[Slow]

Is .45 Auto Rim the same as .45ACP?

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello, Slow. Though designed to be fired in revolvers that fire the .45 ACP via the use of moon clips, the .45 AR is not the same cartridge. It has a rim and can be used in these revolvers without the moon clip.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid48/p5557aad8a2c7ff72b38c758b7a1e4c0c/fcbee437.jpg
You can see the rims in this picture of a .45 AR handload using a cast 250-grain SWC.

Best.

[CMcDermott]

Not quite, 45 ACP cartridges can be used in any gun chambered for 45 ACP; from Thompson sub-machine guns to Colt 1911 or Glock pistols to Ruger single-action revolvers to Colt or S&W double-action revolvers.

45 Autorim can only be used in double-action revolvers chambered for 45 ACP cartridges using moon-clips like a Model 1917 Colt or a Model 25 S&W. Or in guns chambered explicitly for 45 autorim, like a custom single-shot rifle or a Ruger single-action revolver that has had it's 45 ACP cylinder chambers modified to accept the thick rim of the 45 autorim.

[jjmorgan64]

For handloading porposes however, they are the same. Use your 45 acp data.

[Johnny Guest]

In using the .45 AR cases, it is quite easy to recognize the cartridges never intended to be shot through an autoloading pistol. Thus, you are not bound by that certain pressure curve, nor by bullet shape.

While, of course, not advocating Super-Nuke handloads, I'll admit to having shot some VERY staunch loads in AR cases. Some of 'em looked identical to those illustrated by Stephen A. Camp above, and stoked with substantial charges of Unique. Never shot a deer with one, but I was ready. (S&W 1955, pre-mod 25.)

Much small game hunting, or just wandering afield, shooting at targets of oportunity, consists of taking a shot or two, not emptying the cylinder. Far easier to manage than with the clipped-up ACP ammo.

Which brings up another plus for AR cases: They fit in gunbelt cartridge loops without sliding through. ;)

Best,
Johnny

[LIProgun]

For handloading porposes however, they are the same. Use your 45 acp data.

True, just note that you'll need to use a different shell holder or shell plate than the one you use for .45 ACP.