Duplicating Original Loading in .44 Special and .45 Colt

For some weird reason I recently have been interested in the original loadings for the .44 Special and the .45 Colt. I have had this idea of loading and shooting them, seeing how my guns feel and handle with the originals.

Both were originally loaded with black powder and while I can do that, I am really not sure I want shoot black powder through my pistols and then deal with the necessary cleanup afterwards.

The .44 Special was originally loaded with 26 gr. of black powder while the .45 Colt was loaded with 40 grains black. The modern solid-head .45 Colt cases will not accept 40 gr. of black powder and still seat the bullet to the overall length of the original, 1.6 inches. The old cases had a lot more capacity.

The original smokeless powder loads can be duplicated with Bullseye powder. The 34th edition of the Ideal Loading Handbook (1940) lists the charges with the then-available smokeless powders.

I have balloon-head cases for the .45 Colt but only 1 or 2 for the .44 Special. And they are old enough that I really don't want to shoot them. But simply reducing the powder charges slightly will get me where I want to go. I decided on 5.0 gr. of Bullseye for the .44 Special and 6.0 gr. of Bullseye for the .45 Colt. I may want to reduce that powder charge in the .44 Special by a half grain or so. I will know after I shoot some. I made the decision to go with 5.0 gr. after reading the Lyman 1950's and 1960's loading manuals. We will see.

In the .45 Colt I am using Lyman #454190 which is their copy of the original Colt bullet. In the .44 Special I am using the Lee 240-429 bullet which is their copy of the original .44 Special bullet.

These should be fun to shoot and hopefully will be accurate to boot. I will post the results when I get to shoot them. Right now the weather is not what I want to shoot in. And I am trying to get a couple grandsons ready for Deer Season. But the Good Lord willing I will get the shooting done since I have been thinking about this for some time.