Hot pistol loads in a Lever Action?

[Melnibonean]

Thinking of rolling some hot 45LC to use in my Rossi lever action. It has a slicked action for cowboy action shooting, although I don't plan on using these loads for that. More than likely for coyote or other varmints. I'm using 250 gr RN, both plated and hard cast. I have Titegroup, H110, W231, CFE Pistol and Power Pistol for powders for pistols to choose from. Rifle powders are H4198, Varget, W748 , H4895, and IMR 8208 XBR if that helps.

Any suggestions for recipes, or will I blow up the action? The Hodgdon site doesn't list the lever action family of firearms as an option for 45LC; only the Ruger and TC series.

 

[dogzilla]

The gun also comes chambered in 44 mag, and Rossi has said it will take any SAAMI 44 mag loads. The 45 colt hot loads are actually as hot as or even a little hotter than 44 mag, but the gun should take it. That said, the 45 colt loads for Ruger and TC far exceed SAAMI listings for 45 colt (as far as I know there is no standard for the hotter loads simply because someone is bound to try them in an old gun or a vaquero which could really get exciting). If something should happen to the gun, you will probably be pooched as far as warranty

 

[billdick]

They make the rifles in 454 Cassull too so I don't think it will blow up with hot 45 colt loads.

 

[Andy]

I gave the same gun. With any weight bullet, you can use full cases of powders of the SR4759 and slower burn rate, up to about H335. Otherwise, look at Hodgdon's "Strong Action" (Ruger, etc.) loads for 45 Colt. If there isn't a published 45 Colt load for your desired bullet-powder combination, you can also use 44 Mag loads (of which there are many) as a substitute.

 

[BCRider]

They make the rifles in 454 Cassull too so I don't think it will blow up with hot 45 colt loads.

There's been some discussion on the 454 rifles that they are made with a higher strength stainless steel where the blued guns are made from nice enough steel but not the sort to take a steady diet of over pressure rounds. But so far it's all been "just discussion". Rossi/Brazetech has never chimed in to say what the guns will tolerate.

The thing is that regular SAMMI max loads for .45Colt are nothing to sneeze at. Even from a pistol this is a round which could take down a horse, never mind the rider on top.

Have you ever shot a full power SAMMI spec .45Colt load? It's not by any means the soft and kindly sort of ammo that we see in cowboy action shooting. Full power, not overloaded, .45Colt ammo kicks much like a mid power level .44Mag. Such loads will easily take down a coyote, wolf or even a mid size deer. And I understand that the big cats are not that hard to take down either.

So I'd suggest you just need to load up to the top end of the regular .45Colt recipe. No need to possibly beat up the gun with the hot "Ruger and TC only" loads.

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I really like Power Pistol in 45 colt and Brian Pearce seems to like it to. I suggest you google him and 45 colt articles. 800X is a favorite of mine in 45 colt Rossi rifles for both accuracy and power. Ken Waters seemed to favor it in Winchester 94 chambered for 45 colt.
I reload 45 colt alot but hesitate to put recipes out on public forums.
JW Hardin

 

[LUTNIT]

Full power, not overloaded, .45Colt ammo kicks much like a mid power level .44Mag.

I'm not saying a .45 Colt wont take any game in North America, since it has, but perceived recoil is not a good gauge of muzzle energy. A full power .45 Colt as per SAAMI specs has 500-550 ft lbs of energy. This is hotter than most off-the-shelf ammo which is closer to 400-450 ft lbs. A regular off-the-shelf .44 mag (what I'd call "mid-power") has 750+ ft lbs and maximum handloads still within SAAMI specs are closer to 1050 ft lbs; not quite double a max .45 Colt.
These are all revolver numbers; not rifle.

That being said, both do have the ability to easily take deer-sized-game at brush-hunting distances. I'm not saying the .45 Colt is anemic and underpowered; only that your comparison to .44 mag seems slightly off.

 

[skokie]

I'd use the H110, start around 17 grains and work up from there. I shoot a Rossi 92 in .44mag, essentially the same gun with a different bore and chamber size, and I shoot 265gr bullets that are crammed into a case full (21.5 gr IIRC) of win 296 which is the same powder as h110, this load is right out of my Lyman reloading book and designed for such actions. So you should be good to go with your similar bullet weight and rifle. That aught to put the yotes in they're place!!!