Heavy Loads II

by Sarge , Central Misery, Sunday, November 09, 2014, 19:16 (3672 days ago) @ Sarge

My of goal 1150 fps, with the 300 grain Hornady 45 'Mag' XTP, was not selected because I believe it takes that much velocity to kill grass-eaters. Per the manufacturer, that bullet shows an expansion range of 1100-2200 fps and I simply wanted my little Ruger to get it's toe in the door.

I had a limited number of bullets and there is ample data on 300 grain bullet Ruger Loads in 45 Colt. So I went straight to 22.6 grains. I screwed up and only dropped 5 rounds in my pocket, so the numbers are for five shots instead of six. Average velocity was 1186 fps, extreme spread was 12.20 and the standard deviation was 6 fps. That's a kick-ass load for a gun with a barrel under 5” and one of the reasons I love the 45 Colt.

I repeated the four jugs/catalog test... the first two jugs were split nearly in two and the big slug bounced off the catalog and was found, semi-expanded, in the fourth jug. I don't think these are bad results for a bullet that was designed for 454 Casull velocities. I'm pretty sure it will expand crashing through a deer's shoulders but at minimum, it still becomes a full wadcutter. Maybe coming weeks will provide a field test.

I'm going to find some standard 300 grain XTP's (Hornady product# 45230) and rebuild this load around them.