.45 colt Reloading for a Rifle

[Shadow]

I purchased the new H&R Classic Carbine .45 Colt at the 1500 (got a good deal $225.00)
The Barrel is 20" and im planning on making it a deer slayer?
I also picked up some 250gr jacketed flat nose bullets and new brass for it. I didnt know what kind of powder to get ,so i figured i'd wait to look it up in the reload manuals.
When i got home and looked up the .45 colt ,it only shows it in hand gun. Has anybody loaded for the rifle? What to suggest to start with and max out at?

 

[IndyGunworks]

Trailboss... no if ands or buts... its a smokless non corrosive powder thats designed to replicate the burn rates of black powder which is what the cartradge was designed for... you wont find 45lc in the rifle section, its a pistol round. find some trail boss data start in the middle and work your way up til your happy w/out going over the max. dont expect a super fast round, thats not what it was designed for. if you cant find the data let me know and ill see if i have some laying around... its a new powder so if your manuals are older than a decade is probably wont have it.

 

[Leadeye]

Can't speak for that rifle, but I have used Speer Manual #14 data for Ruger and Contender using cast lead gas checked bullets in my Henry. Really nothing that won't knock down hunted inside 100 ards or so. Don't put those loads in your Colt or replica.

 

[mospeada]

I like Hodgdon H110 for magnum type loads in longer barrels in my pistols and while I've not used it in .45Colt, there is data for it.

As mentioned earlier, you'll need to go with the pistol data as it is a pistol cartridge.

Handloads.org will have .45Colt +P loadings listed and Hodgdon's website lists Contender loadings for .45Colt. Make sure your rifle can handle these loadings!

 

[rimfire_crazed]

4227 and 5744 are also acceptable choices.

 

[bstewrat3]

I loaded for that rifle using the Hornady 240gr XTP-Mag over 24.0gr of Lil Gun for a velocity of 1700+ fps. It is not a low recoil load in the Buffalo Classic though. That crescent butt plate is a killer.

 

[Slow Hand]

Lil Gun and Hornady XTP's will doa great job on deer. You can use the Ruger/ontender loads in teh H&R. It will do everything a .44 magnum will do and a bit more. Lil gun is a great powder for pistol calibers in rifles.

 

[trip007]

45 Colt

Hornady publishes rifle data for a 255 gr FP Cowboy bullet and their new 225 grain FTX. I would recommend the FTX.

I use Trail Boss for plinking rounds in a few Rugers (revolvers). Max load for rifle is listed at 5.6 gr for 850 fps. You can do much better.

PM me an email address and I will send you what I have in a couple of MSWord docs.

 

[fireball168]

There are six different 45 Colt rifle data sources currently on www.loaddata.com.

It is worth the subscription price.

 

[Calvin]

I got one of those last year for deer hunting. I loved it. It was easy to carry all day, shot well, was fairly quiet, and killed the snot out of my deer. I used some Buffalo Bore 300g +P 1200fps ammo I got off the internet for 16.99 p/20rnds, but I plan to reload them with lead 300gr RNFP for next year.

Heavy .45 Colt/.454 Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

My only issue was not being able to see the front sight until well after first light. I'll probably use a 4x scope next year because of that.

Did I mention how light it was?