45 Colt Load in Colt New Frontier and Winchester M92

[Gunnin'Wreck]

While looking through my reloading manuals for a hunting load that would work in both my Colt New Frontier and my Winchester M92 I found a load in my Lyman Manual for a 250 gr. jacketed bullet in front of 16.5 gr. of 2400. I reduced it to 15.5 gr. of 2400 with Hornady JHP and chronographed the resulting load at 1600 fps out of my 24" barrel. The load shoots great out of my rifle (about 1" at 50 yards) which is probably as close as I can hold with open sights these days. I have used the rifle to kill a couple of feral hogs very dead with one shot apiece, so I am happy with the load for my rifle. I want to keep the rifle loads safe to use in my Colt as well, but I have not been able to find this load listed for the Colt anywhere else. The Colt has a barrelength of 7-1/2". Other loads producing this kind of velocity in rifles seem to be too much for the Colt handguns.

My questions are as follows:

- What are your experiences with loads utilizing 2400 for both of these firearms?

- Am I wrong in my comparison of other loads not attaining these kind of results?

- Does anyone have any recommendations for alternate loads for these two weapons?

Any help will be appreciated.

[BigSky56]

Check hodgdons site http://hodgdon.com/ and handloads.com http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/defau ... un&Source= .I run 2400 in a ruger and a 92 so my loads wouldnt work for your colt. I also run AA 5744 in a pistol and a 92 5744 seems to work for cast real well as you are limited by the colt you might have to make up 2 loads a pistol and rifle, I use one load it is in the 30K psi area. danny
typed hodgdon instead of alliante http://www.alliantpowder.com/

[Lefty Dude]

30K PSI will blow up a Colt or Colt Clone. The New Frontier is just a Colt SAA with adjustable sights.
Stick with Colt loads & no Plus P loads.
Unique might be your best Powder, it works for me. I load both Lead & jacketed 250 gr. bullets with Unique.

[Old Savage]

15.5 sounds like a rather mild load to me but I am surprised that would get 1600 fps in a rifle. Might check things out carefully there.

[vancelw]

Here is what Alliant has to say about Colt safe levels.


http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/ ... ulletid=70

Minimum OAL
(inches)
1.6

Bbl Length
5.5

Primer
CCI300

Powder
2400

Charge Weight
(grains)
15

Velocity
(fps)
826

[M. M. Wright]

I have a pair of 2nd gen 45s with 7 1/2" barrels and they like a case full of fffg Goex. Plenty of oomph for anything I shoot and it will work in your 73 or 92 also.

[Griff]

Although the Colt New Frontier has a thicker backstrap than the SAA, the lower front corner of the frame and, AFAIK, the metallurgy is the same. Not to mention the cylinder wall differences between the Colts and Rugers.



I don't consider the NF up to the strength of the Ruger. And, the cutout for the rear sight on the NF has always seemed, to me, another weak spot.

I have 4 SAAs (2 Colts & 2 clones), plus 2 toggle link rifles (1873 & 1860), as well as a 1892 Rossi and Browning 1885 in 45Colt. Among the 6-700 rounds I try to keep loaded, I have 2 boxes of a hundred each I have loaded to Ruger-type levels with a 240SP & 240JHP in red MTM boxes clearly labeled, "For Use in 1885 & 1892 ONLY!"

My Colts & toggle-linkks are too valuable to me to be pushin' their limits, I can live with separate loads.

[Old Savage]

When revolvers blow it is the cylinder that gives that then takes the backstrap out and often other chambers. So, cylinder strength is the key issue. I do not know if the cylinder is any bigger in the NF - my recall suggests it isn't. 15.5 is a moderate load but again a carbine will only usually gain about 300 fps over a pistol in 45 Colt. I doubt if there is much difference in the extra 4" of barrel. I would wonder what would produce 1600 fps. That would seemingly take a much heavier load than 15.5 grs of 2400.

[Griff]

When revolvers blow it is the cylinder that gives that then takes the backstrap out and often other chambers. So, cylinder strength is the key issue. I do not know if the cylinder is any bigger in the NF - my recall suggests it isn't. 15.5 is a moderate load but again a carbine will only usually gain about 300 fps over a pistol in 45 Colt. I doubt if there is much difference in the extra 4" of barrel. I would wonder what would produce 1600 fps. That would seemingly take a much heavier load than 15.5 grs of 2400.

You mean 17-½" less chamber length more barrel in his 24" rifle vs. 7-½" revolver, no? That difference plus the elimination of a cylinder gap can proved for more that 300fps increase from a revolver to a rifle. Yes, 15.5 grains of 2400 is moderate in the modern 1892, but most assuredly not in a Colt SA!

[Gunnin'Wreck]

I was trying to come up with a load for both, in case they ever got mixed up. Evidently , I will just have to be really, really careful and mark and store the loads for each separately. I generally shoot fairly light loads in the New Frontier anyway, so this will not be a problem as far as capability goes.