safe to fire hollowpoints in 1917?

In point of fact, I've never given a thought to what .45ACP I shoot in any of my 1917s and don't recall ever hearing warnings in the past either.

I should think that some offering or other from Buffalo Bore would be the hottest thing you're likely to stumble across and Lois of folk - well heeled folk - use theirs.

Me though, I just like shooting mid-power wadcutters.

Todd.

You can't really load 45ACP too hot, or it won't function well in an auto pistol, so it's probably not likely to run into any super-overly hot ammo. What brand is it, where did you get it?

A '17 should be fine. I have a Webley with a shaved cylinder so it can shoot .45ACP. In that gun I would never do it, or shoot any kind of factory .45ACP.


I have fired two factory .45ACP shot shells through it though.

Any 230 gr non+P should be fine any shooting condition 1917.

should be no problem for a large frame S&W

World War One 45ACP was loaded to the same level as 45ACP is today.

Mine handles anything ive thrown at it. HP, FN, RN, steel case, or whatever. Just stay with standard pressure stuff and you wont have any problems.

It was designed for hardball. While cast bullets may be technically gentler on the bore, you'd have to do a lot of shooting to realize the difference.

I've shot HP's in my two 1917's. Sometimes I carry the Colt. When I do JHP's.

Cocked & Locked said:

I've shot HP's in my two 1917's. Sometimes I carry the Colt. When I do JHP's.

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Only a vermicious knid of the lowest order would electronically dangle that top, (hell, BOTH) EXCEPTIONAL 1917 in my face on a morning such as this.

Tell us all about them...... PLEASE!

Bar-b-que guns the world over stand in awe.


Todd.

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That Colt is awesome, period.

Cocked & Locked said:

I've shot HP's in my two 1917's. Sometimes I carry the Colt. When I do JHP's.

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Those are some sweet revolvers my friend.

I do not have a Colt Model 1917 but I do have a variety of the S&W Model 1917s. As long as the cartridge equals the WWI standard for hardball I am comfortable using it. Bullet type is no matter but I do prefer a 240 grain DEWC at 850 fps. You can hear the smack when it hits.




Kevin

WOW! That chopped Colt is awesome and I am not even a fan of Colt revos. Looks like a dropped and chopped 32 Ford hot rod. Very nice work. I would love to meet the smith who did that. That wouldn't be you would it?

CraigC said:

It was designed for hardball. While cast bullets may be technically gentler on the bore, you'd have to do a lot of shooting to realize the difference.

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It sure was designed for hardball. I used to have a Colt 1917. The bore was a bit rough, but I think somebody had slicked up the SA trigger pull, because it was very nice. But the only thing it would shoot well was jacketed bullets, and it preferred 230 grain ones. I found some JHPs of that weight, and they worked fine. But 185 grain FMJ, or swaged bullets of any kind, no. I don't think I ever tried hard-cast bullets in it, though. Swaged bullets are quite soft, as I understand it.

Ugly Sauce said:

You can't really load 45ACP too hot, or it won't function well in an auto pistol, so it's probably not likely to run into any super-overly hot ammo. What brand is it, where did you get it?

A '17 should be fine. I have a Webley with a shaved cylinder so it can shoot .45ACP. In that gun I would never do it, or shoot any kind of factory .45ACP.


I have fired two factoryView attachment 968057 .45ACP shot shells through it though.

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Cool, are those Blue Grouse?

For those that asked here's some info on the Colt 1917 snub. I know no back story on the 1017 S&W.



A friend of mine that lives nearby told me of a customized Colt that a guy in Texas owned and was thinking about selling. I ended up even trading a S&W nickel plated model 15 for it.

The gun was pictured and talked about in at least two of Dean Grennell's books from the late 1970's early 1980's. I've got two of those books. The US Property Number on the butt of the frame is the exact same as the one pictured in the books.

The Colt belonged to Dean Grennell's brother named Ralph. I kinda like that because that's my name as well. There are some pictures of "Ralph" shooting it in the books.

The custom work was done in the late 1960's to early 70's by a company that is no longer in business.

That was:
John B. Williams Gunsmithing
704 East Commonwealth
Fullerton, California

I remember reading about that company in the gun magazines back in that time and seeing pictures of some of their custom Colts and S&W revolvers. I can't find any reference to the company on the internet now.

The barrel was cut to 2.5 inches. A S&W adjustable rear sight was custom shaped and fitted to a matching milled cut in the top strap. A S&W "type" front sight with red insert was fabricated & installed.

The hammer, cylinder latch, and trigger were bright chromed. The barrel & frame were matte hard chromed. Action work done internally, etc., etc.

It shoots good too! Sometimes I carry it concealed.

Magnificent.

I've shot every kind of .45 ammo and 45 Auto Rim in my S&W 1917 without any issues....

The Colt New Service revolver -- which is what the M1917 is -- is virtually indestructible. It has a larger cylinder than the SAA, off-set locking notches (avoiding the weakness of the SAA) and beginning in 1903, the cylinders were heat treated and the gun was proofed for smokeless powder. As an aside, Smith and Wesson did not heat treat cylinders until 1917 -- and that was because the Army contract required it.

There are Model 1917s that have fired literally a ton of ammo, and are still ticking. Don't worry about that old Colt -- anything safe to fire in an M1911 is safe in an M1917.

For many years when I was young, I thought that a “Colt .45” was in reference to a M1911 or SAA.
That is, till I watched an old rerun of “Amos and Andy”.

One of the female actors brandished a HUGE double action revolver. I asked my astute older brother, “WHAT is THAT”. He said, like they said, a COLT .45. It was then I learned what a Colt DA New Service was, and that besides.45acp, it was produced in .45LC. It was then I also discovered that the .45Colt was the original “Magnum”.
My 4” M625-5 Mountain Gun is one of my prized acquisitions. Took me two decades to find one at a reasonable price.
Everyone who shoots it understands the aura and reputation. It’s in my avatar.. the lighting makes it look dark.

C&L, that’s one cool gun and story.

Dean Grennell was one of my favorite Gun Writers and that Colt is one of my favorite guns..........

Regarding original .45 ACP specs versus.45 ACP today it seems that the original standard is today’s standard in regards to .45 ACP Specifications.
I did some searching looking for the original specs on the .45 ACP, just for kicks, and there are many references to “original .45 ACP specifications” on many websites but nothing like a PDF document that I can find easily or quickly.
There is a very nice write up on Wikipedia that gives historical data and also talks about today’s specs in the “performance” section.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_ACP

Also, I did an image search and found a few original cartridge box photos with some load data on them, but I opted not to post them here because most of the photos were from auction sites. I found it interesting that many of the original Ball Ammunition boxes note the powder used for the ammo, like; Bulls Eye (2 words) and No. 5, but no velocity numbers are shown. I found one photo that showed a .45 ACP lead round with specs on the box that read “velocity 800 feet per second +/- 25”.

I am sure there are documents out there somewhere that shows original specs on .45 ACP Ball Ammunition. I just can’t find them right now.

Here is an article on the development of the .45 ACP from Ammo Land’s website.
https://www.ammoland.com/2020/11/history-45-acp-cartridge/

WELL, lookie what I found. Some good info here, as always.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-original-velocity-of-45-acp-hardball.826882/