Hi-Tech meets .45 Colt

[20nickels]

I would like to design a carry piece in .45 Long Colt/.45ACP moonclip based on the 329PD or 325PD. I want to use a steel cylinder for added heft, recoil absorbtion, and mid-frame balance.
Can the scandium barrel shroud be used or will I have to add a new steel barrel? I already have an all steel 625 and the scandiums seem just too light to shoot any length of time. I believe this would be an excellent back-up to my lever action as well as stand alone carry pistol. It will probably never see +P .45 Colt loads and a lot of .45 ACP for practice.

Which platform should I start with?

329PD or 325PD

 

[20nickels]

I probably should have put this one under "Gunsmithing". I hope you all don't mind.

 

[ChristopherG]

Man, that sounds like a lot more trouble and expense than just getting the 325PD and loading some .45 AR's for it.

If you don't plan to shoot HEAVY DUTY .45 Colt loads, the .45 AR will easily do what you need. My favorite pistol round, bar none, is a .45 AR 255 gr. SWC going 900 fps from a 4" 625--i.e., a ballistic replica of the original .45 Colt load, only more consistent and accurate (because you don't have all that wasted case space). I (and others) have pushed that bullet as fast as 1100 fps, but I don't want to beat my gun up, and I doubt that 200 fps is going to make much of a differnce anyway--the classic .45 Colt/AR load will penetrate any critter that needs perforating.

Sorry, I know this isn't a direct answer to your question. To put it more on target, I'd suggest that you'd probly need to start with the 329 to do the project as described, since the 325's barrel extends so far back into the cylinder slot, and it's got that shortened ACP cylinder.