.45 Colt Henry - Load questions

[RaccoonRough]

hello,

I would like to find someone who is currently shooting a brass frame .45 colt henry in N-SSA competition who can give me some advice from beginning to end. I would really like to get mine up and going so I can participate in N-SSA repeater competition.

I live close to Fort Shenandoah, if someone would give me some advice on where to start loading for my Uberti Henry .45 colt.

Thanks

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

I shoot a .44-40 Henry so can't give you particulars for the .45 Colt variety. Every rifle is a law unto itself so you will need to do considerable experimentation to see what works best in your Henry. Do you have a bullet mould? A flat nose bullet is necessary for use in a tubular magazine. You also want a bullet with deep grease grooves (can't have too much lube). The lube needs to be soft (MCM, SPG, etc.) to keep the fouling soft. Stay away from Alox/beeswax mixes or the hard waxes found on pre-cast bullets. Have you slugged the bore to see what diameter bullet sizer you may need? Standard large pistol primers will work but I use magnum primers in my black powder loads. If you don't fill the case with powder you will need to use filler so the charge will be slightly compressed. I use cream of wheat. Due to the current lack of 3Fg GOEX, I've been using 1.5 Fg Swiss but, again, you will have to experiment with different powders and charges. Good luck!

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

[RaccoonRough]

Thank you.


I shoot a .44-40 Henry so can't give you particulars for the .45 Colt variety. Every rifle is a law unto itself so you will need to do considerable experimentation to see what works best in your Henry.


Do you have a bullet mould? A flat nose bullet is necessary for use in a tubular magazine.

I do have a few .45 molds in various weights. I have loaded cowboy action loads (smokeless) over the years for my henry, but I dont shoot cowboy action. So, I am aware of keeping it safe and using a flat nose bullet for the tubular magazine.


You also want a bullet with deep grease grooves (can't have too much lube).

yes, I am fairly sure I will need to get a 250 grain flat nose with large lube rings. I just researched and found out the dasterly bullet may no longer be available, so not sure where I will find a good mold to use?



The lube needs to be soft (MCM, SPG, etc.) to keep the fouling soft. Stay away from Alox/beeswax mixes or the hard waxes found on pre-cast bullets.

Thanks for that information. I do use a lubersizer for my smokeless ammo loading.



Have you slugged the bore to see what diameter bullet sizer you may need?

I have not slugged the barrel. So, that is something I will need to do....


Standard large pistol primers will work but I use magnum primers in my black powder loads.

I have both....


If you don't fill the case with powder you will need to use filler so the charge will be slightly compressed. I use cream of wheat. Due to the current lack of 3Fg GOEX, I've been using 1.5 Fg Swiss but, again, you will have to experiment with different powders and charges. Good luck!

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

I might try using swiss FFF? It might be cleaner....

[mike davenport]

Nate
Step 1- slug your barrel- you need to know what bore size you have
Step 2- once you have the bore size pick a flat nose bullet for team competition- note if all you are going to shoot is individuals you can shoot round nose rounds- not prefered but if you are loading singly there is no danger.
Step 3- size your bullet 1K larger than bore size- this will give you a good gas seal
Step 4- Lube that bullet with what over you use on your musket- it needs to be a soft lube that will keep the fouling soft and wipeable- as noted alox and other lubes will cause your gun to foul out after 3 or 4 shots and is a real mess to clean out
step 4- there is no need for magnum primers- use standard pistol pistol primers- do not use rifle primers as they are too hard- prime and bell your cases
step 5- load the cases - i would start out with 25 to 30 grains of what ever 3f powder you have then measure the difference of where your bullet will set and fill that space with filler - cream of wheat or frits/cornmeal work fine
Step 6- seat your bullet and crimp the round to ensure it does not creep under fire- this step is very important
Step 7- go shoot- and see how it groups- vary the powder charges and filler to find the menu your gun likes then have fun!
if you need more details just reach out
\mike davenport
dsr

