Cowboy action shooting is heaven for the Black Powder Cowboy. Original black powder cowboy cartridges are still popular today, and none conjure up as many images of the past as does the 45 Colt.<\p>

The 45 Colt was introduced in 1873 as the pistol cartridge for Colt's legendary Peacemaker. The 45 Colt was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1875, and remained the official pistol cartridge for the next 17 years, when it was finally replaced by the 38 Long Colt. My reference book, Cartridges of the World, describe the original 45 Colt loading as 40 grains of FFg black powder with a 255 grain lead bullet. Muzzle velocity of this load was about 810 feet per second.

Years ago I remember my father-in-law (an Old West history buff) telling me that the original 45 Colt load proved to be too much for the Army, and that it had been reduced. Sure enough. I have an original copy of Description and Rules for the Management of the Springfield Rifle, Carbine, and Army Revolvers, Caliber .45, edition of 1898, and it describes the 45 Colt as containing 28 grains of powder with a 230 grain bullet (also the same load for the S & W Schofield).

Original U.S. Army tests with the 45 Colt and Colt's Army Revolver concluded, "This arm may be fired 18 times in one minute and fifty-four seconds, beginning and ending with chambers empty." Original notes on accuracy describe the 45 Colt at 50 yards, 12 rounds, grouping with a "mean horizontal" spread of 4.2 inches and a "mean vertical" spread of 3.3 inches. Velocity was reported at 730 feet per second.

Curiosity is a wonderful thing, and the Black Powder Cowboy just had to know how the 45 Colt would shoot today. After all, the brass has changed (the old balloon head cases are gone), the powder is a bit different, and so are the primers. Additionally, we have fine black powder substitutes such as Pyrodex to add to our choice of propellants.

With chronograph in hand, and all the 45 Colt chambered pistols and rifles I could borrow, I set out for the range. I used SPG lube, CCI large magnum pistol primers, and hand cast a 255 round nose flat point bullet from an old Ideal mould. Alloy was Lyman #2; hard, but not linotype hard. I developed 7 different loads, and tested the same load in rifle and pistol. The pistol was fired at 25 yards and the rifle at 60 yards. The pistol was a Ruger Vaquero with 5 1/2 inch barrel, and the rifle was an Uberti 1873 with 24 inch barrel.

Load One.
Pistol. The first load consisted of approximately (remember, all loads are by volume, not weight) 35 grains of FFg. The high velocity was 821 feet per second (fps) and the low was 800 fps. With a standard deviation of 9.0, this was the most consistent load tested in the pistol. My five shot group measured 2 inches. This load chronographed very close to the original.

Rifle. The same load in the rifle did pretty well. High velocity was 1130 and low velocity was 1051. Accuracy was marginally acceptable, grouping into 3 inches at 60 yards.

Load Two.
Pistol. The second load consisted of 36 grains of FFFg. As expected, velocity increased with the smaller particle size. The high velocity was 890 feet per second; the low was 798. The velocity spread was pretty great, four shots grouped within an inch with a 5th (flyer) out at about 3 inches. This was a pretty stout load, and I was grateful that all my firearms were of modern manufacture, even with black powder pressures. This load was a significant increase over the original.

Rifle. This load might be worth some additional work in the rifle. It was very consistent, with a high velocity of 1146 fps, and a low of 1104. It shot a little high of point of aim, and the 5 shot group itself was nearly 5 inches...but the first three shot into an inch.

Load Three.
Pistol. The next load consisted of about 35 grains of Goex 'cartridge' grade black powder. This new powder is 'enhanced' to burn cleaner, but tests proved this to be a powder for rifles, not pistols. High velocity was 775 feet per second, and low was 706. Accuracy was poor, with the group measuring about 5 inches.

Rifle. I was disappointed with Goex cartridge in the rifle. Perhaps it needs a case with greater volume. It shot at 1063 fps high, and 974 fps low. The group was about 6 inches and not acceptable for cowboy action shooting.

Load Four.
Pistol. At this point, I switched to Pyrodex. My first load consisted of about 27 grains of Pyrodex Cartridge grade powder. Though lighter than black powder when compared to an equivalent volume of Pyrodex, Hodgdon's black powder substitute is definitely more powerful. This load chronographed a high of 1023 feet per second and a low of 991. It was the most consistent of all Pyrodex loads tested, but accuracy was only marginal, grouping about 3 1/2 inches at 25 yards.

Rifle. This load in the rifle was the most impressive of all tested. It propelled the big 255 grain bullet at an average of 1291 fps! The group at 60 yards measured 2 inches.

Load Five.
Pistol. The next load was about 26 grains of Pyrodex RS, the FFg equivalent. It recorded a high of 950 feet per second and a low of 882. Accuracy was fair, grouping at about 2 1/2 inches at 25 yards.

Rifle. With a high velocity of 1221 fps, this load grouped about 2 inches at 60 yards, 3 shots into just .5 inch!

Load Six.
Pistol. Next was 25 grains of Pyrodex P. This powder comes recommended for pistol loads up to .45 caliber, and is the FFFg equivalent. It chronographed at 934 fps high and 882 fps low. It also proved to be both consistent shot to shot, and accurate to boot! My 5 shot group was 2.5 inches.

Rifle. Pyrodex P chronographed in the rifle at 1228 fps high velocity, and 1134 fps low. Average was 1176 fps. It shot the smallest group, measuring just over 2 inches, shooting exactly to point of aim.

Load Seven.
Pistol. My final test load was with Pyrodex Select, a special grade of RS made for the ultimate in accuracy and performance. Like Goex Cartridge, Select did not perform as well as some others in the pistol. With 24 grains, high velocity was 926 fps, and low velocity was 866. It grouped at about 3 inches.

Rifle. Pyrodex Select lived up to its name in the rifle. High velocity was 1168 fps, and low was 1118 fps. It was the second most consistent load tested, and grouped much like Pyrodex P -- 2 inches, point of aim, at 60 yards.

When I head for a cowboy shooting match these days, I have pretty much narrowed down which loads will work as desired in a wide variety of firearms. My first choice of black powder for the 45 Colt is the one that it all started with, FFg. When I use Pyrodex, I almost always stick with RS, the FFg equivalent. Both are accurate, both come close to duplicating the original loads, and both are a heck of a lot of fun.

NOTE: Nothing in this article is intended to be a recommendation for loading. If you handload, always, always consult a variety of loading manuals, like I did, before you begin. One good place to start is the Hodgdon Powder Company website at http://www.unicom.net/hpc/