Tell me about the .45 Colt!

[charcoalburner]

I have always owned and shot .357 revolvers both DA and SA. I am considering getting a SA Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt and I am curious about the cartridge in general as it compares to the .357 Magnum. I own a .45 ACP now and I enjoy shooting it, but it is the only 45 I have experience with. I will be using this as a woods gun, possibly close range deer hunting, snake charmer, all around utility handgun. I also am familiar with reloading, as I load all of my 38/357 and 45 ACP plinking loads. Any info or opinions are welcome!

 

[SaxonPig]

Bigger and slower.

Wide selection of bullets for reloading but factory ammo is PRICEY (as is all large caliber stuff).

Right now I have 5 revolvers in 45 Colt. A trio of SAAs and 2 DA pistols (1 Colt & 1 S&W both converted from 455 British caliber).

Some folks insist on trying to load the 45 Colt to Magnum levels but I never understood this. It works fine at standard velocities for everything it was intended to do. If you need more, buy a magnum. The Ruger SAs are strong but I still don't like to hot rod the 45 Colt.

Here's the converted Colt New Service,





A pair of Uberti SAAs.

 

[OFT]

The .45 Colt is an obsolete nineteenth century cartridge that makes poor use of modern smokeless powders and is more fun to shoot than any cartridge that has came out in the last fifty years.

 

[bac1023]

I love the 45 Colt. I have two single action revolvers chambered in it and find it a great deal of fun to shoot. The Freedom Arms can handle hot loads, while the Colt needs to stick to the standard pressure factory stuff.

 

[Leadhead]

I've got a .45ACP/.45LC convertible Blackhawk that I really enjoy shooting! I usually shoot .45ACP as I have other guns in that caliber and more ammo available at lower prices

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Outstanding round - incredibly versatile. If I could have only 1 gun, it would be a revolver in .45 colt with a 4.5" bbl.

You can load it down to .44 special/.45 acp type power, or load it up to and even significantly surpassing .44 magnum power. With the large case capacity, you get do just about anything when reloading it, provided the gun is strong, and still at relatively low pressures. You can load birdshot/snakeshot, heavy bullets, light bullets, anything. Can shoot rabbits to moose with proper loads. Classic timeless round. Winchester model 92 (or clone), and a single action revolver, both in .45 colt, is a classic combo. Or sub out a DA revolver for a modern pair. In fact, the .44 magnum really has no raison d'etre, but for the old old revolvers in which modern heavy power .45 colt loads should not be shot - and thus the creation of a new round, to keep people from blowing themselves up with new hot rounds in old guns.

Example of Standard loading:
http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#low45

And "+P", so-called:
http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#45colt

P.S. Some people call this the ".45 LONG Colt" - can't really say they're *wrong*, but they are not *as right*. It's called the .45 Colt.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Read up on "Trail Boss" powder for reloading.

Keep in mind lead and bullet prices if you want to shoot a lot. But if you can cast your own and get scrap lead, this won't be an issue.

 

[zxcvbob]

Fantastic cartridge. Very expensive to shoot unless you load your own.

I usually reload them about halfway in power between a normal .45Colt load and .44 Magnum, or sometimes I load them with full case of homemade blackpowder. The one box of commercial ammo that I tried was embarrassingly weak.

I don't think there's much reason to use anything but cast bullets in a .45 Colt, whatever power you load it to.

 

[Snapping Twig]

As others here have said, it's an outstanding cartridge. 255g cast bullet moving 800 ~ 900 fps can traverse a deer lengthwise. When I shoot a gong at 100 yards, I don't need to lob it in, I hold steady and hit it.

You can get a pistol rated to soup up the load, but you won't need to. This round excells and is good as is.

I shoot a S&W 25-7, not a pretty gun but it is a shooter. I can make a single ragged hole at 15 yards all day long with this, and as you know, shot placement is everything. Hunt, SD, target, it does it all.

 

[nambu1]

I have a Ruger convertable and enjoy shooting it with 45 ACP and 45 Colt. I think that you can't go wrong with one.

 

[rcmodel]

8.5 Unique and a 250 grain cast Keith SWC will kill anything that walks in north America.

And without the annoying muzzle blast of a Magnum, and moderate recoil.

rcmodel

 

[Majic]

Since you are considering a Blackhawk you can skip over the comments about it being old and slow or not being able to make use of modern powders. The .45 Colt loaded correctly and used in a suitable revolver like the Blackhawk can put the .44 magnum to shame.

 

[Water-Man]

Wonderful cartridge! Just be sure to use a heavy-frame revolver (Ruger makes several) if you're going to shoot the hot ammo.

 

[tipoc]

One of the more versatile rounds in existence. In it's standard pressures and loads (a 250 gr. bullet at about 900 fps from a 6" barrel) it will serve for self defense and hunting taking any deer or hog and black bear.

Guns for standard pressure loads include the Colt SAA and it's clones, the New Vaquero from Ruger and the S&W da revolvers and the old Colt New Service. These guns will handle up to about 1000 fps with a 255 gr. bullet much more than this over time presses them and they will wear out more rapidly than they should.

