.45 questions

[hunt12ga]

My dad decided on a CVA Kodiak, and he got a camo/ss in .45. He has some Shockey sticks that he picked up (all they had where he shopped) and I have Blackhorn for him to try. I think he bought some Powerbelts (don't know what gr) and I have some Hornady SST's that I'm going to give him.

My question is what charges should he try? I know how to load my .50, but I don't have any experience with .45 besides sidehammer rifles and PRB's.

Thanks

rw

[MountainDevil54]

depending on the weight of the powerbelts, my best with a .45 kodiak * saxmans* was 90-100gr powder with the 275 and 300gr powerbelts.

My winchester Apex .45 did love 70- 80gr pyrodex P and 275gr powerbelt.

[Gm54-120]

Ive got 2 45cals that i use BH209 in.

On the range i like 80-90gr and a 180gr XTP or GoldDot. These are probably fine for hunting too in the 90-100gr range if you want more fps.

Shooting 200gr pointy bullets like SSTs, accuracy is usually better with 95-110gr range. The 200gr XTP seems to shoot well with mild or hunting charges also.

I normally find that MMP 45x40 tan sabots shoot better within this powder/bullet range and are a bit tighter than the Harvesters. Some guns will prefer the Harvester blue sabots when the loads get hotter or if you have a tighter barrel.

I had a 50cal Kodiak aka WinApex and you will need to make sure you keep the flash hole and channel in your breach plug clean. It should be pretty reliable igniting BH209 if you check it every 20 rounds or so and clean it out well when you get home.

[oldsmellhound]

I have a CVA .45 inline. Mine likes:

80 - 95 grains loose T7 FFFG with:
(in order from most accurate to least)

200 SST/Shockwave
200 XTP
185 Lehigh
195 Dead Center
225 Powerbelt

But in reality, all of the above are pretty accurate with 2" or less groups at 100 yards.