Rossi Rifleman

Howdy cast bullet Rossi gurus. What is the best cast bullet for hunting with the R92 in 45 Colt? I have the Lee 255 gr and the Lee 300 gr, and while they work for hunting, I keep thinking that a gas checked 250-295gr bullet at 1700+ might be good.

I find that the 300gr destabilizes at 50-70 yds, and I can’t push the plain base 255 faster than 1500fps, so a shorter gas checked bullet moving faster is preferable.

See the topic you started...look at Ranch Dog's bullet profile post therein.

https://www.rossi-rifleman.com/viewtopi ... 741#p64741

That design looks great. Where can I get a ranch dog bullet mold these days?

Hey Point452, I haven't welcomed you to the forum yet, so Greetings, and thanks for your interesting postings.
I don't see you over on RD's other forum lee-loader.com. You might want to check that out, too. Many of us follow both.
Shoot some piggies for me. Although I'm an avid hunter, I've never had the opportunity to chase down hogs. My Rossi .45 Colt is itching to change that some day.

http://accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/ca ... 5-290E.png

if you want a gas check it's the 45-290 EG, but it doesn't have the T/L type grooves.

NOE Molds has permission to make the RD Molds. You have to get on their mailing list if none are in stock. They do not last long when they are available.

Point452 wrote:Howdy cast bullet Rossi gurus. What is the best cast bullet for hunting with the R92 in 45 Colt? I have the Lee 255 gr and the Lee 300 gr, and while they work for hunting, I keep thinking that a gas checked 250-295gr bullet at 1700+ might be good.

I find that the 300gr destabilizes at 50-70 yds, and I can’t push the plain base 255 faster than 1500fps, so a shorter gas checked bullet moving faster is preferable.

I've not noticed any sign of instability with the Lee 300 grain out to 100 yards. It's been a while since I've had the 45 Colt out. Maybe next range trip with the LabRadar I'll retest.

Make smoke,

Thinking of some of the wisdom shared here and in other reloading forums, I started to experiment with the Lee 255Gr bullet sized to .452 and left as cast at .454” and shot them to check accuracy. I shot several groups to try different loads and bullet sizes , powder coats, and lubes. Apparently, my rifle likes bullets with a thicker powder coat, measuring .454” to maintain accuracy over 1520fps.

I gave the relatively soft, range scrap bullets a double coat of powder, and metered out a moderate, 30k psi, load of Win296- pushing them to about 1700fps. Previously, I couldn’t get the Lee 255gr bullet to group well past ~1520fps, but with a double layer of powder coat, and left unsized, they seem to maintain accuracy at increased velocity.

Here are two of my test groups; the top group is from bullets sized to .452”, and the bottom group was from unsized bullets that measure .454”.