[Jim Wimbish, 10395]

I have a Uberti Henry in 45 Colt. They should have a .451 bore. I used a .452 flat nose bullet of around 255 grains and decent lube rings. I used 24 grains of Goex 3f. With black powder the blow back is a significant problem, which is why the 44/40 is the preferred Henry for black powder competition. I had no blow back in my 44/40 Henry while the 45 Henry was truly bad and a mess to clean. The 45 Colt is a great smokeless cartridge and that is all I shoot in my Henry now. It has been retired from. NSSA competition. I hope someone who is shooting this gun in competition can help you out with what you need to get through a match successfully with all of the blowback. It is a real problem. I sold my 44/40 Henry and no longer shoot the Henry match.

[marv762]

Jim i shoot a 300 grain bullet in mine sized to 457. I'm still using goex 3f right now it's alot to load for but shoots a dang hole at 50 yards 22.5 grains powder then 3cc dipper of corn meal with a dry wad on top. also using spg in my lubrisizer. have picked up some swiss to try to work up something without the filler and wad. have heard that maybe 1 1/2 swiss would work. good luck.

[RaccoonRough]

Thank you Mike!



Nate
Step 1- slug your barrel- you need to know what bore size you have
Step 2- once you have the bore size pick a flat nose bullet for team competition- note if all you are going to shoot is individuals you can shoot round nose rounds- not prefered but if you are loading singly there is no danger.
Step 3- size your bullet 1K larger than bore size- this will give you a good gas seal
Step 4- Lube that bullet with what over you use on your musket- it needs to be a soft lube that will keep the fouling soft and wipeable- as noted alox and other lubes will cause your gun to foul out after 3 or 4 shots and is a real mess to clean out
step 4- there is no need for magnum primers- use standard pistol pistol primers- do not use rifle primers as they are too hard- prime and bell your cases
step 5- load the cases - i would start out with 25 to 30 grains of what ever 3f powder you have then measure the difference of where your bullet will set and fill that space with filler - cream of wheat or frits/cornmeal work fine
Step 6- seat your bullet and crimp the round to ensure it does not creep under fire- this step is very important
Step 7- go shoot- and see how it groups- vary the powder charges and filler to find the menu your gun likes then have fun!
if you need more details just reach out
\mike davenport
dsr

[RaccoonRough]

Thank you Jim....



I have a Uberti Henry in 45 Colt. They should have a .451 bore. I used a .452 flat nose bullet of around 255 grains and decent lube rings. I used 24 grains of Goex 3f. With black powder the blow back is a significant problem, which is why the 44/40 is the preferred Henry for black powder competition. I had no blow back in my 44/40 Henry while the 45 Henry was truly bad and a mess to clean. The 45 Colt is a great smokeless cartridge and that is all I shoot in my Henry now. It has been retired from. NSSA competition. I hope someone who is shooting this gun in competition can help you out with what you need to get through a match successfully with all of the blowback. It is a real problem. I sold my 44/40 Henry and no longer shoot the Henry match.

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

I'm a little amazed that Jim Wimbish was experiencing blowback in his .45 Henry. The blowback is a symptom of the case not fully expanding in the chamber. Perhaps his chamber is oversize? One thing that might help correct the problem is a heavier powder charge. He states that he is using 24 grains of 3Fg GOEX which is the same load I have used in my .44-40 Henry. The .45 Colt case has greater volume so a bit heavier charge (26 grains?) might be necessary.

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

Annealing the brass may also help mitigate blowback.

