.44 Special fits perfectly in my .45 ACP S&W revolver

[The Real Hawkeye]

I came across a lone .44 Special round in my drawer. Since I already had my S&W .45 ACP revolver out, just for kicks I thought I'd try putting it in the cylinder. I figured it would fall in, but lo and behold, due to the narrowing of the chamber past .45 ACP case length, it fit in like it was made for it, nice and snug, perfectly centered and, due to the rim, to the right depth. Tried closing the cylinder, and it closed no problem. The tip of the bullet was just short enough not to protrude out the front. Then it occurred to me, just hypothetically (I would never take the chance of damaging my new toy), what would happen if I fired it. Would it just pass harmlessly through at low velocity due to the space left by the undersized bullet (The "windage" as muzzle loaders call it), or would it do some kind of damage due to bouncing around against the barrel's interior surface, or even damage the forcing cone before it even got to the bore? Certainly the case would experience some sort of fire-forming process, but would the sudden expansion of the casing inside the undersized rear 65% of the chamber cause a rupture of the cylinder? Anyone know?

 

[ribbonstone]

Suspect you arleady have identified most of the bad things that could happen, and tempting fate is seldom a good idea. The headsapce shouldn't be right, that .44specail rim is a lot thinner than a .45AR (or .45acp in a moon clip) rim, so there should be a lot of headspace room for it to back up in as well.

Think what needs to be of concern isn't so much what one thing could go wrong, but the ultimate worse case and all the possible bad things happen at the same time.

Would the random wheel of chance come up double zero and the house win?

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Suspect you arleady have identified most of the bad things that could happen, and tempting fate is seldom a good idea. The headsapce shouldn't be right, that .44specail rim is a lot thinner than a .45AR (or .45acp in a moon clip) rim, so there should be a lot of headspace room for it to back up in as well.

Think what needs to be of concern isn't so much what one thing could go wrong, but the ultimate worse case and all the possible bad things happen at the same time.

Would the random wheel of chance come up double zero and the house win?

Very true. People who own both the Model 21 and 22 Smith and Wesson revolvers (.44 Special and .45 ACP) had better be darn sure they have the gun in hand that they think they have, because the .44 Specials fit in there perfectly, and look and feel just right going in. Head space might be too far to detonate a primer, but it might do so even with a light contact, and the results could be catestrophic. Would be interesting to try, though, assuming you are behind a half inch of plexiglass and had a few extra revolvers just like it.

 

[steveno]

so why even think about shooting a round in a gun that it wasn't made for in the first place?

 

[Jim Watson]

.44 Special does NOT fit "perfectly" in a .45 ACP.

It is unlikely to blow up the gun but the undersize brass expanded out into the .45ACP chambers might be tough to extract. Or it might not. It is sure not going to hit much. It will definitely brand you as an ignoramus dangerous to be around on the range, who knows what stupid substitution you might try next.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

.44 Special does NOT fit "perfectly" in a .45 ACP.

Yes, it actually does. The chamber narrows to just about right after a little more than half the length of the .44 Special case.

It is unlikely to blow up the gun but the undersize brass expanded out into the .45ACP chambers might be tough to extract. Or it might not. It is sure not going to hit much. It will definitely brand you as an ignoramus dangerous to be around on the range, who knows what stupid substitution you might try next.

Agreed! Certainly don't try this, Jim. I didn't mean it as a suggestion. You would be quite stupid to do so. Have I talked you out of it yet? I sure hope so.

 

[Jim Watson]

Fits tight does not mean fits right.

I have seen bulged and split brass from several combinations, .32 in .380, .380 in 9mm, 9mm in .40, .40 in .45, .41 in .44, .44 in .45; and the fairly common Cowboy blunder of .44-40 in .45 Colt. None damaged the gun, pressure was vented off past the undersize bullet. Dumb and careless, still. The .32 in .380 was interesting, he was shooting factory loads and does not own a .32. One odd round in a box of ammo. From the factory or from somebody looking at bullets? And shooter unobservant after that.

 

[Old Fuff]

A chamber isn't the same size as the cartridge that's supposed to fit in it...

It's larger ... This is so that the case can expand to seal the chamber and release the bullet. Then when it contracts it can be easly ejected.

The cylinder throats on a .45 ACP revolver should be around .252" to .254".

The case diameter of a .44 Special is .456".

So if you can get a .44 Special into a .45 ACP chamber you either have oversized throats (and you should check), or you are really wedging the case at the front where it's in the .45's throat area.

If you fired it you could get pressures that would wreck the gun, and maybe you.

 

[LHB1]

Quote: "The cylinder throats on a .45 ACP revolver should be around .252" to .254"."

Old Fuff,
Think you had a couple of typo's and meant .452" to .454"?

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

 

[Old Fuff]

NOT ME!!! NOT ME!!!

Ma' keyboard done did it... Too much turbo-coffee got poured into it.

Oh, and yes - it should be .452" to .454"

Darn bullet shrunk....

 

[carebear]

New wildcat, the .25-45ACP. The handgun equivalent of the new WSM's.

 

[LHB1]

Quote: "New wildcat, the .25-45ACP. "

Think I heard about that wildcat. It gets 5,000 fps velocity from a 3" barrel with 2,000 psi pressure using 1.2 grains of Everlasting powder! Needs no crimp and no primer. The round is so hot it just self ignites and propels the bullet to the target. Cases never need tumbling or resizing and gun never needs cleaning.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

 

[jerkface11]

I once had someoen tell me he'd shot .44 mag out of his .454 casull. I decided to take his word on it and NOT try it with mine.

 

[noresttill]

The cylinder throats on a .45 ACP revolver should be around .252" to .254".
:

Isnt the arguement the 9mm may not expand, but the 45acp never shrinks?

 

[fisherman66]

I can't believe ya'll are having this conversation.

 

[Old Fuff]

I once had someone tell me he'd shot .44 mag out of his .454 casull.

That could happen because the .454 chamber is both longer and larger then a .44 Magnum cartridge, but the .44's rim is large enough to headspace the round.

I decided to take his word on it and NOT try it with mine.

Excellent good judgment ...

 

[unspellable]

44 Special in 45 ACP chamber

This particular combination may present a hazard not found in most undersized cartrdige in oversized chamber combinations.

If the neck of the 44 Special cartridge will enter the throat, is there room for it to expand and release the bullet? maybe there is, but let's assume there isn't for a moment. In that case, on firing the case will expand to fill the chamber. It may split, relieving the pressure in the usual way when cases split. If it does not split we now have burning powder behind a bullet held in place by too tight a chamber neck. This will raise pressure. How high? Don't know, but don't knows have a poor track record in the shooting game.

 

[ribbonstone]

This much I'll admit:

Once loaded and fired a .32ACp in a 9mm. Figure there is now way that could happen...but the extractor hoked it and the round fired. No damage I couls depetect, but that's kind of expected in this situation. How did it happen?...a year before (and the last time I had worn that coat) was testing a .32ACP...evidently I left a found in the coat pocket...got mixed in when I droped a few 9mm rounds in that pocket.

One got to the range, and found myself trying to jam a 7mm Mag into my .308. RAN!!!! over to my buddy before he jammed a .308 into his 7mag. Lesson: don't share transport boxes.
-------
Just becasue a cartidge will go into the chamber is not an invitation to shoot it.

 

[medmo]

Just don't and stop it. Please