Colt walker 45 long colt load data

[tackdriver]

Does anyone here shoot and reload a Colt Walker with the 45 lc conversion cylinder? I am trying to double check the load I am going to use. 28g of 3F with a 250g, .454 lead bullet. Sound ok?

thx

[Muley Gil]

The original Walker load used 60 grains of black powder. I'd guess 28 grains would be safe.

[jonk]

Sounds fine, but while I don't have a conversion, I do have a .45 colt in my 1873, and 28 gr of 3f is pretty stiff. 26 gr of 2f with a wad does well for me.

[John Holland]

With the weight of a Walker revolver being some 4+ pounds it will suck up a lot of recoil!

[tackdriver]

I suppose my main concern is if 28g is enough for the 45 lc case. So many opinions online. Some say use a wad, others say fill any empty space in the case with cornmeal. Others say there is no need for anything other than the powder. Very frustrating....

[Rebel Dave]

Deffinately do not leave any airspace under the bullet. I'ts best to have a bullet that will hold LOTS of LUBE. If your bullet will not hold LOTS of LUBE, meaning the bullet should have large lube grooves... load like such..... powder, thin card wad, lube cookie, and bullet, with no air space. The lube cookie will keep the bbl fowling soft, and lube the front of the cylinder, and the arbor. Start out with a well lubed arbor using only black powder compatable lube, on the arbor. keep a spray can of Ballistoll handy to lube, and clean cylinder. It's not rocket science, but shooting black powder is lots of fun. Lots of black powder compatable lube is the key.

Rebel Dave

[bobanderson]

My problem with the conversion cylinders was that a pistol sighted in for 130 grain round balls shoots much lower than the same one with a 250+ grain bullet. If you're willing to re-sight in your gun, no problem. If you want to use both interchangeably, I came up with a neat solution.

Load .454 round balls into the 45 Colt cases with the same powder charge you used before. They shoot to almost exactly the same point of aim. I used this in our Black Powder Through the Ages Pistol Fest many times. You don't get to lube your round, but in a 6 shot event, you really don't need any. Swabbing the bore between relays is all you need. BTW, this is also an easier way to practice with your skirmish pistol as it saves time reloading at the range

That stuff about air gaps is not an issue with black powder. I shot these loads with my same 18 grains of powder with no problems. Skirmishers shoot percussion Sharps carbines with lots bigger charges of loose powder but still only a half full chamber and their guns do not get damaged.

[tackdriver]

Awww man. I wish I had knew this before I ordered my 1,000 lead bullets. I never came across this once in my research. Do you use wads between the powder and ball?

[bobanderson]

Do you use wads between the powder and ball?

Nope. I poured the charge into a primed cartridge case, seated a ball and crimped it enough so it would chamber easily.

I imagine you could insert a "wonder wad" lubed with bore butter if you wanted to. My cases were usually only about half full. If you try wads, I wouldn't leave them unfired for a long time to prevent the lube from leaching into the powder. This works like a breech loader, where each shot pushes the crud from the last one out the barrel. Unless you shoot long strings between cleanings, it will work just fine.

[RaiderANV]

I too used the same round ball in my cases that I used in skirmishing many moons ago(couple decades) and found almost the same point of aim impact. I did use a thin card wad with a lube soaked wonder wad then the round ball and slightly crimped as Bob describes. Works awesome. I used 36 grains of 3F