Buffalo Bore 45 Colt 255gr Soft Cast – Dependable Standard Pressure Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 45 Colt 255gr Soft Cast is the load for the many 45 Colt revolvers that cannot take +P. A 255 grain gas checked soft cast bullet at 1000 fps produces roughly 566 ft-lbs, and because it stays inside standard SAAMI pressure, Buffalo Bore states it is suitable for any post war 45 Colt firearm in normal working condition. Twenty rounds per box, item 3E/20.

• Buffalo Bore 45 Colt 255gr Soft Cast Overview
• 45 Colt Standard Pressure Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 255 Grain Gas Checked Bullet Suits This Cartridge
• Specifications
• Which Guns Take This Post War 45 Long Colt Load

Buffalo Bore 45 Colt 255gr Soft Cast Overview

The bullet is cast from a softer alloy than the hard cast loads in this line, with a copper gas check crimped on the base. Soft lead deforms on impact where hard cast does not, which gives you some upset and a wider wound rather than a pure straight line penetrator.

The gas check is what makes the soft alloy practical at this velocity. Without one, hot propellant gas cuts into the soft base and leaves the bore leaded. With it, you can drive a cast bullet to 1000 fps and still shoot clean.

The pressure story is the important one. Buffalo Bore describes this line as substantially more powerful than ordinary modern 45 Colt standard pressure ammo while staying within the published SAAMI limits, which is a genuinely useful combination for anyone whose revolver is not rated for +P.

45 Colt Standard Pressure Ammo Ballistics

566 ft-lbs at 1000 fps is a long way ahead of what the 45 Colt is normally loaded to. Typical factory 255 grain ammunition ambles along near 750 to 800 fps for about 320 to 360 ft-lbs, so this is producing something like sixty percent more energy without exceeding the published pressure ceiling.

Against the +P loads in the same catalogue the gap is real but not as large as you might expect. The 325 grain +P makes 1267 ft-lbs and the 225 grain copper +P makes 1124, so you are giving up roughly half the energy in exchange for being able to use the ammunition in almost any 45 Colt.

For a great many owners that is the right trade. A post war Colt Single Action Army, a modern clone, a small frame New Model Vaquero or most older revolvers simply cannot use the +P loads, and a post war 45 Long Colt load of this quality is the best available answer for those guns.

Why The 255 Grain Gas Checked Bullet Suits This Cartridge

Most 45 Colt ammunition on the shelf is loaded absurdly mildly, and for an understandable reason. There are a great many antique and replica revolvers chambered for the cartridge, some of them from the black powder era, and manufacturers load to protect the weakest gun that might chamber the round.

The result is that a cartridge capable of real work gets treated as a cowboy action plinker. The Buffalo Bore 45 Colt 255gr Soft Cast is what the cartridge does when it is loaded to its own published pressure limit rather than to the lowest common denominator.

Soft cast with a gas check is a sensible middle path. A hard cast bullet gives maximum penetration and no upset at all. A jacketed hollow point gives expansion and less depth. Soft lead deforms modestly and still drives well, which suits a general purpose load.

And it will not lead your barrel. That is the practical objection people raise about cast bullets, and the gas check answers it. Heavy standard pressure 45 Colt ammunition like this is clean enough to shoot in quantity.

Specifications

Which Guns Take This Post War 45 Long Colt Load

Buffalo Bore’s own guidance is any post war 45 Colt firearm in normal working condition, and both halves of that matter. Post war means the gun is a modern smokeless design, and normal working condition means a genuinely antique or badly worn revolver is not a candidate whatever its age suggests. If you have doubts about an old gun, a gunsmith should see it first.

This is the load to choose if your revolver is not +P rated. Buffalo Bore’s heavy 45 Colt loads are restricted to large frame Rugers, the Colt Anaconda, Dan Wesson revolvers and modern lever actions, which leaves a lot of good guns needing a post war 45 Long Colt load like this one instead.

Point of impact should be close to right. Fixed sight 45 Colt revolvers were generally regulated around a 250 or 255 grain bullet, so a 255 grain gas checked bullet usually lands where the sights are looking. Confirm it on paper anyway.

Expect cast bullet fouling on the cylinder face and forcing cone. That is normal for a 255 grain gas checked bullet carrying lubricant, and the check keeps actual bore leading minimal, but give the barrel a proper look when you clean.

Heavy Standard Pressure 45 Colt Ammunition Availability

This heavy standard pressure 45 Colt ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If your revolver is rated for +P and you want more, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. If your gun is rated for +P, the heavier options are the 45 Colt +P 325gr hard cast and the 45 Colt +P 225gr Barnes XPB. You can also browse our full ammunition selection.