Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr Lead RNFP – Classic 50 Round Action Load

Description

Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr is built for a specific game and does that job properly. A 200 grain hard cast lead round nose flat point at 800 feet per second, fifty rounds to the box, part number 00434. Mild, accurate and made to knock steel over without punishing the shooter or the gun.

Why Cowboy Loads Are Deliberately Slow

Cowboy action shooting has rules about ammunition and they exist for good reasons. Bullets must be plain lead rather than jacketed, and velocity is capped, typically around 1,000 fps for pistol calibres with a minimum floor as well. Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr at 800 fps sits comfortably inside those limits with margin to spare.

The jacket ban is about the targets. Cowboy matches are shot on steel at close range, and a jacketed bullet damages plates and throws fragments back at the shooter far more readily than soft lead, which flattens and falls. Plain lead at moderate speed is what makes close range steel safe.

The round nose flat point profile is the other half of it. The flat meplat cuts a clean hole in paper and transfers energy to a steel plate, while the round nose feeds reliably through the tube magazine of a lever gun. Most cowboy shooters run the same cartridge in a rifle and a brace of revolvers, so a profile that works in both is not optional.

Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr Specifications

Figures for Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr are as published by Atomic Ammunition for part number 00434. The bullet is hard cast rather than swaged soft lead, which matters because harder alloy leaves less lead fouling in the bore at these velocities.

Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr is a low pressure load, which is worth stating plainly. The cartridge dates to 1873 and modern ammunition for it splits into two families: standard pressure loads safe in original pattern single actions and their replicas, and heavy loads marked for Ruger and Thompson Center only that run at far higher pressure. This is firmly in the first group and is safe in any 45 Colt in sound condition.

Recoil from Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr is gentle. Two hundred grains at 800 fps in a heavy single action is about as pleasant as a large bore revolver gets, which is exactly what you want when a stage calls for ten rounds on the clock.

• Cartridge: 45 Colt
• Bullet: 200 grain hard cast lead round nose flat point
• Muzzle velocity: 800 fps
• Pressure: standard, safe in original pattern single actions
• Case: brass, boxer primed, reloadable
• Manufacturer part number: 00434
• UPC: 858767004348
• Packaging: 50 rounds per box, 10 boxes per case
• Suggested use: cowboy action shooting, plinking, lever gun practice

Shooting Lead Without the Headaches

Expect some bore leading from Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr and plan for it. Even hard cast bullets deposit lead over a long session, particularly in a revolver with a rough bore or a slightly oversized cylinder throat. It cleans out easily with a bronze brush and solvent if you do it the same day, and turns into real work if you leave it for months.

Check the gun, not just the ammunition. Cowboy loads are mild, but an original nineteenth century revolver or a cheap replica of unknown provenance deserves a gunsmith looking at it before you feed it anything. Age and modern ammunition are not automatically compatible even at low pressure.

Mind lead hygiene. Shooting plain lead bullets, particularly indoors, puts more lead in the air than jacketed ammunition does. Wash your hands afterwards, do not eat at the loading table, and be mindful of it if children are handling your gear.

Verify Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr against your match rules if you compete. Velocity floors and ceilings vary between organisations and occasionally between clubs, and while 800 fps is comfortably inside every set of rules we know of, the chronograph at a match is the only authority that matters.

If you shoot other calibres, the same maker covers the modern side of the shelf. Our Atomic 45 ACP +P bonded match and Atomic 10mm bonded match are the defensive loads from the same line.

Atomic Cowboy 45 Colt 200gr is honest cowboy action ammunition: soft lead, mild pressure, a profile that feeds in a lever gun, and a price that lets you shoot a match without flinching at the bill. It is also simply a pleasant plinking load for anyone with a single action. Ships from our licensed inventory in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, with adult signature required on delivery.

A note for lever gun owners. Tube magazines stack cartridges nose to primer, which is why a flat point profile matters and why pointed bullets are dangerous in them. A round nose flat point is the correct shape and this load carries it, so it is safe in a tube fed rifle as well as a revolver.

Store it dry and it will keep indefinitely. Plain lead bullets can oxidise a little on the surface over many years, which looks unattractive and changes nothing about how they shoot.