.45 LC vs. .45 ACP

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J

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Given all things equal, including quality of the gun and the reload, if you put both in a Ransom Rest at 25 yards, which revolver will be the more accurate?
 
Should be a draw. Especially at 25 yards!
50 yards would be a better test!

IMO: Neither caliber has any inherent accuracy advantage with quality reloads & quality bullets.
I believe you would be more likely find more difference in two guns of the same make & model chambered in each caliber.

And historically, there have been more chamber throat & barrel bore size variations in .45 Colt guns then in .45 ACP guns.

I would say though that given two guns capable of exactly the same accuracy?
Factory .45 ACP Match or most factory SD loads will out shoot most standard factory .45 Colt loads at 50 yards in a Ransom rest.

The .45 ACP has the advantage of about 75 years of Bullseye competition pushing ammo & gun development to match accuracy standards.

rc
 
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The one in which the bullets match the bore better.

All things being equal, it will be a draw.
 
Based on mine, I don't know if there really is much difference in accuracy. Both shoot very well. I tend to shoot my 45 Colts better offhand. The 45 Colt is a lot less limited as to bullet weight and charge too so the impact on the target is more impressive too with the heavier bullet and faster velocity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w3I6EisXHU
 
It will depend more upon differences between individual guns and preferred loads than anything inherent with either cartridge.
 
Neither is more inherently accurate than the other.

Both calibers are over 100 years old so any issues were worked out decades ago.

My advise? Get one or two of each & shoot the heck outta 'em!
(that's what I did) :D
 
The OP ask about revolvers.
One in .45 ACP, and one in .45 Colt.

Say a matched pair of S&W's, or Freedon Arms, or?

rc
 
Both calibers are over 100 years old so any issues were worked out decades ago.
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On the contrary, newer chamberings tend to be far more consistent. Few manufacturers can seem to get their .45Colt dimensions right.
 
+1

And like I said before, the .45 Colt was never a Bullseye competition match round like the .45 ACP.

So very little if any real accuracy development was ever done with factory ammo.

rc
 
And it usually takes a custom gun with a properly chambered cylinder and correct bore size for the .45Colt to realize its accuracy potential. Most .45ACP's, like most .44Mag's (also often compared to the .45Colt), tend to be more accurate out of the box. Nobody ever has a custom cylinder built in .44Mag but gunsmiths have built their livelihood around making accurate .45Colt's. So really, for "all else to be equal", it would have to be a Freedom Arms or USFA convertible sixgun. Even Colt can't get their .45Colt dimensions right.
 
Assume same revolver type and barrel, the .45 LC has a theoretical advantage in the typical cylinder length of a revolver for there is less travel (free bore) of the bullet prior to making contact with the rifling of the barrel. In real life it would be interesting to see this tested to see if there is a practical different
 
Assume same revolver type and barrel, the .45 LC has a theoretical advantage in the typical cylinder length of a revolver for there is less travel (free bore) of the bullet prior to making contact with the rifling of the barrel.
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+1
That was exactly my very first thought when I read the question.
 
Assume same revolver type and barrel, the .45 LC has a theoretical advantage in the typical cylinder length of a revolver for there is less travel (free bore) of the bullet prior to making contact with the rifling of the barrel. In real life it would be interesting to see this tested to see if there is a practical different
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Even if you used an ideal length .45 ACP cylinder, you still have to deal with head space. In a hand ejector or top break you'll need a moon clip to eject the cartridges, unless you do something weird like the S&W 547 system. Either way, without some serious work you may not get the .45 ACP cases to head space perfectly. In a single action with gate loading & ejection (like a Ruger Blackhawk) you should be able to get the ACP cases to head space on the case mouth consistently. Clear as mud, right?
 
All things being equal; all things are never equal. But the smaller case size of the .45 ACP tends to give it a slight edge in uniformity of ignition over the .45 Colt, but you would need an extensive study using something like a Ransom Rest to prove anything, and then the margin would probably be pretty small.
 
All things being equal; all things are never equal. But the smaller case size of the .45 ACP tends to give it a slight edge in uniformity of ignition over the .45 Colt, but you would need an extensive study using something like a Ransom Rest to prove anything, and then the margin would probably be pretty small.
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Agreed, 100%.
 
All things being equal; all things are never equal. But the smaller case size of the .45 ACP tends to give it a slight edge in uniformity of ignition over the .45 Colt, but you would need an extensive study using something like a Ransom Rest to prove anything, and then the margin would probably be pretty small.
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If anyone would like to send me a Ransom rest, and both a .45 ACP & .45 Colt barrel for a T/C Contender I'll be happy to use my Contender to do the testing. I'll even do the hand loading & buy the factory ammo myself. :D
 
If anyone would like to send me a Ransom rest, and both a .45 ACP & .45 Colt barrel for a T/C Contender I'll be happy to use my Contender to do the testing. I'll even do the hand loading & buy the factory ammo myself.
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You have to use the same barrel or at least barrels cut from the same length of a longer rifle barrel and even then the barrels might not be the same. The other solution is to use many barrels and then one has to decide on the loads to be used. In a revolver the .45 ACP has the advantage of being cheaper to purchase and the .45LC can take greater charges. Both are accurate enough for field shooting and very few shooters use the revolver for bullseye shooting where a slight increase accuracy would be greatly beneficial.
 
I think the Gun Blast tests of the two Rugers is instructive. Two guns, each using the same barrel with two cylinders. .45 ACP has a slight edge.
 
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