Loading data through the years

[JimT]

I copied this out of loading manuals I have. I went over it a couple times and I THINK I have it right, but I could have made some errors. Just warning ...

I copied .357 .... .44 Special and .45 Colt data .. and I only copied the maximum loads listed.

The Ideal and Lyman Manuals start in 1940 and progress through the 50th Lyman Loading Manual.

Handload Data Through The Years.pdf

[Bill in Oregon]

Very interesting, Jim. Funny how 2400 disappears and reappears in .45 Colt loads.

[GunnyMack]

Blue dot too has come and gone in different cartridges too.

[JimT]

Yes. And the loading of 2400 and Unique get lower and lower.

If you can find them, the early loads for the .357 Magnum were much hotter then. And the early cases used Large primers.

early357_1.jpg

early357_2.jpg

[Scott Tschirhart]

Interesting stuff Jim and it kinda parallels the decline in manhood in the general population over the same time period.

Do you think this is coincidental?

[JimT]

I never thought of it that way, but you certainly can make an application of it.

[JimT]

When I had all those .45 Colt loads tested by Hodgdon's in their pressure gun, none were over 31,000 CUP which is safe in the Ruger Blackhawk. Most of the loads were under 25,000 CUP. I shot 25,000 CUP loads in the Colt SAA (2nd generation) and in Uberti's. A lot! The loads beat up the cross-pin latch for cylinder pin until I hardened them a bit. But never hurt anything else.

My favorite "playing load" is the Keith SWC and 8.5 gr. Unique. I did not pressure test that load but I did pressure test 9.0 gr. of Unique. It was only 17,800 CUP so 8.5 is even lower.

I don't load less than 18 gr. of 2400 as it won't burn clean. I shot some with 16 gr. when the weather was cold and I got "funny" ignition. Not quite a hang-fire but it didn't feel right.

EDIT: I loaded some this last year with 15 gr. 2400 and they shot fine ... just dirty ... so maybe it was the cold weather or primers or both? Or maybe I did something wrong? But I like my standard load. I am used to it so I stick with it pretty much.

I was reading an article on reloading .45 Colt's and the guy began by complaining that the 18.5 gr. of 2400 with the Keith bullet recoiled too violently. I deleted his page at that point. So I think Scott has a really good point.

[samsi]

I was 24 or 25 when I got my first 44, but didn't start reloading for another 10 years. The first decade I shot Federal 240 jacketed almost exclusively and I don't think Federal left much performance on the table. When I got my first 45 Colt I remember being underwhelmed with the legendary 18.5/2400 load - although it was a ratty old 25-5 with enormous throats so it likely wasn't spooling up much pressure.

Phil Sharpe's book has some loads listed that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen today.

[JimT]

That standard .45 Colt load is a lot lighter than the standard .44 Magnum load for sure!

[Griff]

When my wife started cowboy action shooting with me in 1987, a fellow shooter gave her about 3K rounds of 38 Special brass... about 500 rounds of it were Large Primer. I grew to despise them if I didn't do a good job of sorting! I finally segregated all of 'em and shot them and left them lay on the ground at the police range, or she used them in a "lost brass" match. Might have 50 or so left at the bottom of one my brass bins.

[JimT]

You sound like me and the small primer .45 ACP's.

[Griff]

You sound like me and the small primer .45 ACP's.

I wanna sting up whoever came up with that silly idea!

[piller]

I have only been reloading for about 25 years, but I have noticed the lighter loads, too. I do contend that 24 grains of 2400 in 44 Mag behind a 240 grain JHP is pretty stout. That was my introduction to 44 Mag. A friend of my Older Brother liked that load. I was a skinny 112 pound 14 year old, and that load was not easy to handle for me.

[Modoc]

@Griff, I feel your pain. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of 38 Spl brass for $5 at a swap meet. I ended up with a Red Vines bucket of Peters Nickel LPP brass. They are set aside for BP CAS loads but haven’t been touched in years.

As to the original thread, I see this too and thought that it was due to better pressure testing methods and tools and changes in powder formulas. I still follow wildcatter’s methods for verifying pressure (primer dia. Growth, .200 datum measurement, velocity, etc.).