I experimented with them for a while, but found standard loads were more than adequate for any need. The .45 is a hard hitter without hot loads.

They developed the .454 out of the .45 colt and changed the case to reduce the chance they would be placed in old revolvers.

Have you tried these?

45 Colt +P Load Data

 

I'm using the Lil' Gun powder for the hotter loads but I'm switching to the HP-38 for the cowboy loads. Since I have a 45LC El Patron SAA I can test those loads as well. I'll look at that data load and see I find anything I like

 

Just remember that .45 Colt brass is not as strong as .44 magnum brass.

 

Hodgdon has Ruger loads in their manual that should work just fine in the Henry. I used to shoot them in a Marlin 45 Colt Trapper rifle I had and in a Ruger Blackhawk.
You can get 44 Magnum power at 20% less pressure. I called them my 45 Magnum loads.
Modern 45 Colt brass is every bit as strong as as 44 Magnum brass.
The old balloon head blackpowder brass wasn't as strong as it didn't have a solid web area in the head.

 

its just me, but I never load a revolver round to a power level that can not be used in both, trust me, when you hit something with a 45 colt. it knows its been hit. if you want or need more power, get a 45.70. but if you do. be careful.

 

View attachment 271929 I recently have been getting into reloading and I've been looking for hotter 45 colt loads. I've seen some good reload data on Hodgdon's website and one of the really hotter loads is with the Lil Gun powder for 45 colts. Is it too much for the Henry Big Boy to handle? I assume hotter loads should be fine with all modern lever action rifles because of the stronger metal and modern methods of making them. Do any of you guys load hot 45 colts in your lever actions? (Henry, Marlin, Winchester...ect.)

I use aa5 and they are hot one time only on the brass.. but it's a good hunting round.. puts 200 grain of there at 1600 fps

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

25 grains of H110 under a 280 grain WFN. BTB. Deadly accurate out of my 2 24 inch Marlin Cowboys

 

I'm having good luck in my 24" Rossi 92 with powdercoated Lee 255gr WFN's over 21gr of IMR4227. Those are some thumpers that my Uberti Cattleman SAA clone will never see. Gone as high as 22gr of 4227, but they weren't as accurate.