School me on the .45 Long Colt
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jmortimer
Member
You could CCW a single action like the new Vaqueros - around 36 ounces but most of the guns are heavy. My new Vaquero has a 3 3/4" barrel and it is a nice gun. The USAA Double Eagle (around $1,000) is on my wish list with 3 1/2 inch barrel at 33 ounces and would be a great carry gun. Anyone shooting single action would need to practice, practice, practive and use SASS techniques. For me, lighter is better for carry gun and pretty much rules .45 Colt (except I do have a 19 ounce Total Titanium Taurus .45 Colt model 450 whcih would be a great gun if you could find a used one that functioned well.) Otherwise, I would stick with Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk or if you have the $$$ a Feeedom Arms which is as nice as a gun can get. For me there is nothing better than the .45 Colt especially if you reload. A pre-expanded 11.5 mm bullet is a good thing.
dirtygrunt95
Member
I ccw a S&W 625 mountain gun alot. So i'd say it's great for the range and ccw both.
daehawc
Member
depending on how big you are and what your carry method is a .45 lc will likely be difficult to conceal, not impossible just harder. I have owned a few but they had all been rugers. My current favorite is the ruger black hawk convertible. Its the 5.5" barrel and has two cylinders so I can shoot either .45 lc or .45 acp. Plus, it being a ruger, the thing is as strong as you'll ever need and you can fire the "Ruger Only" loads that are out there in .45 lc giving you more power than a .44 mag if you want it.
I've been shooting the blackhawk convertible with the ACP cylinder a lot lately and it is easily one of the more accurate guns I've fired. I am able to easily hit small chicken style metal targets at my range from 75 yards out off hand. I cant do that reliably with any of my other pistols.
I've been shooting the blackhawk convertible with the ACP cylinder a lot lately and it is easily one of the more accurate guns I've fired. I am able to easily hit small chicken style metal targets at my range from 75 yards out off hand. I cant do that reliably with any of my other pistols.
Texasgunlover
Member
Smith&Wesson's mountain gun is hard to beat if your main goal is cc,being smooth double action,but I prefer ruger due to the ease of shootability,and range of reloading options.I believe that cartridge is still one of the best all-around cartridges ever made.
MCgunner
Member
Standard pressure or +P, I like the round in a single action. Oh, the Mountain Gun is a great choice for hikers and back packers who prefer DA, but I'm a single action guy, first handgun 40 years ago was a SA .22 and that's what I learned on. And, being a child of TV westerns, this round has always meant single actions to me. Hell, the Houston Astros were originally the "Colt .45s". I wish they'd kept that name, but wasn't very "progressive" I guess.
I am old enough, though, to have attended .45's ball games in their old stadium before the dome was built. When I was a kid, I even had a hat. I own two .45 Colts, a contender barrel that also fires .410 with a choke in place, and a Ruger 4 5/8" stainless blackhawk. I like the Ruger for carry where one would carry the mountain gun. It's about the same weight and bulk as the Mountain Gun and I just prefer the strength and durability of the SA gun for field use. It is a very accurate gun, too. I'd like to maybe buy a replica SAA sometime, but it would just be a range gun and something to fondle around the house for the history. The Blackhawk does what I like a .45 to do. Yes, you can find little snubbies in .45 occasiionally, but they're in high demand. I know Taurus made one and if you find one, be prepared to pay for it. I guess there's enough big bore lovers out there to fuel that demand, but not enough to sustain a carry snubby model cause they don't seem to be produced in numbers when they are introduced.
I really got little use for the Judge. That new polymer public defender comes as close as a Judge comes to carry size and it's still too big and I have no use for .410 in a revolver, so the extra cylinder is a waste. But, I'm not real high on the old snubbies, either, as they're bulky compared to a good .38 special for carry and I don't think the .38 is inadequate for self defense, can't see why I should carry bulkier than that.
So, JMHO is get a single action or if you prefer a DA, the Mountain Gun is a good choice for outdoor carry. I don't think concealed carry is really the .45's best forte, though I realize it can be done and it's probably because I can carry a .357 mag on the hip. My normal carry is in a pocket and .38s make much better pocket guns.
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Guy de Loimbard
Member
I CC a 5 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk under a jacket most of the year. You could do it under a shirt but I'd bet it would be a bit more difficult.
