.


http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=22882

The most important aspect of loading for a revolver is the relationship of bullet fit to chamber throat dimension and barrel diameter
Ideally you will want the cylinder throats to be about .001" larger than the groove diameter. You then buy or size your bullets to match the throat diameter. One problem you may run into after slugging the bore and the cylinder throats is that the cylinder throats are smaller than the groove diameter. Generally, this will result in poor accuracy and leading. There are folks that will ream your throats to the proper diameter. Marshall has also discussed doing this yourself in this tech note: http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/59

All good information. I regularly shoot 310 to 335 grain home cast. gas checked bullets to over 1500 fps. in my 454 Casulls. When I do my part, they will group 1" to 1 1/2" at 25 yards from a rest.

One additional bit of info: tight chamber throats can sometimes cause chambering problems. My Freedom Arms 83 will not accept any cast bullet sized over .4515. The throats are so tight, the cartridge won't enter the chamber.

My Ruger (SRH .454) isn't quite so tight, and .452 works fine.

Slug your chamber throats AND your bore. Hopefully, your throat will be a match for the bore. If not, you may have to have them reamed.

You have enough info on bullet size so I won't go there but you may have to change powders as well. For example, if you're using Unique, Bluedot or Tightgroup now for the lower velocities you will likely have to go to a slower powders likr HS 6, 2900, or even W296 or H110 to get the performance you want with heavy hard cast pills.