I have a Ruger Blackhawk in 45 colt. When a read the history of the caliber it said that most pre-WWII guns were of the .454 variety and since then are .451-.452 variety. It said that most modern factory loads were .454 but with hollow based bullets to allow them to size down to the smaller bore. Well, I had a moment of dyslexia and got that reversed in my head. I bought a box of 500 lead flat points in .454 diameter with <flat> bases. Do I need to take these to the next cowboy shoot and ditch them or will I be able to shoot them safely with moderate loads? Also, the Hornady XTPs I was eyeballing for hunting loads are avaliable in .451 and .452. Which should I use in my Marlin 1894 Cowboy lever gun?

Thanks,
Ruger#1

nevermind, I'm shelving those. I bought the right ones.. better safe than sorry.

No. 1

Should be fine to shoot if your targets tell you your gun likes them. A couple of 'thou won't present a problem.

Different caliber but same principal: In my Python, I shoot .356 in a BBWC and .358 in a Keith. Being a caster, I can try several sizes for each gun to see what it likes best. I don't remember what my SAA .45 Colt likes off the top of my head...