Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 45 Long Colt opinions

Had the guy send me a pick. Maybe this helps. Also how about that price? Reasonable?

Montana that’s a handsome Ruger. I’m picking mine up Monday. If I was carrying it in Grizz country what would be recommended in the Tier II options?

What is your preferred powder for that bullet?

Thanks.

There are a BUNCH of good powders for the .45 LC.

Tightgroup, W231, Unique, Longshot all will deliver excellent results.

They seem to be very versatile, especially if you handload. Was shooting mine yesterday with a 300 grain hard cast behind 21 grains of H110. This one has taken several black bears. Barrel chopped off, makes it pretty handy!

Is that engraving on the cylinder?

This may be a stupid question…

Is it possible to change the grips from my new model Blackhawk to a Bisley style grip?

I've posted this before, and I'll post it again:

Any discussion of the 45 Colt should start with a reading from John Linebaugh’s epistle to the faithful (https://www.johnlinebaughcustomsixguns.com/writings):

“I have personally taken about 10 antelope and 1 mule deer with a .45 Colt. My boys have taken around 6 antelope and 5 mule deer with their .45 Colts. They use a 4 3/4" Colt SA and the handload is a 260 Keith cast at 900 fps. This load will shoot lengthwise of antelope and mule deer at 100 yards. In my estimation it kills as well as the .270, 30-06 class rifles if the shots are placed properly. If I were hunting heavier game I'd step up the velocity to 1200 fps and in extreme circumstances, (elk, hogs, bear) go to the 310 gr cast slug. This load, 310 at 1200 will go through elk like so much air.”

I’m not sure what’s heavier than mule deer and lighter than elk, hogs, or bear, but those are the words of the master.

The 45 Colt is good ballistically, but there are wrinkles on the logistical side. 45 Colt revolvers and ammo are classed in four tiers:

Tier I = Colt SAA and clones, which top out at 14,000 psi. It’s easy to handload a 250-grain SWC or LFN to 1,000 fps, which will meet 99% of your needs. Factory ammo is another story—you might find something like that handload, or you might only find a load with a pointy 180-grain bullet at 600 fps that will barely stay on a pie plate at 25 yards. Test and make careful notes if you have to rely on factory ammo.

Tier II = S&W Model 25 and Ruger Flat Tops, which top out around 23,000 psi. This is a 250-grain jacketed bullet at 1,100 fps, a 280-grain cast bullet at 1,150 fps, or a 318-grain cast bullet at 1,070 fps. Brian Pearce has written excellent articles about handloading to this level in Handloader magazine, most notably in April, 2007. You’ll need those articles, though, because no factory loads this ammo and loading manuals don’t cover it.

Tier III = Ruger New Model Blackhawks (NOT Flat Tops or New Vaqueros), Redhawks, Freedom Arms 97, and similar guns. These top out around 32,000 psi. You can buy this ammo over the counter. It’s expensive and recoil is fierce, but they match the hottest 44 Magnum loads with slightly less pressure. Most sources of loading data call this “45 Colt +P” or “Ruger/TC only.” These loads can destroy a Tier I or Tier II revolver, so many—but not all—of them are intentionally built too long to fit into the cylinder of an SAA or clone.

Tier IV = custom five-shot guns with longer than standard cylinders, which top out around 50,000 psi. These are a handload-only proposition. I had a couple of these guns built by David Clements, and they’ll move a 325-grain bullet an honest 1,400 fps.

The 45 Colt has a lot of romance but most of its advantages are theoretical and only pan out if you handload to Tier III or IV levels.


Okie John

They seem to be very versatile, especially if you handload. Was shooting mine yesterday with a 300 grain hard cast behind 21 grains of H110. This one has taken several black bears. Barrel chopped off, makes it pretty handy!

This may be a stupid question…

Is it possible to change the grips from my new model Blackhawk to a Bisley style grip?

I'll echo many here and say you don't need to load to max.


Have a couple 45s and a Super Blackhawk I bought in the 80s as a kid.

Dad warned me shooting that 44 too much would have bad results later.
Ran thousands of rounds through it, medium and full power.
Enough that it was getting out of time and needed a new hand fitted.

Today, if I go to the range and run many hot loads through a 44 or 45,
my elbows and shoulder hurt for days. So, the 44 240s run around 1000fps,
The 45 250/255s go around 8-900. The weight, longer grip, and double barrel length make the 44 much more comfortable.

The 45s are 4 5/8", a nice gun to carry. Shooting them with warm loads
gives a really fast recoil impulse that climbs a lot. That gets old fast for me.