MachIVshooter
Member
First, just an FYI:
There is no such thing as .45 Long Colt, since there was never a shorter version, as there was with the .38 Colt. It's just .45 Colt. It is a hugely propogated misnomer (some guns are even labeled LC).
Anyway....
It's a great cartridge, easily matching the performance of .45 ACP +P with much lower pressures due to the large case. In some guns, it can equal and even exceed the .44 magnum.
However....
For a carry gun, other than a derringer, you're looking at S&W N-frame or larger, meaning better than 2 pounds and a minimum width of ~ 1.7" at the cylinder. That's not easy to conceal, short of wearing vests/jackets all the time. If you care to make the wardrobe adjustments necessary to hide something of such dimensions, something like the 625 would be a great defensive piece. But it's impractically large for most of us. Ultimately, though, it's your call.
There is no such thing as .45 Long Colt, since there was never a shorter version, as there was with the .38 Colt. It's just .45 Colt. It is a hugely propogated misnomer (some guns are even labeled LC).
Anyway....
It's a great cartridge, easily matching the performance of .45 ACP +P with much lower pressures due to the large case. In some guns, it can equal and even exceed the .44 magnum.
However....
For a carry gun, other than a derringer, you're looking at S&W N-frame or larger, meaning better than 2 pounds and a minimum width of ~ 1.7" at the cylinder. That's not easy to conceal, short of wearing vests/jackets all the time. If you care to make the wardrobe adjustments necessary to hide something of such dimensions, something like the 625 would be a great defensive piece. But it's impractically large for most of us. Ultimately, though, it's your call.
MCgunner
Member
He's in Arkansas. Maybe 4 months a year, maybe, he could do that.
And, there are 5 shot snubby .45 Colts on the used market like the little Taurus and I think Smith and Wesson made a few. More popular for these guns is .44 special for the big bore guys, it seems.
Found a pic by googling of the Taurus 450, offered in steel or ultralight or titanium. I'm pretty sure it's discontinued, though. It is a very carriable gun, perhaps the best of the .45 colt carries. I think Smith and Wesson had a 5 shot snub, but I'm not as familiar with them.
riddleofsteel
Member
during cooler months a 4 5/8 Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt carried in a Mernickle high ride holster is easy to conceal under a light jacket or even an unbuttoned flannel shirt. Because of the exposed hammer comfort, in my case dictates a garment between me and the gun so hot weather carry of this rig becomes more problematic.
I carry a 5.5 Blackhawk in the woods all the time. More powerful than a 44 mag with some loads.
Im not sure i would use a 45colt as a CCW piece though, personal opinion and nothing more. If i wanted big and slow in a snubbie id probably do a 44 special.
Im not sure i would use a 45colt as a CCW piece though, personal opinion and nothing more. If i wanted big and slow in a snubbie id probably do a 44 special.
This article may be of some interest to you then. According to it there was indeed a shorter version, even had it noted on the cartridge head.
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/45_short_colt.htm
DickM
Member
I have a number of .45 Colt (Long Colt, if you like, it doesn't matter to me) revolvers, mostly single action for CAS, but also some S&W double action. It's a great cartridge that I enjoy shooting and reloading for, but for concealed carry . . .? Sure, you could probably do it in certain circumstances but there are so many other cartridges and guns that shoot them designed for that purpose that I don't think it makes a great deal of sense.
MachIVshooter
Member
Interesting. Had never come across that one. But as far as the headstamp, it just says ".45 Colt". Also seems, from what I read, that it is a successor to the standard .45 Colt cartridge, and as such, I submit that we would treat it the same as .45 ACP vs. .45 ACP short. We do not add the "long" to the older .45 ACP name, but rather denote the newer cartridge with "short" nomenclature to differentiate.
That seems to be the only article of it's kind on the web, via a google search, so I'll have to dig more later. That said, I would surmise that this short version of the cartridge may have been devolped for some specific military purpose (they say it's referred to as ".45 colt government"), such as to fit a gun with shorter chambers than the 1873 (though it still looks too long for a Schoefield chamber).
Whatever it's origins, it is obviously little known. But I'll report back whatever I turn up.
