Favorite Slugs For .45 Colt

The .45 Colt is my favorite handgun cartridge. Its voluminous case allows it to be loaded heavy in strong revolvers like Ruger’s full-size Blackhawk and Redhawk models, but it can also be loaded down to black powder velocities of .45 Schofield and lower. It’s this versatility that makes the .45 Colt such a grand cartridge.

I have a pot full of lead alloy melting in my RCBS casting furnace with an old ‘70s vintage Lyman 454424 4-cavity mold sitting on top of the pot, doing its pre-heating ritual before a casting session. There’s just something nostalgic casting with an old mold, of even older bullet design, designed by the grandfather of cast bullet shooting, Elmer Keith. It just feels right.

Filling the cavities one by one, waiting for the liquid lead alloy sprue to solidify, I strike the sprue plate with a section of hickory handle from a broken shovel. The gate swings free, cutting the sprue, and I open the mold halves, dropping shiny, perfectly cast slugs onto an old soft towel so as not to warp or dent the fragile slugs. As they cool, they will return to their original hardness, ready to be sized and lubed.

I used to size/lube the traditional way with an RCBS lube sizer and traditional bullet lube but have switched to Powder Coating (PC) because it is easier, faster and I believe provides better results while shooting. Bullets can be driven faster without fear of leading with a softer alloy, and it increases accuracy, as the slugs swell more under pressure, filling the grooves of the barrel better as they spin to freedom.

Playing Favorites

Hands down, my most used and shot .45 slug is Lee Precisions 45 255 grain RFN, or radius flat nose. Having the same profile as the original .45 Colt slug, the Lee has a slightly larger meplat, or flat, which suits me fine, as the flat transfers more energy than the original. Loaded over 8 grains of 231 drives this bullet 900fps from most guns and is one of my most accurate loads I shoot. With Lee’s 6-cavity mold, it doesn’t take long to make a pile of bullets.

Lee also makes a dandy heavier bullet with their .45 300-grain WFNGC design. Dropping out at 320 grains and loaded over 22 grains of H110 drives this bullet at 1,250fps.

RCBS/MP-Molds

Dave Scovill designed a heavier version of Elmer’s famed 454424 slug called the SAA 270 for Colt Single Action Army guns, but it shoots just as beautifully in revolvers of Ruger and Freedom Arms lineage. MP-Molds also makes an outstanding hollow point (HP) mold in this design. I’ve used my standard load of 8 grains of 231 for this bullet, as well as 20 grains of 2400 for over 1,200fps and wonderful accuracy in stronger guns.

The MP-Molds HP allows for expansion, causing a nastier wound while hunting.

Classic Keiths

Here we have two contenders, the 452423 and the 454424 designations from Lyman. The 452423 was originally made for the .45 AR but does a great job in the .45 ACP too. Dropping at 245 grains, it works wonderfully in the .45 Colt also.

The classic 454424 is a special bullet to me. I used it to take my first handgun critter, a cow elk in Idaho, as well as numerous whitetail deer. Loaded over 20 grains of 2400, the 260 grain SWC goes well over 1,200fps with exceptional accuracy. If I had to limit myself to one .45 caliber slug, this would probably be it for sentimental and nostalgic reasons. This slug also performs wonderfully with 8 grains of 231 at 900fps.

For The Love Of Casting

Do I have more .45 caliber molds that I use? You bet your sweet biffy I do. I also have several other molds in different calibers I’m quite fond of.

Once lead bullets get into your blood, you’re hooked for life. The simple, humble cast lead bullet has powers I can’t explain, but it sure feels good making, shooting and taking something with a bullet made with your own hands.

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