new member with questions...

[hunter29180]

been lurking here for about a month..WHEW!!! lots of posts read..up to page 78...this is first reloading forum i have signed up on..hope that says something as i lurk on 7...anyways lots of questions..

first and most pressing as i have never reloaded a single shell yet..bought a tarus judge 4in SS 410/45...as i am looking at reloading data most seem to point to a muzzle vel of around 725 to 800 for the 45 cal...the 410 handgun (factory) is 1200..tarus seems unable to give denifitive answer as to the recommended max load in 45 cal..i have seen some 45 cal (cor-bon? buffalo bore?) loaded to much higher vel...dont wish to load to 44 mag territory! but may wish to load to a deer killing range..any advise? will have small scope and shoot from a stand for this... other questions will follow as i understand ones i ask here..by the way pistol was got so wifey would have a "shotgun" for home protection..she kept breaking lamps and such with the regular shotgun with out ever placing a shell in the chamber!! short barrel stopd that problem!!

[garydude]

Good morning Hunter,
Thank you for joining our forum-we are happy to have you.

As to your question the 45 Colt reloading info that you are looking at is for the pistols that were designed and built for over 130 years. The original cartridge was designed for black powder, and would push a 250 grain bullet up to 1000 fps, but nowadays it is more in the range of 800 fps. (But mind you a 250 grain slug traveling at 800 fps does have a tendency to get your point across!)

There is additional reloading information for this caliber for modern handguns, such as the Ruger and Contender pistols, and these are at much higher energy levels. The one thing that I do not know is if YOUR pistol was designed with the specifications for the older pistol or if it can handle the newer cartridge pressures. Once you have that information, you can create loads for your pistol.

Hope this helps; hopefully others will chime in with additional information.

Best,
Gary

Edit: some resources for you to examine
http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?id=1526
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_Judge

[hunter29180]

thanks Garydude for your reply!

the first resource you mentioned i had read before i obtained my judge.and the 2nd was new but contained no real new data for me.

the only info i have found was from the Hodgdon reloading webpage saying, "45 Colt: This data is intended for original Colt revolvers and their replicas. Max pressure, 14,000 CUP.

45 Colt (Ruger, Freedom Arms & T/C only): The data is intended for 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk, Freedom Arms, and Thompson Center Contender/Encore Handguns. Max pressure, 30,000 CUP. Do not use these data in any other make or model of firearm."

i am interpeting this to mean the max would be 14,000 cup? (have no need to go that high unless am hunting bear..then need bigger cannon not this popgun..)

[garydude]

You are welcome. I just looked up some generic .410 shotgun pressures, and they are all well below 14,000 psi, so my thinking is that the pistol was probably made to handle pressures that are equivalent in both the 45 colt and .410 guage shells.

So if it were me, and unless I heard directly from Taurus, then I would stick with the 45 Colt loadings. BTW you can create some dandy loads with the available listings, and by no means is this round a powder puff. Keep in mind that this round has been more than adequate for a large population of pistol shooters for more than a century!

Enjoy the new pistol, and be sure to post some of your load recipes and results. I would love to see them. (pictures!)

Best,
Gary