The heaviest most reliable bullet you can run in your Rossi 357 and 45 Colt?

[huntersdog]

What are some heavier cast bullets that you can run in your Rossi 357 Magnum and your Rossi 45 Long Colt that are reliable?

Would the Lee 300 grain 452 bullet work in the 45 Long Colt?
Thanks

[retiredPO]

I have recently been playing with some 330 and some 350gr cast.... they are sized down 457. sized to 452..
Im using trail boss right now for careful starter.....Im in the 6 to 6.5 gr range,... havent put it trrough the chrono yet.
I have been suprised with the acc. and the stability.... so far....
Rossi 45. seem to love it.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello huntersdog,

The case length for a 45 Colt is 1.285",
the nose length for the Lee C452-300-RF is .285",
added together should be 1.57".
My chart says Max OAL for the 45 Colt is 1.600".

AntiqueSledMan.

[Groo]

Groo here
Your biggest problem is the barrel twist .
Rifles can be much slower twist and you can shoot a long bullet too slow.
Best test.

[Gaterskiner]

I have some 300 gr Beartooth bullets .452 That shoot well in my Marlin Cowboys 20 inch and 24 inch barrels. heavier bullets did not shoot well in mine.

[bob208]

in my
.357 rossi I use 358429 loaded in .38 cases with a dose of 2400

[azrednek]

For what it’s worth I’ve run numerous Ruger only 45Colts through my Puma Rossi with no problems.

[cwlongshot]

I agree with Bob. The Lyman 358429 @ 170g is a good heavy bullet. I have a old group but 190g WFN thats my choice. (Pic above.)

In the LC. Yes that LEE 300 works as long as your gun feeds it. My rossi dos et have the “correct” twist to work... (ON PAPER). In reality it shoots JUST FINE with Unique. I shoot more Lyman 454424.

CW

[blackpowder man]

The Lee 300 grain works fine in my older Rossi .45, but the slim crescent buttplate makes it a bit unpleasant. Fine for hunting. Not so fine to shoot a box of 50 at a time.

[megasupermagnum]

A quick google search shows a 1:30" twist for the 357 mag Rossi. That is a huge handicap. If the Berger Bullets ballistic calculator is worth anything, 180 grain bullets are going to be marginal in that twist at max loads.

If your rifle has a proper 1:18" twist like a revolver, then you could easily run 220-230 grain bullets if you wanted.

[MT Gianni]

Experience is a better teacher than a calculator. Spank that 180 and it works fine.

[KCSO]

I use the Saeco 180 RNFP in my rossi with perfect success. With the right load it is accurate and I can beat the power of a 38-40 with no problem. Makes a good deer load.

[megasupermagnum]

Experience is a better teacher than a calculator. Spank that 180 and it works fine.

I figured they would be. Especially cast bullets which seem to stabilize better than jacketed for some reason. Still, I'd have to think the 200+ grain's are going to be less than ideal in that twist rate.

[MT Gianni]

I figured they would be. Especially cast bullets which seem to stabilize better than jacketed for some reason. Still, I'd have to think the 200+ grain's are going to be less than ideal in that twist rate.

I am not ever going to try and feed a 200 in a 357 mag. My max is throated for them but not the magnums.

[Bubba w/a 45/70]

Another vote for the 180gr in the 357 mag Rossi.

Mine ran them well, save for the overall length...requirements were a bit more particular as compared to my Henry. A small hangup every once in a while.....nothing big if on the range.

[35 Whelen]

The length of the bullet bears consideration more than the weight.

In my Rossi .357, I load a RNFP, something of a misnomer since it cant have a round nose AND a flat point, anyhow, in solid form they weigh 180, small HP 172 and large HP 163. They all shoot fine at 100 yds. and work well in the field. This one was the large HP and came out of a hog.



I agree, experience trumps math and calculators.

35W

[Ed in North Texas]

The Lee 300 grain works fine in my older Rossi .45, but the slim crescent buttplate makes it a bit unpleasant. Fine for hunting. Not so fine to shoot a box of 50 at a time.

Being not young (OK more than a year or two over 70), I found that butt plate to be a problem for that rifle (a Taurus/Rossi R92), even with the 24" octagon bbl adding weight. Bought Boyd's Win 92 finished butt stock with pad and simply installed it. Not a perfect fit (would need some sanding and refinishing as it stands a little "proud" above the metal), but screws right on and much easier on my old shoulder.

Hope that helps.

[cwlongshot]

I picked up a neat neoprene “recoil pad”. Its got foam slices inside and fits like a slip on pad. Being soft it dont much matter if its a crescent or shotgun butt. It cushions just enough it also lengthens just enough those short cold weather butt lengths.

Nice part it was like 10$ weighs nothing and fits well in the range bag.

Sorry there is no name on it. I have a couple of them now. Maybe Alazin search will
Produce them.

CW

[Harter66]

I shot some Speer 170 gr HC in a Marlin long ago over a case full of H110 . Do Not shoot that in a 6" Sec 6 , it's a rifle data load and very unpleasant in the revolver . Also it's labeled not for revolvers ........ I was young and stupid then .

The Rossi M92' has a 1-30 , the example I had was closer to 32" being a chamber length or so less than a half turn in the 16" carbine barreled 45 Colts .
The 457-340 Lee sized down was minute of hog at 50 yd , in reflection a very honest 3" any given day , a custom .453-350 not so much . The 453-350 wasn't intended for this so it was just a trial anyway . The trouble with 250-265 gr bullets which shot great out to 75 yd and we're also great loads in the companion gun of the day . The issue was that they were supersonic and someplace between 78-82 yd , depending on the bullet shape, they were dropping into transonic tumbling and departing line of flight at about 40° and 10:00 missing an 8+' berm at 110 yd . As long as they were 1000 fps , @ 4100' MSL, or less all was well . When I went to Texas hog hunting the 1050 fps loads in my 7.5" revolver were off the paper at 50 yd but loads at 950 MV delivered the goods on target . This was why I tried the 340&350 was to get maximum energy and stay subsonic ........

Real applied experience vs books .........(as above)
Load some and see what happens , Love life circa 05'.
YMMV , a lot of smarter guys than me .

Keep them subsonic at the muzzle or supersonic all the way to the berm and whatever you shoot up to 340 gr will be ok and probably shoot fine . All bets are off if it doesn't .