There's that and the possibility that ".45 Colt" may be confused with .45 ACP by some. This may seem strange, but I know that both my mom and dad would immediately think of the M1911 if I said ".45 Colt" or "Colt .45", while to me it's a "1911" and "Colt .45" refers instead to the Single Action Army revolver. In this forum, I tend to use ".45 Colt" if the context is clear (especially if it's historical) and ".45 LC" otherwise. It's not clearly wrong, unlike some other uses of terminology that I don't care to name at the moment.
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I owned 2 S&W Mtn Guns, a .44 and .45 Colt. I still have the .44 and like it, but sold the .45. I'm not a fan of the .45 Colt when I can have a .44 mag. My .45 Colt was shotgun. I worked with it for awhile and gave up. The .44 is just so much more versatile.
Not to irk anyone but I like the .44 much more.
Not to irk anyone but I like the .44 much more.
W.E.G.
Member
The correct answer has not changed in 125 years.
Price seems to be about $1200 for a brand-new one.
That would be $67.53 in 1873 dollars.
Lotta nice used guns on the market too.
Price seems to be about $1200 for a brand-new one.
That would be $67.53 in 1873 dollars.
Lotta nice used guns on the market too.
Isn't diversity great?! I have exactly the opposite feeling about .44 Mag and .45 Colt. I have one .44 Mag firearm and that's a S&W 629 that I haven't shot in years. However, I have 6-1/2 firearms chambered in .45 Colt including two USFA Rodeos, two Bisley Blackhawks, a Ruger Redhawk, a Ruger Super Redhawk (.454 Casull .. hence the 1/2) and a Marlin '94 Cowboy. I find the .45 Colt so much more versatile and interesting than the .44 Magnum. I have zero interest in owning another .44 Mag revolver but I know that more .45 Colts are in my future ... a lot more!
For anyone that is confused or doubts the versatility of the .45 Colt and its potential, read John Linebaugh's articles HERE.
MachIVshooter
Member
Well, I did my digging, as promised, and it turns out that my initial instinct was correct, even though my perception of the "short colt" cartridge being too long for a schoefield was not. It was created to reduce the logisical problems of having both the SAA and the Schoefield in use simultaneously, with two different rounds, which were not interchangeable, even though more generous tolerances on later Colts allowed the chambering of Schoefield ammunition.
The cartridge was loaded to the same performance level as the standard .45 Colt 255 gr. black powder ordinance load. correct nomenclature for the cartridge is ".45 Colt Government".
The cartridge was loaded to the same performance level as the standard .45 Colt 255 gr. black powder ordinance load. correct nomenclature for the cartridge is ".45 Colt Government".
Here is more. http://www.oldammo.com/march08.htm
1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
'Tis a grand old cartridge, the .45 Colt. There's a reason it's hung on since 1873. In its original black powder loading...40 grains...and a 250-grain lead bullet, it was a wonder. It held the spot for most powerful handgun cartridge in the world until the .357 Magnum came along in 1935 and bumped it to 2nd place...and I'm not so sure that it was outpowered by the mid-bore, except on paper.
Though the trend has been to "magnumize" it for use in the Rugers and other strong revolvers...it doesn't need to be unless hunting large game, or defending against large, deep woods predators. A 250 grain lead SWC at 900 fps is pretty strong medicine, and it doesn't give you a concussion headache if the session goes long.
There are a good many double-action revolvers chambered for it, but it fairly begs to be slipped through the loading gate of a single-action. Sadly, with the cost of factory ammunition, it's pretty much a handloading proposition if you want to shoot it a lot, unless you've got deep pockets.
There's a lot to like about the .45 Colt...and just not much to not like. In my lineup of favorite handgun cartridges, it runs a close second to the .41 Magnum.
Though the trend has been to "magnumize" it for use in the Rugers and other strong revolvers...it doesn't need to be unless hunting large game, or defending against large, deep woods predators. A 250 grain lead SWC at 900 fps is pretty strong medicine, and it doesn't give you a concussion headache if the session goes long.
There are a good many double-action revolvers chambered for it, but it fairly begs to be slipped through the loading gate of a single-action. Sadly, with the cost of factory ammunition, it's pretty much a handloading proposition if you want to shoot it a lot, unless you've got deep pockets.
There's a lot to like about the .45 Colt...and just not much to not like. In my lineup of favorite handgun cartridges, it runs a close second to the .41 Magnum.
BCCL
Member
Just recently got my first 45 Colt, but pretty sure it won't be my last!
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