School me on the .45 Long Colt

[Arkansas Paul]

They are awesome. I got this one just a couple of months ago. I've only shot some light plinking loads in it. I'm about ready to load up some full throttle wrist breakers. It's had a set of Pachmyer grips since the pic. Do it man. You'll not regret it.

 

[tipoc]

One of the world's great cartridges. Quite versatile. Accurate. The round has been improved on in the last few decades. A good many guns are chambered for it. Easy to reload. Easy to shoot. It operates at low pressures like the 45acp. An excellant revolver round that can work in leverguns as well.

Fellas can poke around here to get an idea of what commercial ammo is available...
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...3&categoryId=7554&categoryString=653***691***

I agree with 1911 tuner, the .357 is only more powerful than the 45 Colt round on paper. And that was "back in the day" before they built guns strong enough to take full advantage of what the .45 had to offer. Nowdays even on paper, the .357 is not as powerful. A 255gr. pill between 900-1000 fps will cleanly take any game in the lower 48.

tipoc

 

[MachIVshooter]

I agree with 1911 tuner, the .357 is only more powerful than the 45 Colt round on paper.

And not even on paper with mid-level loads that guns like the M25 can handle. I think the venerable cartridge is frequently viewed in terms of the anemic cowboy action loads.

In terms of ft/lbs., loads that generate 650 ft/lbs are suitable for most any modern .45 Colt. I run exactly that as a field load in my Beretta Stampede. In the M25, I'd confidently take them up a notch to 800 or so. Then there's the Ruger/Freedom arms loads.........

 

[sourdough44]

I've got a 4 5/8" Blackhawk in 45 Colt. I reload light/heavy 45 colt rounds, some light 45 'Schofield', & 45 shot capsules for it. Most would be on the heavy side for CC but fine for woods carry. I also have the 45 acp cylinder to go with it.

 

[1911Tuner]

Just as an FYI post...

A recent Lyman manual lists 9 grains of Unique and a 250 grain cast SWC as a "Factory Duplication" load. Starting with 8 grains and working up to it in both my 4.75 inch New Vaqueros, and using 2 different chronographs for verification...the average velocity for both guns was a tick over 900 fps. To prevent stressing the gun unnecessarily, I use 8 grains for range duty, but when firing the 9 grain lots, the brass fell out of the chambers without using the ejector rods until the guns got pretty dirty.

The original loadings with 40 grains black powder produced advertised velocities of 970 fps, and the later attenuated loads hit 875. With the change to solid head cases, the same 32 grains broke 900 fps...which matches the Lyman factory duplication data.

Even though I'd rate the New Vaquero as being quite a bit stronger than the Colts and the Italian clones, I would hesitate to take it any further...though for packing in the high country defense against bears, etc duty...it could probably be done safely, and a few rounds likely wouldn't hurt the gun. At any rate, I would ignore the "Ruger Only" data in the manuals, intended for the NM Blackhawks. Those are different critters.

Please note also that Ruger neither promotes nor advises that the data in the manuals is okay for their Blackhawk revolvers. No doubt that they're aware of the practices, and that their guns are tough enough for it...but they keep quiet on the subject, and stick to recommending SAAMI standard pressure ammunition.

 

[MCgunner]

I load 8.3 grains Unique with a 255 Lee flat nose and get up over 900 fps with it. Regards to the .357 vs .45 Colt low pressure standard load (the above load), I've shot trapped hogs with both and I must say, in these highly unscientific tests, I see more damage and quicker death with the .357. I shot one when I was waking back to the truck a few months ago with my carry, 3" .357 magnum. I hit it in the forehead and the ballistic pressure in the brain cavity, apparently, was enough that it caused one eye ball to pop out of that hog's head. This was with my 140 grain Speer/17 grains 2400 carry load. That was pretty impressive. I like the .357 a lot and would rather carry it than a low pressure flat point .45 for defense, frankly. I've killed 2 deer with my 165 grain SWC load out of my 6.5" Blackhawk, too, and it did the job well. I'm not saying a 255 grain .45 moving at 900 fps won't work, I'm just saying that from what I've seen killing lots of hogs in and out of the trap, the .357 is the one I choose for carry. YMMV Add to that the fact that a 3" barrel .357 carry is as compact or more so than a 2" Taurus 450 and it's basically a choice on caliber for me, not platform, though finding a 450 on the market at a reasonable price is quite difficult. I currently carry a Taurus 3" 66 belt carry in cooler months on occasion. It isn't hard to conceal OWB with a cover garment or at least a big hawaiian shirt and gives me six rounds.

For shooting game from the Blackhawk, though, the .357 pales in comparison to the heavy loaded 300 grain .45 colt. My load is right there with the .44 magnum for power and also for recoil impulse. That's my serious outdoor caliber/gun. I have not shot anything with it, but I know it's got the juice. I rarely fire it or even load up with it, though, as there aren't any grizzly bears around here. The lighter load is a great all around gun, able to kill hogs to rabbits, easy to shoot, and very accurate.

