Lets here your suggestions for loads
I have a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley 45 colt I just purchase new
Have these bullets...
Oregon Trail Laser-Cast Bullets 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 250 Grain Lead Flat Nose

And these Cast Performance Bullets 45 Caliber (452 Diameter) 265 Grain Lead Wide Flat Nose Gas Check

I have Power Pistol and Lil Gun on hand

I shoot more of the RCBS 270 SAA (282-283 gr) with Unique than anything else. I also like W-231 with 250's for light loads, and for heavy loads, I use a 325 LFN with Lil Gun. None of that helps with what you have on hand, but I'd probably start working up a lighter load with Power Pistol and your 150's, and a heavier load with Lil Gun and your 265's.

I would pick up some H110 also, that's what I run in my Bisley for heavy loads. The Power pistol will be fine with the 250's. I've used Lil Gun, but had better luck with H110.

Thanks guys keep the suggestions coming!

335 cast performance and H110. I have found my load to be accurate in every revolver I have tried it in. Its a fairly stout load, but extremely manageable. CCI LPM primer, starline case and some h110. I'm under book max but not by much.

Way back I went through the super-heavy bullet and load craze with the 45 Colt. No more. I use the RCBS 270 SAA most in my 45 Colt's. I load them to ~1100 fps using 13 or so grs of HS-6. Easy to shoot well, plenty of power and accurate in every one of my guns. The throats on all of my 45's are cut to .4525" so I can use standard .452" bullets and not have to pay more for custom sizing. I buy from Western Bullet Company. Great quality and great prices.

I have a variety of moulds from 255 - 325 and if I wanted to simplify to one for everything 45 Colt, the RCBS 270 SAA would be it - they hit a home run with that one...

My vote for a moderate .45 Colt load is a 255 grain Keith style hard cast SWC over 10.0 grains of Unique and a standard LP primer. From a 5 1/2'' barrel, it gets right at 1000 fps. The same load should work well with either of the bullets you have.

Works very well on little critters:


Medium sized ones:


And on slightly larger ones:


and you can shoot all day with it.

I've always stuck with the old standby of 8 grs. Unique and a good 250-255 cast slug usually a flat point (got a lever in 45 as well so it helps to have flat points) but the Keith slug Lyman 454424 is a favorite for hunting with a 45.Lately for target or light loads I've been using IMR Trail boss with 250-255 gr. slugs it gives you a great advantage in that for light loads it fills the case up (don't have to worry about double charging a case) but only should be used for targets or light field use (nowhere near as powerful as unique).

I have some Old Ruger Vacqueros in .44Mag and .45Long Colt with a couple of them in Bisley mode and for the wild loads I use H110 like a lot of lads here. I've stuffed some 300g. Laser Cast bullets on top of a heap of H110 and feel like I could go hunt Buffalo with it.

Milder loads are usually the 240-250g with some of the faster burning powders that clock around 950-1050 fps. Shoot those all day. Shoot the 300g at 1372fps?......not all day!!!!

I'll be damned if I can find any Unique powder avalible any where

I am loading Universal and 250 gr cast leads and WinLP primers.

Any one loading IMR4227 thats about all that is useful that is in stock at my dealer....may have a truck coming in this week with Hogdon,Wincheester and maybe Alliant but I'll not hold my breath

I also found 2 lbs of Ramshot Sillouette in my powder cabinet but doubt that will do me any good in 45 Colt

These are powders that my dealer shows in stock

POWDER INVENTORY
HODGDON
VARGET-1# H4198-1# LONGSHOT-1# H335-1#
H4350-1# US869-1# H50BMG-1# H4831SC-1#
H4831-1# H322-1# BLC2-1# H414-1#
H1000-1# BENCHMARK-1# RETUMBO-1# TITEWAD-1#
PYRO SEL.-1# PYRO RS-1# PYRO P-1# LONGSHOT-4#
H322-8# H4831-8# H4831SC-8# LEVEREVOLUTION-8#
H100V-8# H380-8# SUPERFORMANCE-8# T7FFG-1#
T7FFFG-1# T75050 T75030 T74550
T7MAG P5050 P5030 P5460
BP5030 RP4430

