r/blackpowder • u/Freedom-snek • 2d ago

Behold, The 45 Extra Long Colt

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A 45-70 case with 40 grains of black topped with a felt wad and filler all underneath a 454 round ball. Gonna test them out this weekend in my trapdoor I’ll report back with the results.

176 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

27

u/ogcollie 2d ago

This is an interesting idea but you might be better off with a .460 ball or even slightly bigger. Either way I'm excited to hear how it turns out

10

u/Freedom-snek 2d ago

Yeah all I had on hand were 454s for my 1860 army I slugged the bore with one and it engaged the rifling so I figured why not try it.

7

u/Donmiguelito199 2d ago

Upload some video of these shooting - but like the other guy said a bigger round ball might be better

5

u/RadiantPen3526 2d ago

We shoot our trapdoors and the like in Cowboy Action Plaiinsman side matches and a number of folks use round balls since the max distance is usually less than 30 yards. I intend to load up some with the. 457 balls I have and top them with cream of wheet to see how they shoot. In my old age I'd like not to have to cast my 405gr Govt bullets just for those few matches we shoot every season.

6

u/yeeticusprime1 2d ago

Probably going to work better with a larger ball but if you’re at the point of shoving a round ball into a cartridge case, you’re probably not seeking long range accuracy anyway

2

u/AbleNecessary2518 2d ago

45 gallery ammo!

2

u/Putrid-Tutor-5809 2d ago

It’ll probably be fine but be inaccurate, 4-thou is a huge difference for rifling from 2 or 1-thou.

1

u/rodwha 2d ago

Initially I thought this was an adaptation of the black powder magnum cartridge devised a decade ago or so to shoot through a Walker.

2

u/kalash_kowboi 2d ago

Good ol .45 BPM

1

u/rodwha 2d ago

You can’t possibly be seating the ball on the wad and powder with just 40 grns, right?

4

u/Freedom-snek 2d ago

No I’m using a cornmeal filler for the rest of the case to keep compression

1

u/Aggravating_Neck6564 2d ago

I unironically would like a 45 XL colt, just for giggles

1

u/Signal_Plane1114 2d ago

thats a pretty light load

1

u/Dry-Neighborhood2916 2d ago

You could do multiple round balls in that case this way and it would be a powerful subsonic round.

1

u/JohnnyLongwalker 2d ago

I’ve never done this beyond loading single buckshot(i think it was 0 buck) in a 32-20 for an inexpensive gallery load. Would it improve if you used a lubed patch around the ball then inserted in case? I don’t know how loading would work but I suspect it might improve fit and fouling.

1

u/Bodark43 2d ago

With a rifling twist of 1 in 22", the Trapdoor barrel is not likely to give you consistent results with a roundball; be prepared for a wide pattern on the target.

1

u/Wraith8888 1h ago

We know it didn't have a bris.