Henry Rifle Forums

Went down to the range today to try 3 different .45 Colt loads with my Colt 45 Carbine.
First shots were with the MB 250 gr. RNFP loaded over 8.0-8.5 Unique. My Dillon has a .2 spread when using Unique powder so all the rounds were
from 8.2 to 8.4 so I just call it 8.0-8.5 as they basically shoot about the same.

2nd round of shots were the 250 gr. XTP bullet loaded with 20 gr. of Alliant 2400 and it is at the upper level of Ruger .45 Colt loads.
They do have some punch when they hit my swinging 8 inch plates with the plate almost making a full spin around!
Speed of this round thru my Alaskan 2.5 barrel is in the 1100 FPS range but don't know what it is thru a 16.5 inch rifle barrel.

3rd round of shots was a cast 315 gr. Flat Nose bullet with 10 gr. of Unique which is another Ruger level load. You hear it good when it hits the big gong!
These rounds measured 1.635 and cycled smoothly thru the action.

All shots were from 35 yds. kneeling position.

Results.... The Hornady 250 GR. XTP looks like a winner for grouping and carrying some good power to the target!
The 250 gr. MB load is a good plinking load and might give closer grouping with some powder changes.
That fat 315 gr. Flat Nose was spread out a bit and possibly another powder like 2400 might give a better grouping result.

Anyway it was a beautiful day for a change to get out and shoot the Henry Carbine! More rain moving in for most of the week.

Looks like lots of fun! Gotta love those fat .45 colts!

Yep they would take care of most business! I may load more of the 250 gr. XTP bullets but at 18-19 gr. and see if they shoot just as well.
The ones shot today I had loaded a couple years ago for my Alaskan. They also had a good sounding blast when they went off!

That unique load with the 250 Forty is about what I get with Unique and the 250. Ive never had that much luck with Unique and the 250 in a Colt getting it to group. Are you going to try and up it to 9 and see what that does?

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:14 pm

That unique load with the 250 Forty is about what I get with Unique and the 250. Ive never had that much luck with Unique and the 250 in a Colt getting it to group. Are you going to try and up it to 9 and see what that does?

Yes I might try that. I do have some loaded already but with a different 250-255 gr. bullet.

All the 250's look pretty good forty. Any copper fouling with the XTP's? I load 8-8.5gr Unique with the same MB 250 and it's also accurate, tho I cheat with a scope. Otherwise, I'd be shot gunning 'em!

Some of the spread could be me trying to hold steady on target. Takes a round or two for me to settle down and get in the groove.

Didn't notice any fouling at all in the barrel using the bore light. Nice and clean even after the cast lead 315 gr. ammo which were last rounds fired. No bore cleaning really needed!