45 Colt Jacketed vs Lead? and other questions?

[oneyeopn]

Howdy;
Ok I have scanned through a lot of this forum mostly learning about 45 colt loads. I shoot a Rossi 92 rifle (24" barrel) the one with the brass frame and SS octagonal barrel. All of my reloading so far has been with Jacketed Bullets but because of all the other guns I own thats what I am used to dealing with. I have noticed that most recommendations on this forum go with lead bullets over Jacketed and I wondered why. I was taught that you find a bullet that your gun will shoot well and stick with it so that is what I do from my .54 Cal Hawkens on down. Also in a previous thread it was said that my 225 gr FTX loads were light for caliber. Hornady claims they are for the 45 colt and they really do shoot well and I do see lighter offerings. I thought 225 would be great for deer and pig when I consider I have taken a lot of both with 150gr 30 cal bullets. I see though that quite a few of you load 250 to 300 gr loads and was just wondering why. I was considering going to 240gr when I run out of the FTX's that I have. Would that still be light for caliber. I hunt and shoot in Western Kansas and most of my deer are taken between 75 and 125 yards, the pigs might go out as far as 150 so I thought staying lighter would give me the distance needed, am I wrong. I guess I am just searching for more information on the 45 colt in a rifle because of the lack of information out there. Thank You all very much for your previous help and for your responses to this.

[Terry Murbach]

MY OH MY, YOU DO NOT WANT MUCH DO YOU ??

[.45colt]

Oneeye,did you read this from our articles page?......http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/ ... vergun.htm
another must read on the Colt is at John Linebaugh's website about the .45Colt.

[Sixgun]

The only way you can get good at shooting is by....................shooting. So.......unless your last name is DuPont or Trump, cast is the way to go.

With practice comes knowledge and knowledge will get you shooting cast bullets as good or better than jacketed. No one here can give you that knowledge, you have to earn it which is done by reading and .........shooting. --------------------Sixgun

[Griff]

What Sixgun said. There's an adage that goes, "heavy, slow bullets penetrate farther that light, fast ones." It makes sense when you think of it in terms of inertia or momentum. I fought against it in my quest for better, flatter trajectory. Silly me, futile and a waste of powder, bullets and primers. Although the "shooting" of those made me a better shot, and once I adjusted my thinking much better at dealing with "rainbow" trajectories, just as accurate, maybe moreso.

As I've learned more about lead and it's properties, I think I might be about ready to tackle hunting with cast. Someone once told me that when you stop learning, you die.

But, when you look at this forum, you'll soon see that at heart you'll find a bunch of traditionalists. And very few things are more traditional than the .45 Colt w/lead projectiles! Hmmm... "Leverguns"... go figure!

[AJMD429]

I thought 225 would be great for deer and pig when I consider I have taken a lot of both with 150gr 30 cal bullets.

1. Welcome to the forum; I know you're not that new, but I've not officially said "welcome" so there it is.

2. Sectional density is why a similar bullet weight in a larger caliber may not (or may) be a better choice; the higher the SD the more penetration you should get, if the bullet construction is similar.

3. On the other hand, the meplat and/or caliber seems to have a value in 'shock' and in the size hole you make and resultant rapidity of bleeding; it seems like a .45 cal hole would not be all that much better than a .30 cal hole (it is 'only' 2.25 times the area of hole), but I think there is also an additional 'viscosity through orifice' factor that multiplies the effect of hole size, plus a threshold where the clotting process just can't cope with the injury.

4. Lead can be as hard/tough (or moreso) than most ordinary jacketed bullets on the receiving end, so the main difference seems to be how the bullet handles the rifling or any mis-match of bore to bullet diameter, and how the gun accumulates residue ('leading' or 'copper fouling') from the bullet.

5. I agree with you - find a load that works, and stick with it; I've wasted lots of (more or less fun) rangetime seeking that 'better' load when I should have been practicing with the one I had.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Welcome. Try the lead. You will give up on those jacketed bullets for fun shooting.

