What can I expect from a .45 Colt?

[Alan Fud]

I just purchased my first .45 Colt ...

click on above photo to see larger image​

... What can I expect from this caliber in terms of recoil and stopping effectiveness when compared to other calibers that I have experience with such as the .38special & 357magnum in revolvers and the 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP in autoloaders?

 

[oscar]

It is stronger than any you mentioned. WW Silvertips are good factory rounds.

 

[Sistema1927]

.45 Colt has been ending fights since 1873.

You can load up some brisk stuff that will rattle your bones, or you can fire pussy cat Cowboy loads, and will probably settle on something in between for real world use. As has been stated, take a look at the Winchester Silvertip loading.

 

[benelli12]

I dont know much about the Tracker, or how high you can push hot loads in it, but the 45 Colt is capable of 44 magnum energy and better. It matters how much power you want, but it is certainly capable.

 

[ezypikns]

I have a Smith & Wesson Model 25 Mountain Gun.

In .45 Colt. I was a little concerned about recoil when I bought it. Turns out I should have been more concerned about the cost of ammo. It seems to be a little expensive. I solved that by reloading my own.
As far as recoil goes it's nothing to worry about. If you find standard loads a little stout, shoot cowboy loads. Or reload like I do. That way you can tailor the ammo any way you want. Enjoy it.

 

[Colt46]

perfection

Great caliber. Underrepresented in DA sixguns, if you ask me.
Taurus might be a little light to push the envelope with hot loads. Factory 250 grain Semi-Wadcutter at 850 fps is easy to shoot and packs a hell of a wallop. People look at the moderate velocity and don't appreciate what that big slug will do when finishes its journey. For self defence you'd probably want to go a little lighter than the aforementioned load. I think federal offers a 225 grain bullet at 100 fps faster velocity.

 

[Stainz]

Speer loads a 250gr Gold Dot HP, bullet #4484, with low-speed designed thin serrated walls for personal defense. They should be fine from that Tracker. The porting should keep muzzle flip down quite a bit, not that it would be excessive. I have two 625MG's, a 5.5" SS Redhawk, a 4.6" BHG Vaquero, and a 24" SS Puma M1892 in .45 Colt. It has been my favorite round for years.

I started reloading around 4.5yr ago, when all I had were .45 Colts - and a friend suggested I count the empties I had saved... there were over 2,700! I ordered a Dillon 550, having never even touched a reloading press, and 'became' a reloader. Of course, that became another hobby in and of itself!

Georgia Arms has some good prices on really nice 'cowboy' ammo in new Starline brass. Really nice folks. They also load the older Speer 200gr higher speed GDHP, rating it at 1,100 fps for ~$22/50. I chrono-ed them at 1,123 fps from my 4" 625MG, 1,210 fps from my 5.5" RH, and 1,424 fps from my 24" Puma. That's pretty hot - check with them for their rating it at SAAMI spec's before buying them for that Taurus. Enjoy your .45 Colt!

Stainz

 

[Jerry Morris]

The .45 Colt's does what has been doing for over 135 years and does it very well.

The cartridge is at its best with the heavier bullets, due to its large powder capacity. For defensive purpose I would pick a 255 to 270 grain Keith type bullet and run it around 900 fps.

A good JHP at the mentioned weight range would work. The beauty of the .45 Colt's is that you really don't need JHP. You put the bullet where it needs to go and the job is done.

If I could find a four inch Taurus without the ports, I'd be very tempted. I don't think ports should be on a defensive handgun, but that is only my personal opinion.

Jerry

 

[Starter52]

ezypikns, you are so right about the price of .45 Colt ammo. If I didn't own a reloading press I could never afford to shoot .45 Colt.

 

[GooseGestapo]

After owning and shooting most of whats available, it took me over 30yrs to get around to the .45Colt.

Shouln't have !

It's now my favorite handgun cartridge. It'll do anything the .45acp will, and anything the .44mag will. I can't concieve why anyone would want/need a .454 Casull, or heaven forbid, a 460 S&W.

My .45colt handgun is a Ruger Redhawk w/5.5"bbl.

A LOT of gun, but not so bad as you might think if in a belt holster and a 2"wide belt.

I really would prefer an S&W M25 Mountain gun.

I've loaded up some real ground shakers, too HOT for either the S&W or Taurus Tracker. However, you DON'T need these.

