The fun of handloading

[CowboyT]

Inspired by one of John Taffin's papers, I just developed a "Magnum" load for .45 Colt. Yes, it's for a gun strong enough to handle it. Why not just use .44 Magnum? Because not everyone has a .44 Magnum. Some people have .454 Casulls or Ruger Redhawk/Blackhawk .45 Colts.

Now I have a stout, powerful, He-Man load that's accurate and fun to shoot! During my trials of the various charges, one guy must've been wondering, "what the heck is that guy firing??" He came and watched behind me for a little bit as I was doing firing tests. Probably thought it was .44 Magnum.

There was a marked difference, more than in other cartridges I load for, in the precision of the various powder charges. The groups tightened up very rapidly as I approached the sweet spot. After some further trials, I settled on what was the "best" all-around load, and a box of these are going to cost me what, $5.50 to make?

Handloading doesn't just save money...it's a lot of fun, too!

[zephyp]

You do make a nice load for that Redhawk...I was drooling over one yesterday...

[CowboyT]

Thanks! The load you shot--and rest assured, that won't be the last time you do so--is the light one, using Titegroup. If you like the boomers, too, then you'll definitely like this one.

It really was remarkable how much the groups tightened up as I approached the sweet spot. "Groups" ended up in "patterns" with a spread of what, 4 to 5 inches at first. "Precision" for all practical purposes did not exist; it was just awful. When I hit the sweet spot, it went right to less than an inch, like, nearly instantly. Normally it's not anywhere near that dramatic. My guess is that I hit enough powder to fully obturate that boolit and seal the chamber/bore, because half a grain past that kept the same precision.

Both size and strength/hardness of the boolit are important.

[Palladin]

Both size and strength/hardness of the boolit are important.

+1

[wrt81]

I'd like to get into reloading one day. I just don't have the space for it now (small townhouse, no garage, etc). One day though!

[zephyp]

@Cowboy - looking forward to it with relish. I'll bring my Colt 1911 and plenty of ammo next time so you can play with that for a while.

@Walt - it doesnt take much room at all to get started. If you have room for a computer workstation then you have room to set up a small bench for reloading...

[CowboyT]

@wrt81: +1 to what Zephyp said. Actually, my first "reloading" table was an old computer printer stand with a piece of plywood over it to cover the big square hole for feeding paper. It was just a test until I could get my permanent table built.

If you have a deck of any sort at your townhouse, that's what I'd recommend in your case--an old printer stand. You can wheel it out to the deck and wheel it back in.

Any questions at all, that's what this part of the forum is for. Please ask!

[zephyp]

The printer table is a good idea. And, you can clamp a reloading press alot of places. Even on a kitchen counter of kitchen table (while you're wife is out... ) -- set up the press on a block of wood and clamp it wherever you want using c-clamps. For most pistol brass this will work fine...for most rifle you will need something more sturdy like the printer table where you can bolt the press to a fixed sturdy surface.