.45 acp single action cylinders gimmick or godsend

45 ACP-Automatic Colt Pistol. Clearly belongs in an automatic colt pistol, not a single action revolver. I don't get it & never will.

Convertibles are largely a gimmick for a niche market - which is really already within a niche market which buys a lot of gimmicks. The high volume single action plinker which doesn’t regularly reload with no necessitation or restriction driven by competition will find convenience in having options in purchases and (typically) reduced cost of ammunition.

I like my convertibles though. I’ve spent a lot of money for the gimmick of single action revolvers, and even MORE money occasionally on convertibles, even sourcing a space cylinder and crane assy for one of my .357/44 B&D mag Redhawks so I can swap between .38spcl/357mag factory cylinder and the recut .357/44 B&D cylinder.

If your going to put 45 ACP (or any rimless cartridge) in a revolver then IMHO it only makes sense if it's a non-side gate loading revolver. The biggest reason to chamber a revolver in a rimless cartridge is to facilitate the use of thick robust moonclips!

Moonclips Rule!

halfmoonclip said:

There was an extensive article in one of the gunzines about .45 'Short' Colt cartridges, that mentioned the Schofield, and the cowboy folks had a cut down ACP size case, to reduce volume. Yeah, it's technically a .45 Colt, but throwing in 'long' won't end life as we know it.
The .45 Colt round is easy to load, but the case volume was a challenge before Trailboss, if more modest loads are what you want.

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The 45 Colt round you are referring to that has been cut down to 45ACP length is known as the 45 Cowboy Special. It was developed a number of years ago by one of our CAS shooters for those who want to shoot mouse fart 45 caliber loads. The brass has the same rim configuration as 45 Colt, so it can be loaded in any revolver chambered for 45 Colt, but has been cut down in length to 45 ACP length. 45 ACP data can be used with the 45 Cowboy Special round.

This photo shows five 45 caliber cartridges. Left to right they are 45 Colt, 45 Schofield, 45 Cowboy Special, 45 Auto Rim, and 45 ACP.






As to your statement about 45 Colt being a challenge to reload modest loads before Trailboss arrived, I was loading moderate 45 Colt loads for many years before Trailboss was invented. My preferred powder for 45 Colt, other than FFg Schuetzen, has always been Unique, because it fills up the cavernous old 45 Colt cartridge better than many other powders.

I don't have a .45, but as someone who interchanges between .38Spl. and .357, my feeling is it's always good to have another option.

Driftwood, thnx for a really comprehensive explanation about the .45 Special.
Your point is taken about Unique. Love the burn rate, but always had trouble with metering it. This was in a Dillon bar or a Lyman cylinder measure; spent the whole loading session chasing weight.
I was getting a 70'sec variation Unique (7.5grs/255) loads, depending on where the powder was in the case. I was also getting an 80'sec extreme spread, and lots of unburned powder. Old data from a cavalry barrel length 'Hartford' model that I should have kept.
Anyway, for me, Trailboss is the wonder the world awaited for BP cases.

MCB, I'm a pistol rounds in an revolver junkie too.
Moon (also known as Half Moon Clip for some odd reason... )

I love 45acp, especially in single actions. This gun only came with the ACP cylinder

Nasty Canasta said:

45 ACP-Automatic Colt Pistol. Clearly belongs in an automatic colt pistol, not a single action revolver. I don't get it & never will.

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Let's see if I can help . . . let's say you've been shooting and reloading 45C for 35+ yrs, have lot of brass and shoot weekly. And let's say one day you realize the political tide has changed for the worse for our 2nd Amendment enjoyment causing reloading supplies to become hard to find to non existent . . . but you notice while looking for reloading supplies, there seems to be some ammo availability . . . like 45acp . . . that would work in the extra cylinder you bought for your S.A. revolver . . . because it was cheaper than buying a semi-auto in 45acp . . . and now you have the extra $ you can spend on the rest of the 45acp ammo!

Having options means you'll more likely be able to defend yourself and your family.

Mike

Not much different than 44 Special/44 Magnum-or conversion cylinders for Cap and Ball revolvers-and in my reloading days I found revolvers much more reloader friendly than semiautos, easier to retrieve the brass.

I have a few single action revolvers, some cartridge but most cap and ball. Two of the cartridge revolvers started as 45 long Colt. My favorite is a 5 1/2” Italian copy. I fitted an ACP cylinder and stag grips.



Since that time (70’s?) I have never returned the long Colt cylinder to the revolver. Admittedly, I have no idea where it might be!

Yes, I believe it is a worthy option and quite surprised Patton did not use one so chambered.

