.45 GAP is not .45 acp and other ammo stories

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The "NRA Standard" response is whatever the gun says on its barrel is what the ammo box needs to say on its side. For most people that will work as well as anything.

I had one chucklehead over the phone try to tell me that 7.62x25 Tokarev and 9mm Makarov were the same thing. And this was an actual gun store. Guess all them funny Russky names are the same anyway..... :banghead:
 
I was recently at Wal-Mart to pick up some ammo for a Ruger Mark II pistol. I asked for .22 LR value pack. He asked if it was for a rifle or pistol, I said pistol and he was wondering if the .22 Long Rifle would work, since it's for a pistol.
 
The real problem in firing a standard .22RF cartridge in a .22 WMR chamber is that head/rim diameter. The larger rim/head diameter of the .22 WMR means that a standard .22RF round won't be fully supported for the firing pin strike.
Click to expand...

Years ago I tried firing .22lr in my marlin 22 WMR bolt gun. it fired fine, But the .22lr case split open as it expanded to fill the larger chamber. I then had to use a cleaning rod to extract the .22lr case from the chamber where it had welded itself.
 
Heh heh.

Ignorance goes both ways. A few years back, a customer brought a "blowed-up" rifle to him for evaluation. It was a common caliber that I do not recall at present, maybe a .270.

The barrel was split, and the receiver cracked, and the customer was unhappy to hear the words "total loss", and "scrap metal". He wanted the shop to send the gun back to the factory for warranty repair.

Turns out he'd been trying his hand at reloading, filling up the case to the neck before seating the bullet. See, he knew that it needed fillin' all the way to the top, "because that's why they make different sized cartridge cases."

Blew up his Remchester with what was probably a triple charge, and then expressed amazement at the fact that the factory wouldn't spring for a new rifle in exchange for the totalled receiver.
 
Serious question:

What is the difference between .45 Colt and .45 ACP and .45-70 ammo?

Better yet, is there an online source that compares/contrasts the specs of ammo?

You know, the teach a man to fish thang...

Thanks,

Sawdust
 
Sawdust: Buy a reloading manual and your questions will be answered thoroughly.

That Said:

45 Colt - been around for well over a hundred years. Pistol round which originally was designed to shoot 250 gr lead bullets. 40 gr of black powder used. Now a days it is a very popular round with the Cowboy Action crowd and there are lever guns as well as rifles and modern revolvers chambered in it. It is IMO a very versatile caliber and depending on the gun can be loaded to power levels above that of 44 Mag for defense or hunting. It can be downloaded to mouse phart levels (a lot of CAS guys do this) to make it a low recoil easy round to shoot for paper or just plinking.

45 ACP - ACP=Automatic Colt Pistol - this round has been around since 1911 or so (ring a bell). It is much shorter in length than the 45 colt and was originally designed around a 230gr bullet. Originally designed to use smokeless powder. It is the round used in the 1911's, Sig P220, CZ97 and others.

45-70 Government - old Army round for the late 1800's. Still popular for hunting. Primarily lever guns.
 
Serious question:

What is the difference between .45 Colt and .45 ACP and .45-70 ammo?

Better yet, is there an online source that compares/contrasts the specs of ammo?
Click to expand...

I find www.ammoguide.com pretty useful. ;)

The database has specifications and performance info on just about any cartridge you can think of.
 
True Story 1...

Kid goes up to range shack, says his dad wants 7mm ammo for the family rifle.

Rangemaster asks "7mm Mauser or 7mm Magnum"? (The 2 kinds of 7mm in stock.) Kid say he doesn't know, takes the choices and prices back to dad.

Kid comes back, buys 7mm Mauser.

On second shot, stock splits, gun won't open, lucky no injury. You guessed it - it's a 7mm Mag rifle. Lord only knows how he manages even one shot... must have been one helluva strong case.

Turns out dad bought 7mm Mauser because it was cheaper.

Mike
http://ammoguide.com/
 
True Story 2...

This is a cut & paste from my article Common Sense: The reloader's most important tool...

"...This true story involves a Rangemaster in California (exact location withheld) - someone, believe it or not, charged with monitoring the activities of other shooters! Years ago, our hero was having accuracy issues with his own, new AR-15 rifle.

While his new rifle should have been much more suspect than the factory .223 ammunition he was using, it was a reasonable decision to examine the rounds. What was not reasonable, however, was the decision to weigh individual powder charges and make assumptions about factory-assembled ammunition. What was even less reasonable was to mix the powder from several boxes together and subsequently recharge all cases with the average charge of that mix dispersed throughout. This valiant attempt at consistency brought catastrophic failure of ammunition and firearm on first shot - a split receiver and pieces were all that remained of his new rifle. Fortunately, no physical injury resulted.

