lots of considerations

by bj , Monday, November 04, 2019, 19:48 (1627 days ago) @ Charles

The S&W 25-5 is on the same frame and cylinder size as the .44 mag, and there is debate as to the strength with hotrodded .45Colts. The Astra might be sufficient with .44mags but the .45Colt version could easily have different metallurgy. Just a few days ago I was reading an old Taffin article where he described 5 levels of .45Colt loads. The lowest level was attributed to Colt SAA and S&W 25-5. His level 1 load had 9 grains of Unique for 850fps. Another level 1 load had 18.5 grains of 2400 for 1160fps. These were 1988 loads- I can't remember if this was old Unique or new Unique. So your best bet might be to stick with SAA loads.