45 super opinions

So i asked here for anyone to point me in a highpower semiauto cartridge, and well to be honest it was quite horrible i got people saying a 9mm+p would compete with the 357 mag ballistics i was looking towards, so i did my own research, i didnt get much help at all with the previous thread, only decent recomendation was the 10mm and the .40
so my question is, has anyone had experience with the 45 super, this is a stout cartridge upwards to 800 foot pounds of energy, heck sure beats the +p 9mm only offering 400 foot pounds at its best.

Also if you have any experiance with the 460 rowland id like to hear about that cartridge as well

Try 460 rowland in a 1911. It is 10mm velocity with .45 caliber weights.

ill look into that one as well thankyou dave

dave where were you to recomend me that cartridge few weeks ago thats impressive! im slightly changing the thread to accomaate that cartridge

Ther is quite a bit of info on the web related to it. Clark Custom Guns makes a 1911 Upper kit for conversion and Wilson Combat makes a complete gun. Georgia Arms and Cor Bon make factory ammo but i reload my own. The only problem is chasing the brass down on a crowded range.

I have the Clark Custom Kit and it is a lot of fun.

whats the recoil amount too, am i looking at like 357 mag recoil i know its a semiauto platform i just want to make sure a avg person could shoot it one handed if needed.

I know ive looked into the .460 and decided it wasn't for me since your gun is required to use an extended muzzle brake/compensator thats built in.
I carry my 1911 so i cant do that. But for a home defense or hunting it would be awesome.
Id also suggest you be a reloader if you want to shoot it much as ammo isnt cheap.

i reload extensively so it isnt a problem for me

I'm pretty interested in the 45 Super as well, though I haven't made the jump yet. What makes it hard are all the differing opinions. Some say all you need are some new springs and maybe a buffer. Others (who also happen to be the ones selling the $300 conversion kits) say you need a $300 conversion kit. And that's only talking about the 1911.

From what I've read/heard if you want to shoot .45 Super out of your 1911 you need a proper platform first. I own a few 1911's, my RIA manual does not reccomend to shoot anything heavier than .45 ACP out of it, however (I would imagine) my Dan Wesson could probably take the beating.

THIS IS ONLY WHAT I'VE READ AND HEARD DO NOT TAKE THIS AS FACT, THIS IS ONLY TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO RESEARCH!

If you want to run .45 Super, my recommendation is to find a S&W 4506-1. They need no modification to run the cartridge, though extensive use does warrant a stiffer recoil spring.

That said, if you're after .357 mag performance form an autoloader, 10mm is the obvious choice. It's not as available as 9mm/.40/.45, but much more so than .45 Super or .460 Rowland. Those two really are handloading propostitions. To my knowledge, only Buffalo Bore loads .45 Super (and to no where near 800 ft/lbs). They're about a buck a round. Cor-bon is the only commercial supplier of loaded .460 Rowland, and it's more like $1.50/shot. Handloading is the only way to go with these two, and still not cheap.


The 10mm is much more practical, and will also give you more magazine capacity in a given platform. The .45 Super and .460 are great cartridges, but really do not offer any advantage over the 10mm. If it's penetration you're after, the 200 gr. XTP is hard to beat, except maybe the 220 gr. Hard Cast load from Buffalo Bore, which they claim gives over 36" of penetration in flesh. Full power 10mm runs 700-800 ft/lbs, since you seem to like energy numbers.

I reload, so im not interested in factory loadings. I look into handload data and compare max footpounds with other cartriges this gives me a idea of what the maxium performance of the said cartridge is.

If you can find one.... an LAR Grizzy in .45 Win Mag ain't too shabby... availablity never seems to marry up to cash on hand though. I've wanted one of those for a very long time.

I would get a .460 Rowland over the .45 Super personally. It is a more powerful cartridge, which if you are stepping up from the ACP seems to be the whole point.

The 460 also is nice because you cannot accidentally chamber it in something that cannot handle it.


The .45 Super and .460 are great cartridges, but really do not offer any advantage over the 10mm.

At some bullet weights they are rather close in velocity. The Rowland can offer 300+ fps (obviously varies by the exact load) over a double tap 230 grain load. Buffalo Bore doesn't offer a 10 mm load that heavy. I'm not going to opine on whether it is an advantage or not but here is some data on each.

Rowland 10 MM Double Tap B. B. 10 MM

Bullet 230 gr. 230 gr. 220 gr
weight

Velocity 1400 fps 1120 fps 1200 fps

Energy 1000 640 703 (their highest energy
ft. lbs load is 728 in a 180 gr load)

Momentum 46 36 37

Taylor KO 20 14 15

Try as I might I cannot get the above to appear in a more spaced out readable format. Sorry.