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I reload 45 acp using 230 grain fmj bullets. Can I also use these bullets to load for a 45 Long Colt gun?
45 acp/colt
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Most all .45 ACP bullets are sized to .451, & have no canalure ring (crimping groove), whereas the .45 LC bullets are minimum sized to .452 to .454, & have the canalure ring. It would be possible to load the 230's, with a very tight crimp & a little lighter load perhaps. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure accuracy would be a little eratic.
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+1
you can, but accuracy may suffer. I believe aliant powder shows some loads for the 230 gr lead RN but not the fmj in the 45 colt.
230gr lead RN runs around .452 size i believe and might work better.
Loading a 45 colt case should present no special problems other than crimp. If you check some of the threads concerning the blackhawk dual cylinder 45 colt/45acp guns, most owners say they get better accuracy out of the 45 colt cylinder.
Best answer i can give would be to load a few at moderate/medium velocity and check it out and see if the accuracy is tolerable.
you can, but accuracy may suffer. I believe aliant powder shows some loads for the 230 gr lead RN but not the fmj in the 45 colt.
230gr lead RN runs around .452 size i believe and might work better.
Loading a 45 colt case should present no special problems other than crimp. If you check some of the threads concerning the blackhawk dual cylinder 45 colt/45acp guns, most owners say they get better accuracy out of the 45 colt cylinder.
Best answer i can give would be to load a few at moderate/medium velocity and check it out and see if the accuracy is tolerable.
Yes you can as long as they are .451-452 dia. Have you tried any copper plated bullets? I load them the most for fmj/round nose rds. There a little cheaper than copper jacketed for blast'n ammo. Look for X-treme bullets, Barry's mfg. Or Rainier Ballistics. I get them in my neck of the woods at Cabela's or Sportsmans Warehouse. If you are going to shoot a lot of .45acp I would suggest getting a .45acp revolver & moon clips. Its a lot easier on the brass than a 1911. Most 1911s & other autos will put a dent on the side of every case as it ejects it. I've flared & lowered the ejection port on "The Freight Train" it helps but not 100% and you don't want to take a dremel to your new Tarus. I bought a S&W Mo.22 M1917 replica & a butt load of moon clips & love it. I don't have to pickup the brass & no dents to boot. It's kinda like a sore penis, ya can't beat it! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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What are we going to do with you, Deadeye? :lol:
The reason I asked is because I don't own a 45 LC gun right now, but have looked at a couple single actions and don't want to buy the ammo. The price is just a little higher than crazy. Would lead fouling be a problem? That's my main concern. Would a jacketed bullet solve the fouling problem?
The reason I asked is because I don't own a 45 LC gun right now, but have looked at a couple single actions and don't want to buy the ammo. The price is just a little higher than crazy. Would lead fouling be a problem? That's my main concern. Would a jacketed bullet solve the fouling problem?
Well excuuuuuuse me!!! 
Far be it from me to try to give you a few suggestions! :roll:
But just to prove I'm a bigger man than that! If you want to use a lead bullet, then find a good hard one (hard is always better than soft, just ask any woman, she will agree :lol: ). Go to castboolits.gunloads.com you can find answers to all your silly assed questions there! :lol:
Also you might consider a plated bullet (wow where have I heard that before), they are priced close to cast & no leading. There is allways the chance you can get lead fouling, its best to load a few of dif. velocities to see which work best. Even the best will leave a little lead behind. Do not be alarmed Grasshopper, lead is not that hard to clean out. When you get to the barrel just take a bore brush smaller than needed & get a copper pot scubber pad (the brand in my area is chore-boy) cut a piece off & wrap it around the brush dip it in a good solvent then shove it thru a few times. Wala clean barrel! And yes Grasshopper jacketted bullets will solve leading problem, but not the cost problem.
To find true peace you must seek the road less traveled Grasshopper! Now snatch the stone from my hand before I hit you in the head with it!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Far be it from me to try to give you a few suggestions! :roll: But just to prove I'm a bigger man than that!