Kevin

If i didn't reload, a 45 ACP cylinder would make sense. It's cheaper than 45 Colt if you buy factory cartridges too.

The .45ACP is a great cartridge in a single action! Let's be honest, everyone loves that big .45Colt but it's really a lot of empty space. The .45ACP does the same thing with a lot less of it. Not only can you shoot cheap hardball on those days when you don't want to reload but the short fat case loads and ejects quickly and easily. There's really nothing not to like about it.

CraigC said:

The .45ACP is a great cartridge in a single action! Let's be honest, everyone loves that big .45Colt but it's really a lot of empty space. The .45ACP does the same thing with a lot less of it. Not only can you shoot cheap hardball on those days when you don't want to reload but the short fat case loads and ejects quickly and easily. There's really nothing not to like about it.

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I have an aux 45 acp cylinder for my Freedom Arms M97 45 Colt. The ACP cylinder is a permanent fixture in this little gun for the reasons mentioned by Craig C


.

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Paul

I once had a nice early Ruger Blackhawk 45 convertible. I regret selling that gun nearly every day.

I like having the extra cylinder. I once bought a new Colt SAA with both 45Colt and 45ACP cylinders. I loaded and shot quite a bit of .45ACP back then, and never fired a single round of .45Colt in that gun. I ordered my Freedom Arms .454 with the aux. .45ACP cylinder 20+ years ago. I didn't shoot the gun much, but when I did it was with the .454 cylinder. Now, with my wrist 20 years older, the .45ACP cylinder is the one that gets used.
I've also had .22LR/.22Mag and 357/9mm revolvers. Liked and used those too. In fact, I'll be exchanging the .357 cylinder for the 9mm cylinder before the next range trip...

I have a couple convertible single action revolvers and the alternate cylinders have had little or no rounds put through them. But that is not to say someone should not get one. They do provide options.

45 ACP is fun to shoot in a revolver. I have a couple DA revolvers chambered for 45 ACP

Bought a used Blackhawk in 45 Colt with the 45acp cylinder. I've probably put more 45acp rounds through it than in any semi-auto. Using a revolver lets me explore all the possibilities of the cartridge without worrying about enough power to work the slide. Just another facet to the hobby.

Jeff

Like I mentioned in page 1, I enjoy the .45 acp rounds in a revolver. Fun round it is.

I stopped shooting my 45LC for many years because of ammo prices. For context, I bought a New Vaquero in .357, and after 15 boxes of ammo, I had saved enough to by that Vaquero over again.
Thats only 700 rounds. About 3 range trips for me back then.

That SAA sat unused for about 16 years. It still has only about 350 rounds on it. By comparison, that Vaquero has had twice that many rounds through it in a day.

Had a Cattlemen .45 ACP cylinder been available at the time (2004), I may have not gotten the Vaq. Of course the Vac is a more accurate, easier to use, and stronger revolver, but back then .45 ACP ran $12/box, .38spl ran $8/box (HSM reloads), and at $4/box difference, I dont know it would have made much difference. At that time (2004), 45 Colt ran $45/box. So $38/50 rounds difference DID make a difference.

+1 on reloading .45 Colt. It's been in short supply and expensive for years IHMO compared to other cartridges. I'm also a Unique smokeless powder loader and 8 grains does the trick under a 250 RNFP. Filling up the .45 Colt case with 3FFFg blackpowder is more fun though....filler up leaving no space for maximum fun. .45 Colt is a rather easy reload cartridge and it's therapeudic.

The one thing I forgot to mention. If you have a second cylinder in .45 ACP may I recommend you do something to differentiate it from your .45 Colt cylinder.
I went to the range once with .45 Colt ammo and a .45 ACP cylinder in my New Vaquero. Didn’t get much shooting done with that one that day.

Photo of my New Vaquero after coming home from Ruger with it’s snappy new .45 ACP cylinder.

OrangeCat said:

I think the Pietra models I've been looking at have the chambering stamped in the cylinder face but I'm a little fuzzy on what the features are of any of the Piettas. It seems like there's about 40 different model and chambering combinations that are imported.

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They infact do. Looking at mine right now. Marked ".45 ACP"

OrangeCat said:

I think the Pietra models I've been looking at have the chambering stamped in the cylinder face but I'm a little fuzzy on what the features are of any of the Piettas. It seems like there's about 40 different model and chambering combinations that are imported.

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Yeah, the Ruger cylinder I received wasn't marked. I actually haven't done anything with it because I haven't decided what I want t do to differentiate from the .45 Colt cylinder.