The standard max loads safe for even the old "Peace Makers", or the factory loads listed by others such as the SilverTip's are more than enough, thankyou.

I prefer the .45Colt over the .44mag as it does the same thing, with same weight bullets over same charge of powder with a bigger hole, and lower chamber pressures. All things equal, accuracy is equal, but my experience is that with a proper dimensioned .45, that accuracy is easier to come by than with the higher pressured .44mag.

Funny (as in pecuilar) how I got "into" the .45colt. I won a Win. M94 "Legacy" rifle w/24" bbl in a pistol match. After shooting this gun I said "WOW", now I know what's it's all about. This gun with a 250gr Hornady XTP over the Nosler max load of 20.0gr of #2400 (Don't use this in your S&W or Taurus, or SAA Clone, per Nosler's warning) it will shoot 1.5" groups at 100yds.

I much prefer the top loads listed for "factory" duplication and max loads for SAA and clones.

Their is nothing anemic or "ineffective" about a 255gr FN slug at ~900fps.

I like HP38, Win231, Universal in the .45colt.

5.0gr of Bullseye is very accurate, ditto 6.7gr of HP38/Win231.

Go with 7.6gr of Universal, and get 900+fps and is a real "talker". VERY accurate,and will kill big game well !

Enjoy your .45colt. Just don't try to unneccessarily "hot rod" it.

 

[McCall911]

I also like the .45 Colt. It can be loaded up to some impressive specs for hunting, according to this webpage:

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/methods.html

For self-defense: It's only a handgun cartridge, not the hammer of Thor. And what is the persistent dogma about handgun cartridges? "They're all underpowered." (I say this somewhat with tongue-in-cheek because some are more "underpowered" than others. But the "hammer of Thor" part still stands.)

 

[highlander 5]

if you decide to reload use 45 Schofield brass for lighter loads.
The Schofield is 1/8 inch short ie 38spl vs 357mag and can be loaded with 230-250gr bullets easily Speer has loading data for it in the #13 manual'
I own 3 revolvers in 45 Colt 1 Redhawk and 2 Ruger Bisleys and you can't find a nicer cartridge to work with.Oh BTW Starline makes Schofield brass and Black Hills has loaded ammo

 

[schmeky]

My first pistol was a Ruger New Model .45 long colt with a 7.5" barrel. I still have it after almost 30 years.

Yes, the Colt shoots nearly everything well, but don't forget the lighter bullets, like a 180 grain hollow point behind a healthy powder charge. I have seen these bullets expand to .70 caliber. Talk about do some damage.

As an oldtimer once told me, "the 45 colt is like a shooting a bullet that has already expanded". How true!

Of all my many pistols, the .45 colt cartridge is my favorite.

 

[NORTEXED]

My .45 Colts are fired through a Colt New Service in like mint condition, and I love it. A buddy several years ago had a Blackhawk in L.C. / A.C.P. convertible with a 4 5/8" bbl that was a dream to shoot. We ran some loads through that gun that would scare me now, but never a hickup (including 405 Gr. hard cast 45/70 bullets resized to .454 tehe). My loads through the New Service are much more reasonable, but still nothing I would want to be on the receiving end of for sure. If you reload, the .45 Colts Gold Medal comes from versatility. below are 3 of my favorites:
"I make my .45 L.C. shot loads by cutting .444 Marlin brass back to cylinder length. The .444 is almost exactly .45 L.C. dimensions (close enough for low pressure shot loads), and can carry even more shot than the plastic capsuls as they go from powder to cylinder end. I use a heavy cardboard over powder and over shot wad , roll crimp slightly, and seal with fingernail polish. I also use #12 shot for a dense, close range (max. 20') load.
Below is a pic of one along with a 285gr. Long Meplat hunting load and one of my "special" duplex loads of 2 .454 lead balls (which print nicely about 2-4" apart at 50')."

 

[longboard]

I just bought a Super 38 that is great to shoot............ but when I was reloading last night I pulled down some 45 Long Colt in new Starline brass.
That cartidge is so darn impressive when put next to any other round, even rifle rounds.
When shooting my Marlin I just get a warm Cowboy feeling all over, not to mention [sp] droping them in to my Rodeo or the Ruger's at a match.
Great cartridge!!!!!!!!!
Longboard

 

[bakert]

Nice looking gun. I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt and love it but the tracker in that caliber really appeals to me. Think I would actually prefer it to my son's Tracker in .357 mag even though the .45 is only 5 shot. Standard pressure loads will do the job in most all situations as it has done on both man and all kinds of animals for over a hundred years. I consider it mainly a reloading caliber because of the high cost and not so available good factory loads in a lot of areas. It's not a magnum but that big bullet running around 850+ is one helluva stopper.

