Colt 45 Snub Power

Sounds about right, most plinking 45colt loads are in the 800fps range with a longer barrel, 650 is probably about as good as it gets for that short a barrel unless you think your gun can handle "ruger" loads through it.

Not surprised. I had a Bond derringer in .45 Colt/.410, and I once chrono'd a heavy .45 load at 530 fps.

About the best you'll be able to do (unless you want to push the envelope a little) is the low 700's, using 7 grains of Bullseye, 8 of Unique, 9 of Herco, or 10 of Power Pistol.

You might want to try using black powder. It might very well outperform smokeless.

I have one of these and have carried it due to the light weight. Try the self defense 200 grain loads, the velocity will be higher and they shoot more to the point of aim for me. The British Webley .455 load had a heavy bullet going at about 650 fps and it was considered a man stopper in it's day. It won't expand, but it is already a .45.
I shot some warmer loads in mine, but the recoil gets real uncomfotable really quick.

A lot of published .45 Colt data was obtained using revolvers with either a 7 1/2 or 5 1/2 inch barrel. Obviously you will lose some velocity with snub-gun lengths. However you will also lose velocity with other cartridges under the same conditions. On the plus side, it shouldn't be necessary to expand a .45 bullet because it's big in the first place. If I was truly worried about expansion (and I'm not) I'd work up some handloads using 185-grain or lighter bullets intended for use in .45ACP ammunition with a charge of fast burning powder.

A 45 Colt round in a semi-wad cutter is going to make a really big hole that isn't going to close up much. There isn't much velocity you are going to be able to develop out of a 2" barrel.

You can try some lighter bullet weights and see what extra velocity you can get out of them. If you hand load, it will be a lot easier to tailor a round that will be optimized for your gun. I'd be curious about how one of the new Hornady "Critical Defense" bullets (the ones with the rubber plugs) would do at the slower speeds. Or maybe fill the HP cavity of another round with rubber cement?

A 45 Colt round in a semi-wad cutter is going to make a really big hole that isn't going to close up much. There isn't much velocity you are going to be able to develop out of a 2" barrel.

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I agree. if you can't get expansion then go with the SWC. People use hard cast lead bullets with flat points for hunting because the flat points will crush tissue and transfer quite a bit of energy.
You're better off with a flat point than a JHP if the JHP isn't going to have enough velocity to open up. Most JHPs act like round nose FMJ when they're shot below their ideal velocity.

I don't think you could load any JHP fast enough in your snub to get good expansion.

Corbon?

Wonder how these would do?

https://www.dakotaammo.net/shop/pro...id=76&osCsid=1c9b5337c7473060df85b9b03b35ffd6

I would think it would run in the 800's fps.

Fumbler said:

I agree. if you can't get expansion then go with the SWC. People use hard cast lead bullets with flat points for hunting because the flat points will crush tissue and transfer quite a bit of energy.
You're better off with a flat point than a JHP if the JHP isn't going to have enough velocity to open up. Most JHPs act like round nose FMJ when they're shot below their ideal velocity.

I don't think you could load any JHP fast enough in your snub to get good expansion.

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Well, if we can't get speed, then lets go for "throw weight"! 325gr+ ought to make an impression!

You may find this worthwhile:

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/45colt.html

Includes data from 7 real world guns.

Jim D.

When I had a 2" 45Colt I used 14.0 AA7 under a 250lwfn for an even 800fps. It will do the job on anything you need to shoot, this side of small cars, anyway.

The Speer #4484 250gr .45 GDJHP is like their #4429 .44 Spcl 200gr - designed to fully open just over 800 fps, which I achieved from my 4" 625MG & 4" 629 with upper midrange suggested Titegroup loads in both calibers. Tests in brisket, ballistic gel, and water jugs has been demonstrated as quite good. The GDJHP did fill with denim, etc, affecting it's opening. The 250gr-er still has it's mass. Pity Taurus ported those 450's!

Stainz