What 45LC for rifle do you prefer?

Rockrivr1

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In a buy/sell/trade I acquired a very nice Uberti 1860 Henry in 45LC/Colt imported by Navy Arms. She has a nice 24.5 octagon barrel and the lever action is very smooth. So I was looking at different ammo and am wondering for anyone who has a rifle in 45LC, what grain bullet you get the best performance with. I'm seeing 185s, 200s, 225s, 230s, 250s and 255s. I know each rifle is different but I'm trying to narrow down a range to try.

I'd like to find something that will work well with the Uberti as well as reasonably well with a Ruger Vaquero in 45LC as well. I've seen some posts indicating 200gr seems to be a good starting point, but figured I'd see what everyone here is using.

Thanks
 
What is the twist rate of the rifling? If it is an older Uberti then the twist should be 1/38. Which means you'll be stuck with the lower weight bullets. If it is a newer model with the 1/16 twist you can shoot whatever you want. There will always be a trade off between the 2 guns you want to use the ammo in. The lighter rounds will be faster and flatter shooting which will make the rifle more accurate. The heavier rounds will have less recoil and make the revolver less snappy and more manageable.

Another consideration is the distance you want to be accurate at. The round itself is a little "range challenged" to begin with. [laugh] The lighter flatter shooting bullets will probably preform batter at range and require less adjustment/hold over. But the heavier bullets like the 300 gr. will buck the wind better. 225-230 would probably be a good middle ground point to start testing with. You're just going to have to shoot a few different weights and brands to see what works best for how you intend to use the guns.

If you want to get any real performance out of the round you'll have to start reloading. A nice 300 gr. bullet with the "right" charge behind it is a nice soft shooting accurate round that is plenty powerful and accurate enough to take deer at 100 yds.
 
Are these strictly cowboy range toys, or are they capable of hunting rounds.

Cor-Bon makes some rounds that are just awesome that I use in my Blackhawk when bear hunting (300gr round at 1000+fps - don't remember exactly on fps). I also use a Marlin 336, but would love the ability to have one cartridge between the two guns - just like the cowboys did on the range (so I pretend - so what?).

I liked the pump actions, but heard they weren't strong enough for a hunting round. How do the lever guns rate?
 
I would not shoot CorBon or any other high performance loads out of the 1860. It's a weak design with no locking lugs. The Ruger can handle heavy loads. I'd pick the bullet weight that the gun is rifled for.
 
I would not shoot CorBon or any other high performance loads out of the 1860. It's a weak design with no locking lugs. The Ruger can handle heavy loads. I'd pick the bullet weight that the gun is rifled for.

This. I have shot 1200fps 250 grain xtp 45 magnum type loads made with h110 out of my henry but with that action stick with the lighter stuff, since thats a toggle link action.
 
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I would not shoot CorBon or any other high performance loads out of the 1860. It's a weak design with no locking lugs. The Ruger can handle heavy loads. I'd pick the bullet weight that the gun is rifled for.

Thanks for the input. I have some Black Hills 250gr cast 45lc that is advertised at 825fps. Going from your comments it sounds like this will be OK out of the 1860, correct?
 
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