am new to loading for pistol. am interested in recipes for heavy hard cast bullet loads for 45 colt in a 5 1/2 bareel blackhawk. who has the best keith type bullets. what due i need to get started loading for this beast. also does should a guy get trigger and action job done on new gun and by whom, thanks in advance......

Had one, but move up to the 454 SRH though I still shoot alot of colts through it. My favorite for the Blackhawk was 20.5 gr H110/W296 under a 255 gr SWC or 20.5gr under a 300gr WFN both are stout loads so work up to them. both make great deer loads.

i bought a 45 sbh/ss-4-5/8", 2 wks ago good 265gr load 25-26gr,h110-1175fps good for deer,300gr 22.5gr,h110-1140fps deer, pigs.335-355gr 19.5gr,h110-1000fps these are not anywhere close to max loads ,the 265gr and 355gr loads shoot 3/4-1" at 25 yrds. all of these are cast performance bullets (wfngc)

[ 12-13-2002, 22:59: Message edited by: 475/480 ]

I have used H110 for most of my high pressure loads. I have been working with Lil Gun some also. For medium loads I have been using HS7. Orginial Keith bullets that have great quality can be found at Dry Creek Works 304-854-0545. For practice load I have used Meister Bullet just fine. A great information for you is at www.sixgunner.com. Under businesses you can find Dry Creek. Also click on Linebaugh Custom Sixguns. John is a very knowlegdeable man. He sent me loads that have worked great. I would recommend him if you want some gunsmithing. He is a pioneer in this area. If you read his gun notes there is alot of information there listed with his load data (DISSOLVING THE MYTH, DISCOVERING THE POTENTIAL is one of my favorite atricles packe with lots of load data). As for trigger work you can shoot the gun which will smooth it up. I like to put in Wolff Springs in them. Have Fun

Hcliff

Hcliff,

is sixgunner gone? Or has the url changed? I enjoy browsing there occasionally.

Sixgunner is still there and fine. The link in Hcliff's post dosn't work cause there is an extra period at the end, just type it in.

Watch the cylinder throats too. On most of the newer 45 Colt Rugers the throats are tight, about .449. I have a 7.5" Bisley and a 5.5" Biquero that the throats were so tight that I couldn't chamber rounds with the 300gr WFN's, they have a wide driving band in front of the crimp grove. I had to have the throats on both cylinders reamed to .453. Accuracy with jacketed bullet loads improved some and cast bullet accuracy improved a lot.

Good Shootin, LK

300stw,

In response to your question, which some seem to have ignored, I would recommend Starline brass to begin handloading. Their brass is second to none and better than anything else I have tried.

The reference to sixgunner.org is excellent advice, there you will find all the needed recepies.

As to the bullets, if you don't cast your own (and you need to) finding a genuine "Keith" bullet isn't easy. The reason most companies don't cast a true "Keith" bullet is that the shape is not condusive to mass production. You can still find genuine "Keith" designs available from R.C.B.S. molds as well as Lyman brands. However I heartily recommend Lazer Cast bullets as I shot them for years before I began casting for myself. They make a nice 300 grain bullet that will knock down practically anything with a good stiff load of powder.

As to the action, the advice of shooting it is prudent, the more you shoot the better it gets to a certain point. Any local compotent gunsmith can do a good job of lightening and smoothing up the action. And the recommendation of Wolff Springs is excellent as well. I have installed Wolff Springs on all my Rugers (6) and they are much better to shoot, more reliable and more consistent in the trigger pull. One word of caution, don't go too light on the trigger pull, 3 to 4 pounds that breaks crisply will be all you need.

300stw,

If you have the Hogdon manual #26 or #27 you have one of the best, if not the best, source for heavy (30,000psi) .45 colt loads. If not get one. Cast-performance also has data on their website. As for bullets, I would recommend LBT shapes for hunting over Keith style bullets(my preference is a 325gr. LFN). Both Cast-Performance and Beartooth bullets sell LBT shapes. I hear the LazerCast is coming out with true LBT shapes as well!

As far as action tuning goes I would find a smith that specializes in Revolver/pistol work. Or send it off to A shop such as Bowen Classic arms. A good tune does make a difference in shot to shot consistency in my opinion.
http://www.castperformance.com/

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/

[ 12-15-2002, 02:46: Message edited by: DavidReed ]

really appreciate all the info, you guys are helpful

<standard warning>
DO NOT USE THIS LOAD

I like 11g unique under 225 speer jhp in my 5.5" vaquero... just under 1200fps...

jeffe

Here's mine. Ruger Blackhawk 4 5/8" bbl.

300 gr. Beartooth Bullet; 21.5 grs. H110; new Starline brass; WW L Stan/Mag primers; chrono @ 1,105 FPS. Works fine for deer, and in a pinch, close up, I believe it would shoot through an elk.

For my "fun" shooting, it is Starline brass, 255 gr. Laser Cast bullets, 8.5 grs. Unique, WW S/M Primers, chrono @ 860 FPS. (10 grs Unique make this is good deer round, also.)

Good luck. L.W.

Sorry about the extra period. Just got back on line since Friday. I do love the LBT bullets. That is a good suggestion as is the Starline brass. That brass has stood up over many loading for me. I use LBT for hunting over the Keith. The 265 and 300 grain LBT form Cast Performace are my whitetail medicine. Keith's I use for practice, fun, and goofing off loads. You are going to have fun with load development.

Have fun

Hcliff

I have the 4 5/8" ss blackhawk in 45colt and really like it. I put a Houge Monogrip on mine. I had to make a taller front sight to work with the heavy loads. I've heard that you can get taller ones from Ruger. I use Winchester brass fro all my heavy loads, I haven't tried the starline, but the remingtons will give sticky extraction at loads below the winchester max. I've had the best luck with 320LFN's from beltmountain. as far as the action goes, in one of my gunsmithing books it gives a little trick to try. First make sure the gun is unloaded, then cock the hammer and push forward on it with your thumb to apply extra pressure, then pull the trigger, repeat many times. This will help to flatten out any rough spots on the sear. As for a lighter trigger pull, what I do is remove the grips and unhook one of the trigger springs legs. It's cheap and easy and has never given me any problems. Some say that this is not the way to go and could cause problems, but I've never heard of anyone actually haveing problems. I would stick with win 296 or H110 for all of your heavy loads. The blackhawk is strong, but not indestructable. I cracked the cylinder on mine trying to get max velocity from some 405's and switched to blue dot instead of using 296. When the brass starts getting sticky on extraction, then it's time to backoff alittle. I now have a bisley cylinder in mine and have toned down on the hot loads some.

I am a refugee from the All Vertical fiasco on shooters so this is my first post on this forum.I shoot cast(self cast) keith style Lymans in 44mag and 45 colt. I am here to tell you that after about 950-1000 fps velocity with a 250 gr cast bullet in either caliber on deer sized game, all you get is more range-read flatter shooting , not increased killing power. At 1050 fps, both my guns are slightly high at 30 yds and dead on at 75yds.The deer I have killed haven't "held" a bullet yet. these loads are a heck of a lot more fun to shoot on a regular basis and get good with than 300gr at 1300fps. The beauty of cast in big bore guns is that they don't have to expand and they penetrate like fmj so you don't have to run them that fast. Glad to be here, T-Bird

I agree that LBT style projectile is the way to go. Cast Performance would be my first choice, as shipping was very quick and quality was very good. Beartooth is also a good source but they are having a mountain load of backlog. My favorite project for the 45 Colt would be 335-grain LFN GC with a case full of H110 but this is for a custom 5-shot Ruger. I would not push it too hard if it were not a custom 5-shot Ruger. Good luck.