Max load for a .45??

[Steeltrap]

Regarding the shot in the breast head on with .50 and 60 grains of 2F.  I no longer shoot at deer head on with anything.  The last one I shot head on in the breast with a Remington rifle left only white hair and a little blood in the snow.  I tracked the buck for over a mile and when I found it the buck was pawing at the base of a cherry tree looking for food.  I finished it off with a blast through the lungs.  The necropsy showed that the original bullet went under the spine and over the heart/lungs and through a few areas of the guts and was perfectly expanded back in the buck's ham near the butt.  No vitals were hit.  It would have eventually died.  The moral to this story is that whether it is a 50 round ball or a high-power rifle, the head on shot can be iffy.

Bob

I couldn't agree more.

[Daryl]

Last one I shot head-on  was slightly quartering towards me. The 400gr. .54 bullet entered just left of center and exited out through the ham. The buck, humped up at the shot,  jumped forwards onto his nose.
No meat was destroyed.
Seemed like a good shot to me.

[Steeltrap]

Finally....a day with a break from the 90+ temps and uber high humidity.  A trip to the range to shoot the .45 with the 30" barrel.

I've had decent groups with 55gr 2F, so I decided to just jump to 70gr 2F and see how that went. The rifle didn't like it. 50yd groups of 6"+.

Then I went to 70gr 3F. the rifle didn't like it. Not as "bad" as the 70gr, but not within my expectations.

So, I then dropped the charge to 65gr 2F.   Acceptable group.

Then a charge of 65gr 3F. Rifle groups opened up.

Seems this one likes 55gr of 2F, or 65gr of 2F. Doesn't really like any charge of 3F.

[Daryl]

Still using the same thin patches? M5 .45 shot 1/2" groups at 50yards with both 75gr. 3F and 85gr. 2F, using LHV lube.
.445" pure lead ball (at least 98% pure) & a 10 ounce denim patch of .021" measured wet and compressed. No wiping.
The 2F produces lower pressure than-does 3F, thus less strain on the ball and patch combination.

[Steeltrap]

Still using the same thin patches? M5 .45 shot 1/2" groups at 50yards with both 75gr. 3F and 85gr. 2F, using LHV lube.
.445" pure lead ball (at least 98% pure) & a 10 ounce denim patch of .021" measured wet and compressed. No wiping.
The 2F produces lower pressure than-does 3F, thus less strain on the ball and patch combination.

Daryl, I am still using the .440 RB's. I tell you why.....I have a physical limitation that has stolen a lot of my strength. When I was finding a load for my .54 cal I started with .530RB and then tried .535RB. I had a very difficult time trying to get the .535's to start. And i do mean difficult.

So, the .440 RB's give me "adequate" groupings for my purposes. I'm not a competitive shooter so one hole groups are not a requirement. Not to say that I don't love to shoot one hole groups, but it's just circumstances that are what they are.

[Daryl]

Thanks, I did not know of this limitation. Unfortunate circumstance, but - the smaller the ball, the more easy it is to load tight loads.

[Steeltrap]

Here's a few pics of my results. All at 50 yards with .440RB.

The short 30" barrel seems to like 55gr 2F and 65gr 2F.  But 60gr or 70gr of either 2F or 3F were larger groupings.