lead free .45 long colt ammo

[Ken Prather]

Hi all, I live in Calif and need a lead-free alternative to load in my Uberti 1873 Cattleman .45long colt when I am out hunting.

Corbon ammo seems a bit hot for the Uberti. Ami I right? Any advice? I do not load my own ammo currently.

thanks

Ken

[Ken Prather]

C'mon fellas, doesnt anyone know?

Most advice so far is that there is NO safe non-lead alternative for the lower pressure colt clones like the Uberti Catlemans... Now that is a HUGE dissapointment as I really really like this gun and would like to carry it in the woods and use it like ol' Sam Colt intended.

[oldboots]

Bummer of a problem! California seems to have no end to alternatives for gun ban legislation. Maybe, if you post this question on the Uberti forum page, someone there may be able to help.

[Ken Prather]

yep... I did finally get advice from TWO custom loaders:

1. "There is no safe non-lead alternative for the Uberti colt clone. All copper bullets create too much internal pressures even at low velocity loads..."

2 "Yes! 225r barnes all copper bullet can be loaded to 900fps and be safe for your Uberti... (but it aint cheap)

So now I need a tie breaker---which is correct? I will keep y'all informed as to what i finally discover...


hmmmmmmmm.....

Ken

[Ken Prather]

got an email from Barnes

"a .45 lc will shoot a lead free ammo , as long as the loads do
not exceed recommended pressures.

Thank you for you business, and have a nice day.

Wade Welcker
Ballistics Lab/Tech Support
Barnes Bullets"

I figure if anyone should know, Barnes should...

[bbsnowman]

I had a reloader friend of mine, cool off my corbon 225grain to 875fps.......I am legal to carry here in copper county california, and won't hurt my gun. Long live all ten of those condors
I am like you, I carry my 45lc when I am tracking and scouting.

Good Luck

[Ken Prather]

Well its good to know that I am not alone in this.

I am gonna have a custom loader make me up some Uberti-colt friendly all copper ammo. It actually ends up being a bit cheaper than the cor-bon hot loaded ammo---but not by much.

best to ya

Ken

[Ken Prather]

BBSnowman,
have you ever looked into a .45acp cylinder that would drop into your .45 long colt? Cimarron, and VTI sells them for about $110... Now I wonder if an all copper .45 acp round is easier to find?

Ken

[bbsnowman]

Hi Ken, I also carry a 45 colt commander, each gun takes turns when I go out.....I have never looked into acp cylinder. I have the corbon 45acp....and it is usually on the shelf...but it is still 50bucks. What county are you in?..........PJC

[Ken Prather]

I am in Madera County in the Mtns at the very edge of the lead ban area.

Ken

[bbsnowman]

I hunt and track in Monterey and San Benito Ca.
Send me a note @ pjcruse@hotmail.com

[jtg452]

I had an ACP cylinder fitted to one of my .45 Colt Regulators. It did NOT drop in. Fitting a second cylinder to a gun is a pain for the 'smith. Normally, he can get the headspace and gap right and then just adjust the timing a little on the gun. With the second cylinder, he can't do that without screwing up the timing of the original cylinder. It's gotta be done on the teeth of the ratchet on the back end of the cylinder.

Since you're in CA, you ought to be able to find a 'smith out there that deal with Cowboy Action guns real easily (Walker '47 down in LA springs immediately to mind) and they ought to be able to do the job more easily and maybe even better than some one that doesn't normally deal with the design.