 

[MCgunner]

Fun

The Taurus Trackers come in .44 mag, so it should be a pretty strong gun, but I wouldn't push it with the Ruger only hot stuff. I'd keep it fairly mild. I load a 255 grain flat point to about 900 fps out of a 4 5/8" barrel. That load, really, will do about anything that needs doing. I'd carry it in a Tracker or Mountain Gun for toothy critter defense with as much confidence as a factory loaded 158 grain .357 magnum, personally. Of course, I'd rather carry my 300 grain load at 1150 fps out of my Blackhawk, but it doesn't do self defense duty, either. That tracker would be a good self defense revolver.

 

[Sistema1927]

Nortexed, what powder and charge are you using for that duplex load? Do you know of anything published anywhere on this? It looks like something that I might want to try.

 

[ryan b]

Oh the 45 Colt it is one of my favorite calibers to shoot. I shoot a 625 Mountain Gun I have used it on duty and Hunting and feel completely comfortable against man or beast!!!!!! My favorite Load Factory is Cor Bon 225 Grain DPX this the badest thing I have ever fired as to performance. I have taken Hogs, Deer and Coyotes with this load and let me tell you it is impressive. The silvertip is ok but trust me go with the DPX I carried this load while on duty as a Police Officer and in this Gun. It Saved my life one night. The bad guy stated that he started to try to stab me but he saw those big holes in the cylinder and decided that I would Proably Kill him if i shot him and he gave up Peacefully. He told this to me after he was charged for aggrevated assault on a police officer. I like the cowboy loads for plinking but love the DPX for bussiness

 

[schmeky]

ryan B,

Long ago I lived way out in the "sticks". My neighbor moved out of a rent house next to my (at the time) mobile home. One night I saw a flashlight beam bouncing around in the vacant house, heard some guys talking, saying things like "get that, yea, get that too", so I knew something was up. Told my wife to call the sheriff's office, I grabbed my Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .45LC, loaded with my pet Speer Reloading Manual hollow-point HOT loads and grabbed a flashlight.

I stood a comfortable distance away waiting on my property for the police. I realized the two guys in the house were drunk and felt I was in no real danger. Suddenly they came out of the back door and on a moonlite night they spotted me. I held my pistol behind my back and stood sideways so the only thing they saw in my hand was a flashlite. They walked straight at me and I got really nervous, and wondered at the moment why the hell I decided to even be outside.

About that time one of the guys turned his flashlite on me and said, "hey buddy, what the hell you doin' out here?". I was standing on my property, and they were as far as I was concerned, trespassing (as well as breaking and entering).

I decided it was time to show the .45LC. When I rasied the Ruger up, one of the guys said, "He's got a God-D_mn cannon in his hand"!!. They wheeled around and took off. I was still wondering where the cops were. When these two "Einsteins" got in their vehicle and took off, I heard a car about 100 yards down the road crank up and go full throttle; I knew immediately this was the sheriff. They were arrested without incident within sight of where I was standing. No doubt a DWI was part of the package.

Just the sight of the big barrel and those "huge" .45 holes in the cylinder, I feel, scared the hell out of those two guys. Glad I didn't have a .22 instead.

 

[MFortie]

Hmm. Interesting topic. One of my local dealers has a Model 25 in .45LC he was showing me the other day. Might hafta go back for another look-see...

Regards,

Mark

 

[Wedge]

.45 Colt is great. As said numerous times already for a factory load the winchester silver tips are great. The cowboy loads all generally stink. The winchester target loads aren't too bad.

For plinking I use a 200gr. LSWC over 7gr of HP-38. Even that plinking load would be useful out in the woods.

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published standard pressure maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

I have also loaded up a 255gr LSWC over 9.0gr of Unique. Max in 48th edition Lymans is listed as 8.5gr of Unique, hence the disclaimer above. It is safe in my gun, but might not be in the tracker so use common sense if you want to work up some warmer loads.