Anyone have an idea on how many grains of 700-X are needed with 200 gr bullet in .45 Colt rifle to get 160 PF?

At or about the minimum load  should give the pf very easily. Load recommendations for 700x are not very low. Minimum load on the Hodgden website is 5.0 gs=822 pfs. That should be a pf of 164.

Remember that the professional loading data you find for .45 Colt is chronographed from pistols.  Rifle usually adds another 150-200 FPS to the muzzle velocity. 

 

But the number Kid Rich gave you is about what I found to be a good load when I tried 700-X.  Gave an accurate load for me.  It was considerably dirtier than WST, so that is what I have shot for a 200 grain rifle load for 8 years now.

 

Good luck, GJ

Thanks, guys. 

 

I reset my Dillon 550-B to drop the 5.0 grains of 700-X and it is such a little amount that I may have to go back to Trail Boss so I can see it in the case as I put the bullet on top. 

 

I just seem to get some Trail Boss all over my machine and bench as it doesn't always drop smoothly. I am using an electric aquarium water pump rubber banded to the lower part of powder container/powder measure to vibrate it too.  It just seems like sometimes the case has already dropped down 2-4" before all the Trail Boss has dropped and some of the Trail Boss misses the case.

... I am using an electric aquarium water pump rubber banded to the lower part of powder container/powder measure to vibrate it too.  It just seems like sometimes the case has already dropped down 2-4" before all the Trail Boss has dropped and some of the Trail Boss misses the case.

 

I'd take the measure off and clean real well all the internal surfaces of hopper, slide cavity, and the expander/powder drop tube!  Anything powder might stick to.  Clean with isopropyl alcohol and let dry.  Then run a fresh dryer sheet on all those areas to add a little extra anti-static layer to the contact parts.

 

TrailBoss is a low density large flake powder.  It is known for not metering real consistently and dropping freely. 

 

(PS - that right there is one strong reason (of three) that I load WST powder for everything WB.  But yes, you have to have confidence that you are putting a charge in every case.  I get that confidence by having a RCBS powder lock-out die in the 550 tool head, meaning I use a combined seat-crimp die at last station.  I don't have the diligence to look down in every case when I load over 4000 rounds a month.  But those lock-out dies sure do!)

 

Good luck, GJ

 

What powder bar are you using with Trail Boss?

 

Have a friend that was having the spill over problem.

Switched from the small to the large bar and problem of spill over went away. YMMV.

 

Marshal Stone

Installing the UniqueTek Shell Plate Bearing kit on my 550B smoothed out the movement of the shellplate such that spillage is a thing of the past.