IMR
4198-1# 4350-1# 4831-1# 4756-1# 4064-1# 800X-1# PB-1#
7828SSC-1# 7828-1# 4227-1# 7625-1# 8208-1# 4007SSC-1 700X-1
800X-4# 4350-8# 4064-8# 7625-8# 4756-8# 4227-8# PB-8#
4198-8# 4831-8# 8208-8# WH5050

WINCHESTER
748-1# WST-1# WFL-1# WXR-1# AUTOCOMP-1# WFL-4#
WST-4# WSF-4# 760-8# WMR-8# 780-8# AUTOCOMP-8#

ACCURATE ARMS
AA7-1# AA9-1# AA2015-1# AA5744-1# LT32-1# NITRO 100-1#
AA2200-1# AA2495-1# AA1680-1# AA4100-1# MAGPRO-1# SOLO 1000-1#
SOLO 1000-4# BLACKHORN 209-1# BLACKHORN 209-5# AA2015-8# AA4064-8#

ALLIANT
RL7-1# RL10X-1# RL17-1# RL33-1# RL50-1# PP4000MR-1#
STEEL-1# HERCO-1# 410-1# EXTRALITE-1# PROREACH-1#
PP2000MR-1# PP1200R-1# HERCO-4# RL25-5# RL10X-5#
PP1200R-8# PP2000MR-8# HERCO-8# RL17-5# RL33-8#
PP4000MR-8# PPVARMINT-8# PROREACH-8#

I've used H4227 - it's been a long time but as I recall, the 4227's are slower burning than H110/296/Lil Gun. Several of my manuals show 20 gr with 250's getting 900-1000 fps. Ken Water's Pet Loads reported good accuracy with 20 gr and 250's right at 1000 fps. Only downside I see is it takes twice as much powder to get the same results as Unique, but if that's what's available I'd sure use it. It does seem to me it might be a better choice with heavy bullets vs. light...

+1

I'm usually loading Unique or 2400 with the 270SAA from rcbs in my .45colt Bisley.

I did look at an older download of Ramshot powder and they list
Silhouette
.45 Colt 14,000psi. 255gr lead SWC
7.5gr start @ 852fps, max 9.5gr @ 953fps

.45 Colt 30,000psi 255gr lead SWC
start 11.8gr @ 1144fps, max 13.8gr @ 1322fps

That data is in their current load data too, Link here

Thanks that sounds promising

You can do about the same thing with Power Pistol as Unique. The burn rate is close

Those Oregon Laser Cast bullets, I use them with 14.5 grns Blue Dot and get just barely over 1200 fps out of my 4" FA model 97.

This would be great as I have 5lbs of Power Pistol

I have a couple loads for my 5.5" Bisley. Using a 260 BTB, I have used 10.-11.5 Unique for ~1000-1050 and 12.5 - 13.5 HS - 6 for similar speeds. Both group about the same. I lean toward the HS-6 load.

When I want recoil, I go with a 300 gr BTB and 25 gr H110 for 1275-1300. When I do my part, the 300 gr will do 1.5" at 25 yds with open sights. I've also tried 12-13 gr HS 6 under that same bullet for ~ 1100. 20 gr of 2400 isn't too shabby either and rubs about 1200.

I'm looking to do a bit more experimenting this winter. I'm looking for something a bit more sedate than my current H110 load. I have a 475 L so don't need a baby 454. I'm going to try HS-6 and 2400 a bit more and want to be in the 11-1200 range.

I dig the 45 colt.

250 grain Speer LSWC over 9 grains of Unique

250 grain Hornady JHP over 19 grains of 2400

225 grain Speer JHP over 15 grains of Blue Dot

These three satisfy all my needs for .45 colt loads

Now we have some thing to work with

Powder truck came in so Im set for a long while!

My first Ruger blackhawk .45 lived on 25 grains of Win 296 and 270 grain SWCs from an RCBS 255 grain mold. That bullet has a near-LBT meplat and knocked very large holes clear through things.

I mention that 'cause it should work with H110. It was listed as a grain under max on the list of 30,000 CUP loads.

I'm not done developing loads for my current blackhawk .45. It's doing good work with 23 grains of 296 under Speer 300 grain bullets. I've got a pile of jacketed 240-250-260 grain bullets but haven't gotten around to testing any yet.

