Bad experiences with American Cowboy Ammo .45 Colt?

[rbhargan]

Not long ago we had purchased a Taurus Judge. I had been running Armscor 255 gr. cartridges through it, and while it had a bit of recoil, I was getting used to it. Recently, I switched to American Cowboy Ammo 200 gr. cartridges and immediately noticed three things,
1) The recoil was greatly reduced.
2) It was incredibly dirty (after 50 rounds my hands were black)
3) There seemed to be severe inconsistencies in the loads. I base this solely on the sound of the discharge. One at least one occasion I broke open the cylinder to make sure I had not fired a squib.

On what may be a related note, when I got home and was sorting through my collection of brass (I had also fired a lot of 9mm), I noticed bits of unburned powder on the counter where I was sorting. I suspect, but do not know, that it came from the .45 Colt ammo.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I expect that I will be doing a lot of reloading of the .45 Colt, and that should (hopefully) sort out the problem, but in the meantime I find myself with a LOT of questionable ammo. Anyone out there have a similar experience?

 

[Mgderf]

Typical of "Cowboy loads".
They are notoriously under-powered.
Their sole purpose, really, is to get splattered on steel at close range.

They are dirty because the low power cases do not properly seal to the chamber. Simply not enough pressure.

On the up side, Cowboy loaded .45Colt cases should last for dozens and dozens of reloads.

Have fun with them, but don't expect much out of .45Colt "Cowboy" loads.

 

[sloughfoot]

Mgderf nailed it. That is your answer.

FWIW, I reload a lot of 45 Colt. My favorite GP load is 7 grains of Win 231 under a 255 lead bullet. I think it is about 850 FPS or so. It is stronger than the Cowboy play actors like to shoot though.

 

[Mgderf]

Start low, but bump up the charges from them cowboy loads and eventually you'll reach a point where the cases expand enough to create a proper seal.
At that point, the accuracy will be greatly improved, but may or may not be optimal.
Once the cases seal properly, the powder will burn more efficiently, so less chance of unburned powder, and no more soot will be found on the outside of the cases.

.45Colt is one of those rounds that pays to reload.
Factory ammo is expensive, but much better ammo can be hand loaded for half price or less.
You can also load the .45Colt in everything from bunny-farts to near ".44manglum" charges.
***I have some "hot" .45Colts that are pushing a 300gr JHP to 1000fps. One of these, properly placed, will drop a deer in it's tracks.***
It did for me anyway.

***Full-disclosure- I'm running these loads in firearms chambered for the .454Casul round.
Kids, don't try this at home.