[oneyeopn]

Thanks for the welcome, I have been a "lurker" here since I got this little rifle from my cousin. I had "people" tell me that it is a beautiful rifle but not to consider it a hunting rifle but just a plinker. Earlier this year I bought an AR (a fun toy but not legal for larger game in Kansas) and became serious about my reloading. During my searching around on this site I found that people were using this gun as the gun it is and that not all 45 colts are weak "pretend" bullets. So I asked a couple of questions and were blown away by the responses. I bought the tools of the trade and handloaded 10 rounds using the higher power section of the reloading manuals and on another forum (which mostly deals with pistols) was told I would never achieve the book velocities, I blew those velocities out of the water and still was underpowered. I had purchased 250 rounds of over the counter ammo and it was pretty weak, it wasnt Cowboy Action Loads but hunting loads and it was still really weak. I asked a couple of more questions and now have loads that I will successfully hunt with. Cant wait to use up my OTC ammo so I can make more real ammo.
Ok I read the articles and learned a lot more than I knew, does anyone have any other articles that will help me learn about my new found favorite gun and loading for it? It says its a Puma M92 imported by Legacy, is there anyway to find out just when it was made?
Thank You All so very much.

[BigSky56]

Welcome, cast bullets 255 WFN to 100 yds long FN for more than a 100 yds you can make them or buy them as you have a brass frame I'd wouldnt load hot. A 255 cast will shoot thru a deer out of my ruger pistol at 900 fps. 2400 and AA 5744 work for me and I use hornadys 255 gr 1-20 PB bullet. Personally the ftx bullets are junk except to shoot paper. Ive taken alot of biggame with cast. even a plain base bullet with a good lube will work with no leading. good luck. danny

[magyars]

I have taken deer, boar & turkey w/ my 45 Colt lever action using a 255 SWC & a moderate load of AA#5...probably no more than 1000 FPS.

[oneyeopn]

I have taken deer, boar & turkey w/ my 45 Colt lever action using a 255 SWC & a moderate load of AA#5...probably no more than 1000 FPS.

Sir the most anemic 250 and 255 FPLRN flat point lead round nose bullets I buy when I chrono them are running 1200fps and they have no recoil plus they shoot 4 inches low at 100 yards. I am looking for something that doesnt start dropping until 150 yards (I hope) other members tell me that exists.

I probably need to expect that I am going to disagree with the purists but they only thing that I seriously dont shoot jacketed with is my muzzleloaders.

[Terry Murbach]

I have taken deer, boar & turkey w/ my 45 Colt lever action using a 255 SWC & a moderate load of AA#5...probably no more than 1000 FPS.

Sir the most anemic 250 and 255 FPLRN flat point lead round nose bullets I buy when I chrono them are running 1200fps and they have no recoil plus they shoot 4 inches low at 100 yards. I am looking for something that doesnt start dropping until 150 yards (I hope) other members tell me that exists.

I probably need to expect that I am going to disagree with the purists but they only thing that I seriously dont shoot jacketed with is my muzzleloaders.

YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD WRONG !!! EVERY BULLET THAT DEPARTS A BARREL IS POINTED UP---UP!!!---BECAUSE GRAVITY BEGINS PULLING IT DOWN THE INSTANT IT LEAVES THE MUZZLE. FURTHERMORE, ALL YOU NEED DO IS RAISE YOUR REAR SIGHT A FEW THOUSANDS OF AN INCH TO BRING THE BULLET UP TO CENTER FROM FOUR[4"]INCHES LOW AT ONE HUNDRED YARDS.
YOU ARE ALSO ASKING FOR THAT THAT WHICH CANNOT BE ACCOMPLISHED, A 1200fps SLUG THAT SHOOTS " FLAT" AND BEGINS TO DROP AT ONEHUNDRED AND FIFTY[150] YARDS. THIS OF COURSE ASSUMES YOU ARE NOT SHOOTING ROCKET PROPELLED PROJECTILES.
AND SO IT GOES...

[vancelw]

what TERRY said!

A .45 Colt rifle, when loaded with the right stuff and properly aimed, (and used within its effective range) is perfectly okay for whitetail or mule deer, not to mention hogs, coyotes, etc. I won't shoot a deer over 150 yards because at that range its hard for me to tell if its 135 or 165 yards, and the drop is beginning to be enough to change a killing shot into a wounding shot. Most deer I've shot under 100 yards are a through and through with the deer dropping within a few yards. I even killed a whitetail buck last fall with a SAA using cowboy loads at 40 yards. He sure didn't know the gun is inadequate

[oneyeopn]

this is the kind of information I need to hear. No one that I know hunt with this caliber, and only during handicap season will I have the opportunity for shots this close. So Thank You and I will adjust my sight up!