.45 auto rim

[harleysandguns]

I reload and recently bought a Taurus Judge which of course is in cal. .410 / 45 Long Colt. I went to the local range and didn't like the performance with .410 buckshot loads. I could only shoot at the 25 yd. distance, so the best pattern (3 pellets) was maybe one hit in center of mass (on a siloute) target and the other 2 pellets were certainly flyers! I fired slugs and this was acceptable, all hits were accurate and hit center of mass, no moa but not too bad. Not liking heavy recoil of a .45 long colt and being different I figured I'd experiment loading some .45 rimmed. I see its sort of currently making a come back and black hills has brass available. You can use .45 acp dies with a # 13 shell holder, so all seems pretty easy to make this happen. Just wondering though, what would make a good reload for a self defense load in this caliber for a Judge revolver? I just am one who does things differently I know, but when I went to a local gun store and handled the Judge I had to have it!

 

[Walkalong]

Any good .45 ACP load should work fine, although many reloading books have separate .45 Rimmed data. Let us know how they shoot in the Judge.

Welcome to THR

 

[Chuck Perry]

Might the extra thick case rim cause problems? Not sure if there will be enough clearance for the cylinder to close and cycle properly.

 

[Wil Terry]

It will not work !!!

Period.

 

[Jim Watson]

.45 Auto Rim will not work in a .45 Colt revolver. The rim is about half again as thick and a properly made .45 Colt cylinder will not close on it.

If you don't mind paying for some specialized brass, the .45 Cowboy Special has the rim of a .45 Colt and the length of a .45 ACP.
Or try some .45 S&W Schofield cases.
Or just get a can of Trail Boss and load .45 Colt lighter.

I think any .45 load worth having for defense is going to have some recoil, though. Powderpuff loads are for cowboy shooting tenderfeet.

 

[rcmodel]

What he said.

.45 AR will not fit or work in a .45 Colt revolver due to the extra thick rim designed to take the place of half-moon & moon-clip loaded .45 ACP rimless ammo..
.45 ACP will not work in a .45 Colt because it is rimless and will just fall in the chambers.

There is no use of even trying .45 AR because it won't fit.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

Well I learned something. I assumed he had already tried the brass in his gun. Silly me.

 

[suemarkp]

Was the 45 Colt recoil that much worse than the 410 loads? They should be similar except for the slugs which are so light. I hope you weren't using 45 Colt for the Ruger or Thomson Contender Only type loads -- too powerful for your gun!

If "regular" 45 Colt is too much for you, try the 45 Colt "Cowboy loads". They tend to be low velocity lead loads. If you want to handload, use the 45 Colt or 45 Schofeld brass cases. Use lighter bullets (160 to 200 grains) or even .452 lead round balls (they are about 140 grains each).

If you want a buckshot load, the Federal loads specifically for the judge pattern much better. But still may be off the paper at 25 yards. These loads have some strong recoil too though.