 

[Stainz]

I replaced my Rugers, DA & SA alike, with a pair of .45 Colt 625MGs:



My first S&W, top above, was a new 625-7 MG in .45 Colt. It has high sentimental value, so when the chance to get the bottom above 625-6 MG in .45 Colt arose, I jumped on it. Other than my 1895 Nagants, it's my only duplicate revolver. What a shooter!

I prefer DA revolvers for defensive situations - it is simply more intuitive to just squeeze the trigger in an emergency. No, I don't have an 1895 Nagant set up for emergencies!

I load 255gr LSWCs over up to 6.1 gr Titegroup in mostly Starline brass with Federal primers. I also similarly load Speer #4484 250gr thin-walled Gold Dots, made for 800 fps, for thin-skinned threats. These get me over 800 fps - and as high as I go. Some will take the 625MG to over 900 fps, reasoning it is similar to the 21k+ psi .45 ACP 625. I stay within the 14k psi .45 Colt ratings, having had a .454 Casull SRH for years and no longer needing that level of KE. Of course, recent years have found me moving towards poppers... teeny .38s & even teeninecy .22s... wimping out/effects of age/becoming a 'Nancy-boy' (NOT!), it's a fact of life - and I'll qualify for SSI this summer. CTS problems and age make the mild .45 Colt my 'big boomer'. I still love my proper .45 Colts... in my 625MGs - or my only other so chambered firearm, a Puma 24" octagon SS barrel M1892 (My 'assault rifle' - it holds 12+1 rds... just give me time to load it!). Fun cartridge, the .45 Colt - and my first cartridge to reload (11/02). You can't go wrong with that big old cartridge. It aint jest fer playin' cowboy!

Stainz

 

[Doogle]

Here's a box of .45 Long Colt...>

...sort of.

From the January 1991 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine. I found this in the "Handgunning" page by Wiley Clapp, (page 17).

​

 

[MachIVshooter]

A recent Lyman manual lists 9 grains of Unique and a 250 grain cast SWC as a "Factory Duplication" load.

Interesting. I just looked in my log book, and that 9.0 grain Unique load behind a Meister hard cast 250 gr. RNFP and using CCI 350 primers with a COAL of 1.575" devloped an average 1,030 FPS from my 5.5" Stampede.

Altitude out here is ~6,900 ft., that load was tested 4 years ago with an ambient of 62* F. I didn't write down the baro that day.

 

[CraigC]

Colt doesn't recommend shooting their Single Action Army so I'm not so sure I'd take the current Colt's Manufacturing literature as the last word on the subject. They're catering to the ignorant masses, as do most manufacturers. There never was a .45 "Short" Colt, never was a .45 "Long" Colt, just the .45Colt. The shorter cartridge folks like to bring up that was designed to work in both the S&W and Colt revolvers was the .45Gov't.

 

[jglcolosprgs]

I ccw a S&W 625 mountain gun alot. So i'd say it's great for the range and ccw both.

When I carry my Model 25 I use a shoulder holster. It is my wedding and funeral carry. It hides under my sport coat nicely.

P.S.

You would be surprised how often a gun comes in handy at a wedding.

 

[MachIVshooter]

You would be surprised how often a gun comes in handy at a wedding

Just remember, those bullets come back down somewhere

 

[MCgunner]

My 300 grain XTP hot handload out of my SIL's Rossi 20" Puma rifle clocks nearly 1500 fps. That's some serious big bore thumper, there. Of course, that gun is made in .454 Casull and .480 if you need to really get serious. My own Rossi 92 is a .357 and I kinda like it better. It'll kill anything a .35 Remington will kill up to 100 yards and turns into a .22 with my 105 grain SWC light .38 load, a little more versatile than the big calibers.

 

[orionengnr]

As Tuner said, 45LC is a close second to .41 Mag (or maybe tied with it ) as my favorite revolver cartridge.

I have three M25s in 45LC. Two are 4", and one of those is a Mountain Gun. The third is a 6".
I have carried each of the two 4"ers, and the MG is lighter and more pleasant to carry.

All are fun to shoot, and quite accurate.
I load 255gr SWCs with 7.0 gr of W231 or Green Dot.

 

[jglcolosprgs]

Just remember, those bullets come back down somewhere

I don't think I've ever shot any weapon straight up in the air unless it was a shotgun at a duck or goose. And, I don't think I suggested to do so.

Humor is difficult to express via text and the internet. I'll stop trying.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Humor is difficult to express via text and the internet

Evidently, as that comment was intended to be humorous. Hence the

 

[bflobill_69]

Unless you intend to reload 'em, this is beginning to be an expensive round to purchase, WHEN you can find em =/

Bflobill69

 

[TooTaxed]

Just a few observations from my years of concealed carry, and having to show a gun twice to save myself from unprovoked assaults.

1. You are unlikely to need a gun with large cartridge capacity...two shots is fine. You are highly unlikely to find yourself in a protracted gun battle. Range is most likely to be under 5 feet. There is no need for the cartridge to be high-powered...just use an efficient HP or SP bullet.

2. For concealed carry, the objective is to minimize the chance of others seeing your gun unless you need to. You don't want to be accosted by police responding to a "man with gun!" complaint. Therefore, you want something small, flat, and light that you can carry in a way you can access it immediately in time of need.

3. Given those constraints, the more powerful the cartridge, the rougher it is going to be on you to fire it.

4. I use three guns, choice depending on clothing I'll be wearing and the social occasion. The largest is a Bulgarian Makarov in 9-mm Mak, Gold Dot ammo, worn at the waist with my shirt out to cover. My evening and night gun is a S&W Model 642 5-shot .38-Spl Airweight with Crimson Trace lazergrip, carried in a pocket in a soft, form concealing, pocket-gripping DeSantis rubberized foam holster. My high concealment gun is an over/under derringer in .357 Mag, which I use .38-Spl in, carried in a soft, suede holster that I can clip inside my waist or in a pocket. And that's really rough on me to fire! .357-Mag would be insane.

Bottom line: Any gun large enough to fire your .45 LC is likely to be both large enough to get you into trouble, and heavy enough to eventually be uncomfortable and inconvenient. It'll sag your pants!

My Ruger Blackhawks in .45 LC and .357 Mag are two of my favorite range guns. But I'd never try to use them for CC, and they get pretty heavy on limited OC.

 

[TooTaxed]

It's amusing to see the old ".45 Colt" versus ".45 Long Colt" designation argued so vehemently.

In my view, it doesn't make the slightest difference which one is used to designate the cartridge! The point is to clearly identify the cartridge from other .45 cartridges...and that's all that's important!

At 73 years, I've learned not to sweat the small stuff.

 

[ljnowell]

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....

Maybe you should let colt in on this then?
From Colts Website:

Colt revolvers come in six standard calibers. Choose the classic .45 Long Colt or any of five others to suit your taste: .357, .32/20, .38 Special, .44/40, .38/40.

FEATURES

When its stamped onto ammo boxes and the manufacturer calls it that its safe to use the phrase.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Unless you intend to reload 'em, this is beginning to be an expensive round to purchase, WHEN you can find em

This is very true. I looked around for ammo and wow, it's hard to find, and when you do it's some kind of expensive. Mine has never fired a factory round and I don't ever see it happening, unless somebody gives me some.

It's amusing to see the old ".45 Colt" versus ".45 Long Colt" designation argued so vehemently.

In my view, it doesn't make the slightest difference which one is used to designate the cartridge! The point is to clearly identify the cartridge from other .45 cartridges...and that's all that's important!

I'm glad somebody else feels this way too. Who cares what you call it. We know what you're talking about either way. It's an awesome round, whichever term you use.

 

[CraigC]

When its stamped onto ammo boxes and the manufacturer calls it that its safe to use the phrase.

Common use (or misuse) doesn't make it correct. Colt is catering to the ignorant. What is stamped on the guns? I guarantee the word "Long" is nowhere to be found.

If there ever was a .45 Short Colt, it is so very obscure that we're still debating its existence. Hell, some folks don't even know which cartridge they're differentiating the .45Colt from. In any case, there is no reason for confusion for all the .45's have very distinct names.
.45Colt
.45S&W (Schofield)
.45Gov't.
.45ACP

What exactly do you need the "Long" for?

 

[ljnowell]

Common use (or misuse) doesn't make it correct. Colt is catering to the ignorant. What is stamped on the guns? I guarantee the word "Long" is nowhere to be found.

If there ever was a .45 Short Colt, it is so very obscure that we're still debating its existence. Hell, some folks don't even know which cartridge they're differentiating the .45Colt from. In any case, there is no reason for confusion for all the .45's have very distinct names.
.45Colt
.45S&W (Schofield)
.45Gov't.
.45ACP

What exactly do you need the "Long" for?

Its a good thing colt caters to the ignorant. Such ignorant folks like Skeeter Skelton, Elmer Kieth, and the like are all included in your post right?

I think that anyone who would attempt to argue this, or the mags vs clips argument, needs to walk away from the computer for awhile.

I definately cannot understand becoming angry enough to call someone ignorant.

 

[1911Tuner]

C'mon guys. This started off as a pretty good discussion on the cartridge and the guns that take it. Let's not let it get derailed with arguments that add nothing to the discussion, and take a lot from it.

Take a breath. Call it .45 Colt or .45 Long Colt as you please...we all know what you mean.

 

[dagger dog]

Any one that spends any time shooting, or reading about fire arms is up on the .45 Colt ,.45 Long Colt thing, the very fact that the OP was posted in the revolver forum shows the OP knew the .45 Colt or lc as he originally posted was not a .45 ACP or .45 Schofield, or .45 WHATEVER.

This has been beat to death. Most who read these forums do so daily, and are a far cry from the mall ninja,or sort that would mistake one .45 caliber handgun round from the other.