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

[FirinFlatTop]

The 45 colt case has the thickest wall of most straight wall cases. In my experience the best thing to help stop blowback is to only resize the neck, do not resize the full case, once fire formed to your gun this stopped most of my blowback. I used a Lee loader, so the de-caper and sizer are the same, i extended the de-caping pin so when I heard the primer drop I stopped, that way I was just belling the neck.
The Dick Destery bullet was made for him by Lee, came only in a 6 gang mould, the grease grove was 5 times of most other bullets I tried.
Never ran even a patch through it all weekend. the fouling was always soft.
I did find I needed a very tight crimp on the case, i got my best groups with a tight crimp.
Also I was using swiss, but went to Olde Eynsford (Goex) 30g no filler as my bullet would compress the charge.

All that being said, I was always in the top 3 with team matches. but for some reason I never did that well in the individuals with it. But could just be the shooter.

RC

[RaccoonRough]

Thanks. If only I could find that Dick Destery bullet mold!



The 45 colt case has the thickest wall of most straight wall cases. In my experience the best thing to help stop blowback is to only resize the neck, do not resize the full case, once fire formed to your gun this stopped most of my blowback. I used a Lee loader, so the de-caper and sizer are the same, i extended the de-caping pin so when I heard the primer drop I stopped, that way I was just belling the neck.
The Dick Destery bullet was made for him by Lee, came only in a 6 gang mould, the grease grove was 5 times of most other bullets I tried.
Never ran even a patch through it all weekend. the fouling was always soft.
I did find I needed a very tight crimp on the case, i got my best groups with a tight crimp.
Also I was using swiss, but went to Olde Eynsford (Goex) 30g no filler as my bullet would compress the charge.

All that being said, I was always in the top 3 with team matches. but for some reason I never did that well in the individuals with it. But could just be the shooter.

RC

[Lou Lou Lou]

Nathan, try biglube.com

[Carolina Reb]

Dick Dastardly is the originator of the Big Lube bullet. He hangs out over on the CAS forum. There is a lot of good info over there in the Henry section. I thing Accurate Molds makes a 45 cal 200 grainer that's very similar to the Lee gang mold.

[ian45662]

I have one in 45. It has been a long time since I have shot but it shoots very well with the Lee 405 grain trapdoor bullet??. Yes you read that right. It sounds crazy but that has been the very best bullet for mine. I size it down to .454 and use soft lead 40:1. I anneal the cases and only neck size them. The powder charge I used was 20 grains of goex 2F but I will be switching the load over to Swiss the winter. If nothing else works maybe try that one out and see how you like it.

[Jim Johnson]

I just finished the first year of skirmishing with my Uberti Henry in .45 Colt. It was definitely a learning experience. In the first practice sessions the Uberti became very difficult to cycle after only ten rounds. I did a tear down and found that there were metal flashings left over from the machining processes and edges so sharp that they dug into the receiver. A couple of hours with a file and stone fixed that problem.

I pulled the original front sight blade and replaced it with a taller piece of brass that would push the point of aim down enough that I could file the blade gradually to elevate the POI. I sighted mine with the sight raised instead of flat against the barrel because I though it gave me a better sight picture. The Uberti is consistently hitting four-inch tiles at 50 yards now.

I was lucky enough to purchase a flat nosed .45 Colt Big Lube 250 grain bullet mold and cast bullets at 20:1. The bullets are then pan lubed with SPG and run through a .454 sizing die.

The best results came with 22 grains of Swiss 1.5Fg and standard large pistol primers. I'm not a Cream of Wheat filler fan and the 22 grains of Swiss, 250 grain bullet, and an 1/8-inch fiber wad fill the case perfectly. The rounds are finished with a medium crimp.

I do a liquid salt anneal on the cases. Even though I hear a lot about blow back with .45 Colt, it hasn't been a problem. This one took some work to get it hitting consistently but it was worth it. Good luck.

Jim Johnson
114th Illinois and 2nd Wisconsin

[FirinFlatTop]

You don't need filler if the case is full,,, the big lube bullet fills the case, more bullet is in the case than out. I used the swiss, many years ago, but not the 1.5, might have to give it a try. I am using 3f Olde Eynsford 30g , big lube, with pearl lube,, .

Thanks RC