i know it's not a great normal practice, but does anyone have info? i'm looking for a little more pep out of some 45 colt loads that i put in my 454 and 38 in the .357 i'd also be interested in a more complete burn of some powders to avoid such muzzle flash. i'll probably load some up for tomorrow, and post results if anyone is interested. does anyone manufacture info on this, or are there any websites? thanks, nate

nated,

The magnum primers are not usually necessary in the .45 Colt. If it's not burning, switch powders. The .45 Colt works swell with flake powders like Unique. It's a little smokey, but I've used it for about 30 years and always go back to it after trying the newer ball powders.

There's just something about that big old case that causes the unburned powder that you describe. Ball powders need high pressure to work right. I know some folks that love the ball powders, but I always stand back when they shoot their .45 Colt with their "great loads".

I also like to stay with the 255 SWC's, they help with the pressure and powder burning. Of course, you can always go bigger, but then you have a mortar, not a pistol.

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I do not shoot or load for handguns, so I cannot comment on them specifically. I have found, however, that in rifle cartridges, magnum primers give significantly poorer accuracy than standard ones. The only instance where I use a magnum primer is in the Weatherby magnum and larger cases. I do not use a magnum primer in the 375 H&H.

thanks guys,
i shot some of the mag primer stuff, and didn't get much (benefit) out of it. i did learn that the VV powder burnt about the same, but the bluedot left enough unburnt powder to load a case or two. the velocity benefit was about 5%, that's the same i've noticed between different large pistol primer, i.e. federal is 6% hotter than cci with the same load (in 3 limited 5 shot strings). can't say it was a success, but learning is part of the game.
eric, i too stick with the lighter rounds, out of a 5", they don't get the speed, and anything out of that colt is low enough. for defense i like the corbon 200 jhp, they come out of my raging bull at 1250ish, and explode, leaving the base to penetrate about 16" into water. thanks, nate