Bull Gear
Well-Known Member
I purchased the above intending to use it as a suppressed deer rifle. Unfortunately, I still have no confidence in its accuracy after trying a wide variety of handloads and combinations.
I was wondering if anybody has any insight/experience to share since 45 Colt is a relatively new cartridge for me. I was intrigued by it's versatility, but I'm really struggling with finding a suitable load for this Henry. I don't claim to be an expert, and I am admittedly rather new to casting, but I have been reloading for 20+ years for a wide variety of pistol and rifle cartridges and have never run into an issue like this before (unless it was with some shot-out antique junk). I have contacted Henry looking for some guidance and their recommendation was to try some factory loads. Call me a skinflint, but I am just not willing to burn a couple hundred dollars experimenting with EXPENSIVE factory loads when there is no reason that a quality handload shouldn't work just fine. I still have a few combinations to try out, but at this point I am beyond frustrated and quickly running out of ideas.
DETAILS: Testing has been done at 25, 50 and 80 yds. POI is all over the place (I'm talking inches) and it seems to change DRASTICALLY with different loads. There seems to be no discernable pattern... it might scatter or it might string diagonally and on occasion it might cloverleaf 3 or 4 and then throw a couple off and then go back to the original POI. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. I have tried a wide variety of loads... cast bullets (Lee 252SWC, RCBS 270SAA, and Lee 300GC) and jacketed (Hornady 250 & 300 XTPs), various powders (Unique, Blue Dot, IMR4227, Longshot, Power Pistol, SR4756), velocities from about 1000fps (roughly an 800fps "cowboy" pistol load out of a rifle) all the way up to 1400+, powder coated or lubed, gas check or not, etc, etc. Generally using a Vortex Crossfire red dot, but have also tried it with a scope and with the iron sights. I have tried it with and without an Octane 45 suppressor. I have slugged the bore at .452 and size to .454. Hardness is typically in the 13-18 BHN range. Many tests have been shot across a chronograph and SDs are within reason. OAL is held at 1.600" to allow for feeding. Oddly enough, Henry does not recommend bullets over 270gr, but some of those 300gr have worked just as well as anything else.
The most consistent load I have tested to date seems to be a Lee 252 SWC over 8.0gr of Unique, but I still cannot pick up that rifle and trust that I can ring that 8" gong at 80yds. This rifle should do better, but I just can't seem to sort it out and it's really, REALLY, aggravating me.
I was wondering if anybody has any insight/experience to share since 45 Colt is a relatively new cartridge for me. I was intrigued by it's versatility, but I'm really struggling with finding a suitable load for this Henry. I don't claim to be an expert, and I am admittedly rather new to casting, but I have been reloading for 20+ years for a wide variety of pistol and rifle cartridges and have never run into an issue like this before (unless it was with some shot-out antique junk). I have contacted Henry looking for some guidance and their recommendation was to try some factory loads. Call me a skinflint, but I am just not willing to burn a couple hundred dollars experimenting with EXPENSIVE factory loads when there is no reason that a quality handload shouldn't work just fine. I still have a few combinations to try out, but at this point I am beyond frustrated and quickly running out of ideas.
DETAILS: Testing has been done at 25, 50 and 80 yds. POI is all over the place (I'm talking inches) and it seems to change DRASTICALLY with different loads. There seems to be no discernable pattern... it might scatter or it might string diagonally and on occasion it might cloverleaf 3 or 4 and then throw a couple off and then go back to the original POI. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. I have tried a wide variety of loads... cast bullets (Lee 252SWC, RCBS 270SAA, and Lee 300GC) and jacketed (Hornady 250 & 300 XTPs), various powders (Unique, Blue Dot, IMR4227, Longshot, Power Pistol, SR4756), velocities from about 1000fps (roughly an 800fps "cowboy" pistol load out of a rifle) all the way up to 1400+, powder coated or lubed, gas check or not, etc, etc. Generally using a Vortex Crossfire red dot, but have also tried it with a scope and with the iron sights. I have tried it with and without an Octane 45 suppressor. I have slugged the bore at .452 and size to .454. Hardness is typically in the 13-18 BHN range. Many tests have been shot across a chronograph and SDs are within reason. OAL is held at 1.600" to allow for feeding. Oddly enough, Henry does not recommend bullets over 270gr, but some of those 300gr have worked just as well as anything else.
The most consistent load I have tested to date seems to be a Lee 252 SWC over 8.0gr of Unique, but I still cannot pick up that rifle and trust that I can ring that 8" gong at 80yds. This rifle should do better, but I just can't seem to sort it out and it's really, REALLY, aggravating me.
Last edited: