THE 45 COLT: OLD BUT STILL USEFUL?

[BobWright]

For whatever its worth, I've tried many combinations of powder and bullets in the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt. My observations are that they are pretty close to equal with bullets of factory duplication weight, i.e. 240 gr. for the .44, and 255 for the .45. But the .44 Magnum seems to handle light bullets (180 gr. or so) better than the .45, while the .45 seems to handle heavy (350 gr.) bullets better.

This just from "gee whiz, bean can" shooting and a very non-professional chronograph.

Bob Wright

 

[CraigC]

Using Hodgdon's data, I get a little more out of the 355gr .44 than the 360gr .45. Not that it amounts to anything.

This spring I'm going to test those 355's and 405's loaded long and with a caseful of H110, Lil Gun and 300MP out of the SRH and custom Bisley .44's.

 

[MaxP]

That 405 was a bit of fecal matter when I tested it. Just not enough case capacity with that long bullet. Interested in seeing your results.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

My first 45 Colt revolver, My Ruger Blackhawk convertible I bought brand-spanky new in 1975.






A long lapse until my next 45 Colt, an 'original model' Vaquero I bought used around 2000 when I started Cowboy shooting.






A couple of Stainless Vaqeros that were my main match pistols for a few years.






An Uberti Cattleman that I bought used.






My 2nd Gen Colts that have been my Main Match pistols for quite a few years now.






Another 2nd Gen that I picked up quite recently.






A Ruger New Vaquero in 45 Colt, compared to one of my 2nd Gen Colts.






Is shooting a 45 Colt fun? It sure is when they are stuffed to the gills with Black Powder.

 

[Pat Riot]

My .45 Vaqueros. An original with a 7.5” barrel. One of my favorite revolvers. Below that is my old New Vaquero I liked it but preferred the original models.

 

[lewwallace]

Heritage Edition, 25-11. Limited to 150, 2001 45 Colt

 

[RealGun]

Unless they're on fire, nobody's going to thank you for giving them a couple of 255gr. 45s in the chest.

I prefer .44 Magnum/Special for its greater versatility, but there's certainly nothing wrong with .45 Colt.

I recently purchased both my first .45 Colt and my first single action revolver, a Cimarron 7 1/2" pre-war:

Due to weather and work hours issues, I haven't shot it yet. I plan to shoot it when the weather gets better.

Nice gun.. My Uberti 45 is an El Patron Belleza. I wanted to comment that 44 Magnum certainly offers more choices than 45 Colt in guns for shooting full power ammo. Once having the right gun like my now discontinued 5.5" Redhawk in 45 Colt, versatility claims would be very similar. I just tested some Ruger-only loads and had to pound the spent cases out of the chambers, even after having the throats opened up. I had another Redhawk with a shorter barrel and without the added porting on my 5.5" that I thought was unpleasant to shoot with ammo that was pushing the envelope. A Redhawk in 44 Mag would probably be a good shooter. My SBH Bisley 6" in 44 Mag is more fun for me to shoot than a plow handled version. I would love to have a 6" Bisley SBH in 45 Colt. That barrel length is not currently offered.