Does anyone know if you can buy loaded black powder 45 colt ammo and where?

[burnt_servo]

There is a good sticky in the blackpowder/antiques section on using smokeless in BP guns. Makes for a good read.

I have read it in the past , and just briefly went over it again , and came up with this nugget of info from win 38-55 ;

" I decided that I would no longer use black powder in valuable antique rifles for the following reason: if the barrel has any pitting in it at all, even very small pits, it is impossible to completely get all the black powder residue out of those pits, with the result that the pitting will slowly get larger over the decades. "

makes sense to me .....

 

[IRUNGUNS]

I use lightly loaded cowboy action type loads in all of my BP antique Colts, even the ones with original barrels and cylinders. Keep the loads light, use soft lead and slug your bore if in doubt!

Steve

 

[Skinny 1950]

I have shot Cowboy Action factory ammo and it was copper jacketed, this I would not shoot though a gun designed for black powder.
Black Powder does not explode...it burns very fast,if you light a little pile of BP it goes poof not bang, smokeless powder has nitroglycerin in it.
Nitroglycerin is an explosive which normally requires an intense shock in order to detonate, it will also detonate under high pressure and temperature like what happens in a cartridge.

 

[Andy]

An "explosion" is caused by a rapid chemical reaction which can include rapid burning. Both black powder and smokeless powder explode because they burn rapidly.

 

[Skinny 1950]

On the weekend I took some of the black powder reloads to the range and was surprised by how powerful they were compared to some factory 45 Colt and some smokeless reloads.
A fellow shooter at the range suggested soft lead was used for the original loading of the 45 Colt and some research indicates the bullet diameter at .454" so for the SAA that the OP wants to shoot here is a load that I would suggest.
20 grains of Goex FFFG, wads to fill the space and allow some compression of the powder by a soft lead .452 round nose 230 grain bullet.

 

[BCRider]

I have shot Cowboy Action factory ammo and it was copper jacketed,........

The SASS rule book specifically prohibits any jacketed bullets. It's cast lead only. Or in the case of long range big bore rifle shooting gas checks are OK. So the ammo you found might have been light "cowboy action" loads but it would not be allowed at a match of any sort.

 

[BCRider]

I have read it in the past , and just briefly went over it again , and came up with this nugget of info from win 38-55 ;

" I decided that I would no longer use black powder in valuable antique rifles for the following reason: if the barrel has any pitting in it at all, even very small pits, it is impossible to completely get all the black powder residue out of those pits, with the result that the pitting will slowly get larger over the decades. "

makes sense to me .....

I've never seen anything to indicate that this is a widely held practice or belief. So I'd be inclined to chalk it up to one shooter's opinion. Or at most a smaller group of the black powder community.

When cleaning we scrub and flush the bore with a good amount of soapy then extra hot water. And the fouling really washes out from this treatment. Then we dry, oil and dry patch so the oil ends up enveloping and shutting off any corrosion that might occur from any slight amount of fouling in the pitting. After all, for rust to occur it requires oxygen. And even a light film of oil is enough to keep oxygen away from the metal.

If worried about it then swab the bore with a good coat of Ballistol or Fluid Film and don't dry patch until you're getting ready to go out for a shoot the night before the next time.

Part of the fun with shooting antiques is experiencing exactly what those original owners felt. You won't get that without using proper black powder.