Michael Tinker Pearce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,576
I swapped a buddy for an ex-British 2nd Model Hande Ejector that, when imported as surplus, had been over-polished and refinished and been bore from .455 to accept .45 Colt. With any possible collector value buggered I decided to turn it into a big-bore snubby (because I have a thing for those.) Bobbed and crowned the barrel, modified the trigger-guard for faster access, new front sight and some custom grips. I liked it pretty well, but...
...the original .455 cylinder is shorter than a .45 Colt cylinder, so bullets need to be loaded a bit deep or I needed to restrict my reloads to rounds that used short bullets. Not ideal, but livable.
I have a Brazillian-contract 1917 with the same length of cylinder, and I like loading it with moon clips. I also like the idea of using the same carry-ammo in my carry-guns. For a variety of reasons I have elected to not modify the 1917, but the .45 Colt gun? Hmmm... I measured, considered, made sure parts were available in case I messed it up, took a deep0 breath and fired up the lathe. The result?
My big snubby is now a .45 ACP. The extractor is kind of thin, but since it's applying pressure at the center of the clip instead of the rims it's fine. Yes, there is now a 'jump' in the cylinder, but this does not seem to be having a notable effect on either accuracy or velocity so I guess it's fine. No, it will not still chamber .45 Colt; whoever bored the chambers initially bored them too deep and the cartridges sink all the way to the rim. OK, it was never going to be perfect (I've met me) but it does the job and reloads faster than I managed with speed-loaders, so I am going to call this a win.
...the original .455 cylinder is shorter than a .45 Colt cylinder, so bullets need to be loaded a bit deep or I needed to restrict my reloads to rounds that used short bullets. Not ideal, but livable.
I have a Brazillian-contract 1917 with the same length of cylinder, and I like loading it with moon clips. I also like the idea of using the same carry-ammo in my carry-guns. For a variety of reasons I have elected to not modify the 1917, but the .45 Colt gun? Hmmm... I measured, considered, made sure parts were available in case I messed it up, took a deep0 breath and fired up the lathe. The result?
My big snubby is now a .45 ACP. The extractor is kind of thin, but since it's applying pressure at the center of the clip instead of the rims it's fine. Yes, there is now a 'jump' in the cylinder, but this does not seem to be having a notable effect on either accuracy or velocity so I guess it's fine. No, it will not still chamber .45 Colt; whoever bored the chambers initially bored them too deep and the cartridges sink all the way to the rim. OK, it was never going to be perfect (I've met me) but it does the job and reloads faster than I managed with speed-loaders, so I am going to call this a win.