Standard pressure .45 colt loads.

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Sean17

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Hi guys, so for a 1871-1872 open - top in .45 colt a lot of people say to use only standard pressure loads. But what exacly is a standard pressure load? Is most factory ammo standard pressure? Like Remington, Winchester super-x and hornady cowboy loads. What should I look for when buying ammo? Should I look at velocity or energy? Thanks for any info you can give me. If you could also give me some good factory ammo ideas that would be great.
 
Original revolver, or a repro? If it's a repro then factory ammo is fine. The factory loads are kept to a lower pressure in case they get stuffed in an original.

If it's an original, then as an open top it is likely a conversion whether factory or otherwise, then go to Blackpowder & Antiques there is a sticky there you should read through about shooting smokeless loads in antiques....OR load it up with Goex, maybe use some filler to reduce it even more (because it's an open top, just in case - watch the cases for signs of stress). Start very light if this is an original.

I strongly suggest you don't fire factory rounds through an original...at least not until you've carefully evaluated it/had your gunsmith check it using reduced loads...just my 0.02

Pressures are available on any of the load data websites (IMR for example). Watch the units though if you are comparing load pressures (CUP vs PSI) as the two are not the same.
 
I shot 100 rounds of American Eagle 45 Colt (860 FPS) and 60 rounds of Hornady Cowboy (725FPS) to get some cases for re-loading,the Hornady cases are 54 thousandths shorter than normal so if you plan to reload make sure all of the cases are the same length. The open top is not the strongest type of gun so a mild load is recommended. The maximum standard pressure is 14,000 PSI, here is a link to some good reading:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/45Colt.htm
 
Skinny 1950 said:
I shot 100 rounds of American Eagle 45 Colt (860 FPS) and 60 rounds of Hornady Cowboy (725FPS) to get some cases for re-loading,the Hornady cases are 54 thousandths shorter than normal so if you plan to reload make sure all of the cases are the same length. The open top is not the strongest type of gun so a mild load is recommended. The maximum standard pressure is 14,000 PSI, here is a link to some good reading:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/45Colt.htm
Click to expand...

So how do I know how much pressure a certain type of factory ammo is going to create? Can I tell through velocity?
 
If you go to the manufacturer's web site there should be info available for their ammo. The Uberti should be able to handle standard .45 Colt ammo unless it came with instructions to use only "cowboy" loads.
I am shooting a Uberti 1873 SAA repro and find standard .45 Colt a bit hot for comfortable shooting..the recoil being somewhat harsh. Due to the high cost of factory ammo I now reload a milder round which is still fairly powerful but a lot more pleasant to shoot.
 
Alright I think most factory ammo is standard. However I couldn't find information on the psi on any of the ammo's sites.
 
This will give you a good idea

h ttp://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

Check the load data for .45 colt (Not the Ruger etc loads, just select ".45 Colt".). Those are the pressure ranges safe for all SAA and other (ie open top) revolvers.

As I say, if it's a repro then the factory .45 stuff will be fine for you.
 
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