If you want to use a lead bullet, then find a good hard one (hard is always better than soft, just ask any woman, she will agree :lol: ). Go to castboolits.gunloads.com you can find answers to all your silly assed questions there! :lol: Also you might consider a plated bullet (wow where have I heard that before), they are priced close to cast & no leading. There is allways the chance you can get lead fouling, its best to load a few of dif. velocities to see which work best. Even the best will leave a little lead behind. Do not be alarmed Grasshopper, lead is not that hard to clean out. When you get to the barrel just take a bore brush smaller than needed & get a copper pot scubber pad (the brand in my area is chore-boy) cut a piece off & wrap it around the brush dip it in a good solvent then shove it thru a few times. Wala clean barrel!
And yes Grasshopper jacketted bullets will solve leading problem, but not the cost problem.To find true peace you must seek the road less traveled Grasshopper! Now snatch the stone from my hand before I hit you in the head with it!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Thanks, Deadeye. :lol: :lol:
I mainly load 45 acp for my semi's. I don't know about a 45 acp revolver. I'm not sold. I'm thinking maybe the convertable though. Maybe a Bisley. :ugeek: Something more to think about though.
I mainly load 45 acp for my semi's. I don't know about a 45 acp revolver. I'm not sold. I'm thinking maybe the convertable though. Maybe a Bisley. :ugeek: Something more to think about though.
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Does the 625 require the use of moon clips?
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I'd rather have one that didn't. Then I'd have one less thing to deal with. Moon clips are the reason I've always stayed away from the 45 acp revolvers.
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the smith 625 can be used both ways-----with moon clips or without.
I use to own two mdl 625's----a 3" 625 "model of 1989" and a more curent 625JM 4". Sadly, lost both of them to pay medical bills but priorities are priorities............
Both guns were very accurate and the recoil was next to nothing in these big "N" frames. Since they are revolvers, this also gives you a lot of lee-way in your reloads as you can make them mild or stout and not have to worry about function as in an autoloader. You can also just like any revolver, use any bullet profile and not have to worry about function problems like in an autoloader.
There are several styles of moon clips and i always used the "full moon". There are some inexpensive plastic ones that are easy to load the clip and unload the clip for range use, but i always prefered the steel moons especially for street carry. The biggest advantage of the moons is it is the fastest reload available for any revolver. No turning knobs, twisting, or pushing, just drop in, close and get after it. When you eject, all 6 come out on the moon clip so policing brass is very easy and there is no damaged brass like in some autoloaders from ejection. Another advantage of the moons is for speedloader pouches. If you get an HKS size large pouch, you can stack two loaded moon clips in each pouch barrel on top of each other enabling you to carry 24 rounds in a space normally occupied by 12 rounds in two speedloaders. The loaded steel moons hold the rounds securely so if you drop a charged clip onto the ground, they will stay in the clip and not bust loose spillin' rounds.
The pain in this system is with the steel clips the round is snapped in place with a little force to load the moon itself. And to "de-moon" the clip, you either build your own little de-mooner tool(east to do) or buy one from brownell's. Re-charging a speed loader is faster than recharging a moon. Also you must pay some attention as to where you step. If you step on an ejected moon containing spent brass, you may wind up bending the moon which can cause some rotation problems the next time you charge and load that paticular moon. Easy to spot, just lay the moon on a flat surface un-charged and look to see if she is laying flat. The steel moons are cheap so no problem there.
You can shoot a smith 625 without the moons as it will headspace on the case mouth. It will fire and function but you will have to use your fingernail to pluck out the spent rounds or take a pencil and poke it thru the cylinder and eject them one at a time like a single action revolver or an old h&r revolver. Fine for the range but you lose the tactical advantage of a fast reload. The moon is there for the extractor star to have something to bite to eject the rounds. You can get around this by going to 45 "auto-rim" ammo which is nothing more than a 45acp that has a rim on it like a 38 spl. But you can't use auto-rim in an autoloader.
These guns are very accurate and an absolute joy--the downside is they are getting high dollar and used ones on the market are far and few as folks tend to hang on to them. :mrgreen:
I use to own two mdl 625's----a 3" 625 "model of 1989" and a more curent 625JM 4". Sadly, lost both of them to pay medical bills but priorities are priorities............
Both guns were very accurate and the recoil was next to nothing in these big "N" frames.