Tom

I don't have time to look up a link right now, but Lil Gun has a bad rep for burning out barrels fast. The president of FA has posted info and ran tests to verify. I've got a bunch of it since it ran faster and was more accurate than powders like H110. Hated to hear that, but would also hate to hear about a nice new gun like a 45 Bisley be ruined for not knowing the score on Lil Gun.

I have recently acquired a 45 Bisley too, and when I get home will look up the two loads I've used with IMR4227 and H110 under a 250 Deep Curl. Both shot well.

Thanks, heard that about Lil Gun

My heavy load is 21 grains of W296 (or H110, same powder) and a 325WFN.

Loads I tried that grouped well when my 5.5 Bisley was new last year, were 23.5 grains of IMR 4227 and 25.5 grains of H110 under a 250 Speer Deep Curl using Winchester brass and Federal GM large pistol primers. Both printed 5 shots into 1.5" at 25 yards off a bag. The H110 has a deeper bark and sharper bite.

If you have a convertible ACP cylinder, 9.4 grains of Longshot sent 5 230 XTP's into an inch and a third at 25.

That's all the load development I've done for the gun so far. Haven't had a chance or material to slug chambers and barrel yet, so no hard cast till then.

I'm thinking since I've gotten some decent groups with the gun and have noticed no issues, my chambers must be acceptably sized. I'll know more about that when I slug them, I guess.

Ricky, I've discussed this with Hamilton Bowen, the renowned revolver smith, and he doesn't see this and continues to recommend Lil' Gun for the big calibers.

Granted, only a 900lb heifer but..



Works for elk too. 325-gr Laser Cast over Lil' Gun in both instances.

George, here is the link to the comments Bob Baker, the President of FA, made and process they used to verify the basis for the warning regarding LiL Gun.

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/freedom-arms-handguns-sponsored-by-freedom-arms/the-truth-about-lil%27-gun/

I do find it interesting that Bowen does not find the same an issue, but given the data from Baker, I chose not to use Lil Gun in my guns anymore. Pity as I had to rework all my Beowulf loads using 1680 and 4227, but have reasonable replacements now.

I did send a couple of emails to Alexander Arms as to whether Lil Gun was safe in the Beowulf, as they generously suggest that as one of their powders, but never got a response. I've engaged them in email and phone conversation many times before and always had a response. Could have just gotten missed, I know.

In the end it's a personal decision and I hope an unfounded one for any who choose to use Lil Gun. I'll error on the side of caution.

I've heard about a very hot flame with Lil Gun in 357 Magnums, particularly with 125 gr bullets, causing damage to some revolvers (flame cutting, etc.). I guess I've just assumed it was unique to that combo. I'd really like to learn more about this and if it is also a problem in larger bore revolvers.

I heard about flame cutting issues with Lil gun when I was shooting 460 and 500 Smiths. The light bullets in 460's with Lil Gun was supposed to be the combo to avoid. I found it interesting that FA used 180's in a 357 for their tests. Seems it caused issues with heavy bullets in their 357 too.

Well, I'm no expert on this and just relayed HB's observations. Hopefully, it's a phenomenon that's not true across a range of cartridges and bullet weights. Especially since I have a three pound can of the stuff.

It is the heat generated from lil-Gun that erodes the forcing cone at a much faster rate. It is a real problem in revolvers more so than in a contender or rifle according to Freedom Arms.

I just did a search and came up with this if anyone is interested:

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/freedom-arms-handguns-sponsored-by-freedom-arms/the-truth-about-lil'-gun/

Interesting discussion on Lil Gun with Bob Baker of FA chiming in - maybe what you're referring to? The 454 and 475 are also mentioned here as having had issues from using Lil Gun.

I guess I'll have to re-think this and look for some H110/W296, saving my Lil Gun for the 22 K-Hornet...

edit - I see this link was already posted...

H-110 is my other "slow" powder next to Lil'Gun. I have avoided H-110 as a cold weather load due to rumours of erratic behavior. Anyone have heavy bullet experience such as 300 gr JHP from Hornady or Speer, 325 gr CPBC?

I lived and hunted in Alaska for 7 years and all I used was H-110/296 and never had an issue. When loaded properly in conjunction with a mag primer I see no issue