The Ruger Blackhawk is a stronger gun yet and will handle loads up to 1100-1200 fps with the 255 gr. pill. Lower velocities with a 300 gr. The Freedom Arms and Ruger Redhawk are stronger still.

As others have said you can magnumize the .45 Colt but personally I don't think one needs to, it will do what you want it to do at the lower velocities and is pleasant to shoot.

Compared to the .357...You can't stick the .45 Colt in a J frame. But otherwise it will do anything that one would want the .44 Magnum to do and is potentially a much more powerful load than the .357 can be. In it's standard pressures and velocities it is as effective a hunting round as the .357, and though devotees of the .357 will argue this all day, IMHO slightly better.

If you pick up a Colt SAA with a 4 3/4" barrel in .45 Colt you hold one of the best balanced handguns ever made. Light and fast. Pick up the same piece in .357 and it is too heavy and cumbersome and slower.

Elmer Keith used to say that if he had only one gun and only commercial ammo to use in it he'd go with the .45 Colt SAA. This was decades back when the choices of factory ammo were much more limited. Now days there are decent loads for about any purpose.

tipoc

 

[zxcvbob]

8.5 Unique and a 250 grain cast Keith SWC will kill anything that walks in north America.

And with 10 grains of Unique, it'll also kill the one standing behind or next to it.

Elmer Keith used to say that if he had only one gun and only commercial ammo to use in it he'd go with the .45 Colt SAA. This was decades back when the choices of factory ammo were much more limited. Now days there are decent loads for about any purpose.

I think I'd pick a Ruger New Vaquero --the wimpy one-- with about a 5 or 6" barrel, and load to the high end of standard pressure .45LC data. I have a Bisley-Blackhawk with a 7.5" barrel, and I love it, but it's a bit too big and heavy (like Tipoc said about the .357 Colt SAA's, but much more so)

 

[Janitor]

I have a Bisley-Blackhawk with a 7.5" barrel, and I love it, but it's a bit too big and heavy (like Tipoc said about the .357 Colt SAA's, but much more so)

Exactly why I picked up a 5.5" Bisley BH.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Best round there is for a revolver, imho.

 

[35Rem]

You will be able to pass the 357 CARTRIDGE through the cylinder of the 45 Colt.
Not a reccommended practice, but interesting.
Drops straight to the ground. That tells you something, right there.
I would get the convertable model, so you can shoot the 45 ACP, if you choose.

 

[Colt46]

Excellence for the last 100+ years

A standard(850fps) velocity keith type bullet will do just about everything you could want a handgun to do. And, be easy on you and the gun. There are a bazillion foreign made clones of the SAA and even a few modern ones such as the Beretta Stampede and Ruger New Vaquero that incorperate a transfer bar to make it safe to carry six.
Heavy frame guns such as ruger can really open up the potential of the case and the caliber of this old blackpowder round.

.45 colt is my favorite caliber.

 

[mavracer]

I shoot a S&W 25-7, not a pretty gun but it is a shooter.

sure looks pretty to me.
45 colt is a wonderful old round. I like the original 250@900 Lead RNFP for just about anything but I have a few 250 golddots for serious social work.there kinda like the Short barrel 38 bullet on roids.

 

[machinisttx]

The Ruger Blackhawk is a stronger gun yet and will handle loads up to 1100-1200 fps with the 255 gr. pill. Lower velocities with a 300 gr. The Freedom Arms and Ruger Redhawk are stronger still.

I dunno where your loading info comes from, but I have loads from hodgdon that push a 250 grain XTP at around 1425 fps from the muzzle...and that's with the starting load(and verified by my chronograph). A cast bullet could be pushed faster, should someone be so inclined.

With the above said, I've found that a 255 grain cast SWC at around 1100-1200 fps is pleasant to shoot, and still has plenty of power.

 

[Colt46]

I'd be curious as to what pressures you're getting

Most blackhawks should be around 30,000 cup to allow for a safety margin. A blackhawk cylinder won't take .44 mag pressures for very long.

Sheepish grin on face:
A check of some reloading tables show that XTP's can get that kind of velocity for that kind of pressure.

 

[eliphalet]

And with 10 grains of Unique, it'll also kill the one standing behind or next to it.

Hornady Handbook II printed 1973 lists this exact load and was worked up in a SAA.
10.0 grains Unique -250 hollow point bullet.

Lyman 44 and 45 edition also list 10 grains Unique with a 255 grain cast.
Both manuals were also using a Colt S.A.A.

 

[zxcvbob]

I'm gonna guess 26 grains of Lil'gun powder or 26.5 of H110. Pressure should be just over 26000 psi with either load.

Almost 1200 foot-pounds of energy. That'll leave a mark.

 

[highlander 5]

Can't go wrong with the 45 Colt. I shoot several bullets that I cast that vary in weight from 200 gr to a 320gr LBT WFN.
My pistols 2 Ruger Blackhawks and a Ruger Redhawk. And the nice thing also is if you don't want to use 45 Colt brass you can get 45 Schofield loads and brass. Kinda like 45 acp but with a rim