Bullet diameter question 45 colt

[horsemen61]

Ok guys the misses picked me up a box of 45 bullets for my 45 colt ruger new vaquero well the guy behind the counter just grabbed a box she said and he said here is what you need problem is the diameter is .454 and my barrel is .452 do question can I shoot these in this gun they are lead. 255 grain hornady cowboy bullets

 

[rcmodel]

They are probably fine.

Modern .45 Colt barrels normally run .452".
Older guns were .454" or larger.

But lead bullets should be sized to fit the chamber throats, not the bore however.

Try dropping or pushing one of the .454" bullets through your cylinder chamber throat.
A Slip fit or even 'push it through' tight is fine.

The forcing cone in the barrel will sort out the minor details when you shoot them.

.002" is not even noticeable or measurable in lead bullets as far as pressure goes.
Especially the soft swaged lead Hornady Cowboy bullets.

I shoot .454" cast bullets in my newish Colt SAA and a newer Uberti SAA clone.
Both shoot better with them then with .452" lead bullets.

If they will chamber after loading them, Choot'm!

rc

 

[hgte2001]

MODERN 45 COLTS ARE .452. The Hornday .454 as per above will not harm anything and will not add any pressure. My Keith Bullets sized at 452 shoot tighter than the Hornady. It is not by much and I bought 2 boxes of 250 for a closeout price. I think this has more to do with the 3 driving bands than the size and according to Keith's writings, that is the reason.

Enjoy them. They printed fine with Unique for me.

 

[horsemen61]

Ok thanks guys and yes rc the bullets fit in the chambers so I think they will be safe to use

 

[45lcshooter]

I shoot both sizes in my Uberti, some people would say how can that be, i don't really know. hahaha. both bullets are accurate, and they are both lead, i don't shoot jacketed out of the LC

 

[Don McDowell]

Those bullets will be alright.
The 45 is pretty forgiving, and running bullets from 451-456 diameter has not been a problem.

 

[RealGun]

I think you should be measuring the cylinder throat, which is smaller than the chamber. The bullet should drop through or go with minimal coaxing. Others know better than I whether forcing a bullet larger than the throat will work. I don't shoot lead, but it seems like pushing an oversized wad of putty down the barrel.

 

[USSR]

I think you should be measuring the cylinder throat, which is smaller than the chamber. The bullet should drop through or go with minimal coaxing.

Yep, with revolvers, the bullet should go through your cylinder throat with just a "hint" of resistance. This is assuming your cylinder throats are at or are larger than your bore size. If your cylinder throats are smaller than bore size, you have a problem and will likely getting leading unless you have a gunsmith open up your throats.

Don