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.45 Colt? .451 or .452?
- Thread starter Xfire68
- Start date
Lost Sheep
New member
Hey! It used to be .454"
To be absolutely sure, you could slug your bore and measure your cylinder throats and the entry to your forcing cone.
The historical variations in various firearms chambered nominally for the 45 Colt have made for a great deal of confusion with projectile sizes.
Knowing that a .001" variation is not likely to be make-or-break critical, I would do what I have done and used .451 or .452 in jacketed and anything in cast lead from .451 to .454, but starting in the low pressure range first until I prove to myself that I am not generating dangerous conditions.
Excuse me now; I gotta go take my own advice and go put a micrometer on my gun.
Lost Sheep
To be absolutely sure, you could slug your bore and measure your cylinder throats and the entry to your forcing cone.
The historical variations in various firearms chambered nominally for the 45 Colt have made for a great deal of confusion with projectile sizes.
Knowing that a .001" variation is not likely to be make-or-break critical, I would do what I have done and used .451 or .452 in jacketed and anything in cast lead from .451 to .454, but starting in the low pressure range first until I prove to myself that I am not generating dangerous conditions.
Excuse me now; I gotta go take my own advice and go put a micrometer on my gun.
Lost Sheep
Yeap,
Slugging is the right way to determine it.
However, IMO (had an issue many years ago with a barrel on a Browning), even such a small difference will result in higher pressures or very poor accuracy, depending whether your bullets are smaller or larger than the bore diameter.
So shooting bullets that are smaller than the bore will not be dangerous, But don't expect any decent accuracy.
Brgds,
Danny
Slugging is the right way to determine it.
However, IMO (had an issue many years ago with a barrel on a Browning), even such a small difference will result in higher pressures or very poor accuracy, depending whether your bullets are smaller or larger than the bore diameter.
So shooting bullets that are smaller than the bore will not be dangerous, But don't expect any decent accuracy.
Brgds,
Danny
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For modern production .45 Colts, you're wrong. Revolvers such as the Vaquero, Cimarron, Rossi, etc. will usually take jacketed bullets in .451 and lead in .452. Older .45 Colts such as an SAA and other new and old models might be bored to take .454 lead. Lead bullet configurations with a cannelure and lube groove in .454" can usually be used in most .45 Colts without a problem.
As suggested any owner of a .45 Colt, more than any other caliber, should always slug the barrel to be sure of its diameter unless it is explicitly stated in the owners manual.
As suggested any owner of a .45 Colt, more than any other caliber, should always slug the barrel to be sure of its diameter unless it is explicitly stated in the owners manual.
Thanks for the info and tip on slugging the bore. Being new to revolvers and "older" calibers I need to know as much as I can before I start.
I have yet to buy dies to load the .45 Colt so I am not guessing on anything and want to be sure I order the right components to load them up right.
I have yet to buy dies to load the .45 Colt so I am not guessing on anything and want to be sure I order the right components to load them up right.
Head-Space
Moderator
Just for point of reference, a hair off your head is about 0.002". Hair off a beard, mustache is about 0.004". I was trimming cases the other day and the micrometer is reading, 2.4855" (between the lines). Then 2.485", then 2.486".
At thousandths and ten-thousandths, the measure you get is pretty much a function of how tight your turn the knob on the caliper.
At thousandths and ten-thousandths, the measure you get is pretty much a function of how tight your turn the knob on the caliper.