high pressure 45 colt loads for a uberti yellow boy!

[quackerjack]

I was wondering if the yellow boy could handle high pressure loads and if any of you have had any experiance with this? if so were the loads you used store bought or hand loaded?

[Will]

The highest safe pressure load will be black powder. Even though the repo's are made of much better steel they are limited by the toggle link action. For my Henry I use 38 grains 3F black powder and a 250 grain cast PRS round nose flat point bullet and get rite at 1200 FPS. That was enough to drop a deer in it's tracks last year at 70 yards, with near complete penitration from upper left shoulder to lower rite abdomin.

[Will]

Oh, I load and cast my own. Average velocity for safe smokless was 900FPS. There are other powders out there that you may be able to keep the pressure down and get higher velocity, but I'm not that up on smokless powders.

[quackerjack]

thanks will, I have a friend that can reload for me so I will try out your blackpowder loads for my rifle. Thanks

[Will]

I will say that if your going to shoot black powder, more than likely you'll have to shave a little thickness off of your liffer block, the fit from factory is tight and fine for smokless, but will soon bind up from black powder fouling. The originals were a lot looser. I fixed mine by rubbing it on 320 wet or dry sandpaper on a surface plate till I had the mill marks out and then switched to 600 grit and then gave it a quik buff. I can go a couple hundred rounds without the block frezzing up, and when it starts getting a little sticky a spray of Ballistol oil keeps it freed up. Anouther shooter who has a 73' and shoots black powder took a lot more off than me and never has trouble, but I worry about taking too much off and having to buy a new lifter.

If your going to shoot black powder in 45 colt, basic rules are a case full of powder and good crimp and heavy bullet. Light loads will cause a lot of blow-by. From what I understand the 44-40 is a lot better suited to black powder in these rifles, but I already had the moulds and dies for 45 and several guns chambered in 45.

I've tried everything I could think of to stop the blow by and eventualy settled on 38 grains of powder and a heavy 250 grain soft lead bullet with big lube grove and a magnum larg pistol primer. This load is about as hot as the rifle can stand on a regular basis and makes a decent brush hunting round and keeps the blow by to a minimum. A good practice when shooting black powder is too coat the inner workings with bore butter, you won't have to tear it completly down as often.

Something I haven't tried and don't know how it'd work is an article I read on loading for the 45 bp. In the article the auther loaded blank 44-40's and fire formed them to the 45 chamber, then loaded with 45 slugs. Aparently the thinner walls of the streached 44-40 cases sealed the chamber and completely eliminated blow by. I haven't tried it because that's a lot of trouble to go through just to keep from poping the side plates off once in a while and cleaning the action. Not to mention I always loose a few hulls when shooting.

I'm willing to bet that once you try black you won't go back. :D it's just too much fun! and if you haven't tried it Ballistol lube is wonderfull stuff for cleaning.