Since they are revolvers, this also gives you a lot of lee-way in your reloads as you can make them mild or stout and not have to worry about function as in an autoloader. You can also just like any revolver, use any bullet profile and not have to worry about function problems like in an autoloader.There are several styles of moon clips and i always used the "full moon". There are some inexpensive plastic ones that are easy to load the clip and unload the clip for range use, but i always prefered the steel moons especially for street carry. The biggest advantage of the moons is it is the fastest reload available for any revolver. No turning knobs, twisting, or pushing, just drop in, close and get after it. When you eject, all 6 come out on the moon clip so policing brass is very easy and there is no damaged brass like in some autoloaders from ejection. Another advantage of the moons is for speedloader pouches. If you get an HKS size large pouch, you can stack two loaded moon clips in each pouch barrel on top of each other enabling you to carry 24 rounds in a space normally occupied by 12 rounds in two speedloaders. The loaded steel moons hold the rounds securely so if you drop a charged clip onto the ground, they will stay in the clip and not bust loose spillin' rounds.
The pain in this system is with the steel clips the round is snapped in place with a little force to load the moon itself. And to "de-moon" the clip, you either build your own little de-mooner tool(east to do) or buy one from brownell's. Re-charging a speed loader is faster than recharging a moon. Also you must pay some attention as to where you step. If you step on an ejected moon containing spent brass, you may wind up bending the moon which can cause some rotation problems the next time you charge and load that paticular moon. Easy to spot, just lay the moon on a flat surface un-charged and look to see if she is laying flat. The steel moons are cheap so no problem there.
You can shoot a smith 625 without the moons as it will headspace on the case mouth. It will fire and function but you will have to use your fingernail to pluck out the spent rounds or take a pencil and poke it thru the cylinder and eject them one at a time like a single action revolver or an old h&r revolver. Fine for the range but you lose the tactical advantage of a fast reload. The moon is there for the extractor star to have something to bite to eject the rounds. You can get around this by going to 45 "auto-rim" ammo which is nothing more than a 45acp that has a rim on it like a 38 spl. But you can't use auto-rim in an autoloader.
These guns are very accurate and an absolute joy--the downside is they are getting high dollar and used ones on the market are far and few as folks tend to hang on to them. :mrgreen:
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I just looked at a 4" used one. I don't even remember the price, as I looked at few GP's and some 1911's too, but it's a Smith so it's pricey. I looked like a pretty cool gun. Big though. I don't know if I'd like it. My GP100 is the biggest frame I own.
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yep, they are between the gp and redhawk in size, but they do have that Smith double action trigger which will literally put the gp to shame. Some gp's can be smoothed up purty good, but when you doctor a smith trigger, its a dream.................
Watch out for some advertised 625's as there is a mountain gun out there and its a 45 colt not an acp............
Watch out for some advertised 625's as there is a mountain gun out there and its a 45 colt not an acp............
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Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind while browsing.
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I'm liking it more and more I think.
BH
My expierence with the Blackhawk 45 convertible has been it shoots store bought APC G&B fmj fine but is very erratic with my reloads using lead bullets. What happens is the APCs with lead sometimes won't seat all the way into the cylinder. Last time I tried my bullet puller got a good work out when I got home from the range. I think I ulled more than I was able to shoot.
The 45 LC is so much fun to shoot I am not even messing with the APC cylinder for the time being. To me it is not worth springing for the extra cost and hassel of the fmj bullets.
My expierence with the Blackhawk 45 convertible has been it shoots store bought APC G&B fmj fine but is very erratic with my reloads using lead bullets. What happens is the APCs with lead sometimes won't seat all the way into the cylinder. Last time I tried my bullet puller got a good work out when I got home from the range. I think I ulled more than I was able to shoot.
The 45 LC is so much fun to shoot I am not even messing with the APC cylinder for the time being. To me it is not worth springing for the extra cost and hassel of the fmj bullets.
Good article on .45acp revolvers.
We may have created a monster here Bounty! The voices just love doing links now! :lol:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... 1985/print
We may have created a monster here Bounty! The voices just love doing links now!
:lol: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... 1985/print
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