Well, it all seemed to make sense to our Rangemaster. The ammunition was from the same maker in the same kind of box. It was the same bullet at the same velocity and even had the same part number. The only discernable difference between rounds was that the powder charge varied significantly among them. Surely that was a manufacturing problem, right? Wrong!

Without experience in commercial manufacturing techniques, our Rangemaster did not know that ammo makers commonly switch internal components, such as powder type, between different lot numbers of the same product. This is done for various manufacturing reasons, such as availability from different sources, but makers work hard to insure their ammunition performs consistently externally, lot to lot, despite the use of different components internally. The (near) fatal flaw was in assuming that because everything looked the same, it was the same...

Mike
http://ammoguide.com/
 
Bear with me as I tell my tale of woe:
I own a Marlin Model 1892 rifle in .32 Long Colt caliber. It was made around 1908.
.32 Long Colt ammo has not been made for about 25 years. Winchester still makes .32 SHORT Colt ammo, however, and it may be fired in a .32 Long Colt chamber.

Now, to the particulars:
The .32 Long Colt case was originally designed for a heeled bullet. Therefore, the diameter of the case is the same diameter of the bullet, which closely matches the bore. Think of it as an oversized .22 Long Rifle.
Anyway, the .32 Long Colt was introduced about 1875 for a variety of Colt revolvers. Some rifle makers such as Marlin and Stevens chambered for it.
In the early 20th century, Smith & Wesson introduced the .32 Smith & Wesson Long. It was a better cartridge because it was designed to have most of the bullet's body inside the case, where the bullet lubricant was protected.
Colt recognized this new .32 as a good cartridge but couldn't bring itself to chamber its revolvers AND acknowledge its greatest competitor.
So, they took the same cartridge, put a little flat tip on the end of the lead bullet, and renamed it the .32 Colt New Police.
Follow me so far? .32 Long Colt vs. .32 Colt New Police?

So, the .32 Smith & Wesson Long and the .32 Colt New Police are basically identical cartridges and may be fired interchangeably.
However, the .32 Long Colt has a case smaller in diameter. It will fit into a .32 S&W Long / .32 Colt NP chamber but usually splits when fired and releases gas back to the shooter's face. It's a dangerous practice. Don't do it.

Curses on Colt for renaming the S&W round as they did! :cuss:

Every time I ask, "You got any .32 Long Colt ammo?" at a gun store or gun show, I get handed a box of .32 S&W Long Ammo.

"No, that's not it. I need .32 Long Colt ammo."
"Same thing," is the usual reply.
"No, it's not. The .32 Long Colt case is smaller in diameter."
"Nahhhhh .. .32 is .32," they typically say.

And it doesn't stop there. Finding bullets for reloading is another problem. :cuss:
The interior diameter of a sized .32 Long Colt case is about .294 inch. Bullet size should be about .299 inch.
When I tell people that I can't use regular .32 bullets in the .32 Long Colt, they tell me I'm crazy and, "Sure ya can."
"No, I can't, because then I'd be trying to squeeze a .312 or .314 inch diameter bullet into a case opening of .294 inch. It won't work."

One guy insisted it would work, but admitted the case would bulge some. I asked him how I could ever chamber such a cartridge and he walked away t talk with another customer.

Then there's the matter of headstamps on .32 Long Colt ammo and .32 Colt New Police (which, remember, is identical to .32 S&W Long cases).

The .32 Long Colt headstamp is typically 32 COLT, 32 C, 32 LC, 32 LCF, 32 LONG or 32 LONG COLT.
The .32 Colt New Police is typically headstamped 32 POLICE, 32 COLT NP or 32 CNP.

Folks, you think the laughable .45 GAP has problems? I've been fighting this ammo and headstamp battle for nearly 10 years! :banghead:

But, I've managed to get the old Marlin rifle shooting again. And it's a fun shooter, too. Picture an octagon-barreled Model 39 in .32 caliber! Great on small game.
 
What is the difference between .45 Colt and .45 ACP and .45-70 ammo?
Click to expand...

In a pinch, you just might be able to use a .45 Colt in a a .45-70 rifle:
.45 Colt -
45LC.gif
.45-70
4570.gif

I wouldn't feel really great about it, especially in a lever gun, but it should work.
 
Back to the original story. You could ask the guy if they have CCI Blazer HP in 45acp. Those are GoldDot projectiles and the power level is adequate for self defense.
 
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