.45 Colt Bullet Diameter

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haymaker

New member
I want to start reloading .45 Colt for my Ruger Blackhawk and S&W Governor. I'm finding bullets whose diameters are .451, .452, and .454. Why the difference in bullet diameters? What do I have to watch out for? Will they all work in either or both revolvers?
 
S

schmellba99

New member
.451" is the copper jacket dimension for a standard (modern) Colt .45 or .45 ACP round. .452" is the cast lead dimension for the same rounds.

.454" is the bore dimension for older Colt revolvers. Up until around the WWII era, the bore for a .45 Colt revolver was the old .454" dimension. Post WWII the adopted the .451" bore and SAAMI standards so that both rounds had the same diameter projectile.
 
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Mike / Tx

New member
Why the difference in bullet diameters? What do I have to watch out for? Will they all work in either or both revolvers?
Click to expand...

One thing you "might" look out for in your Ruger if your planning on shooting cast bullets, is the area just ahead of the forcing cone where the barrel is screwed into the frame. In some Ruger's this area has a restriction due to the barrel being screwed in good and tight. If you plan on using cast bullets I would start out using them sized at .452" and go form there. You might not have this with your revolver and then again you might. If you note some pretty decent leading just ahead of this area you might have it. This isn't to be confused with straight forward leading which can also occur, but it is usually from the start on down or right at the forcing cone out about an inch or just in the last inch or so of your barrel. Those can be from the load and or the lube running out.

IF you have issues worry about it then, and possibly slug your barrel at that point. It isn't going to be an issue to run some .452" cast down it simply to see, and if you have an issue worry about fixing it AFTER it rears it's ugly head.
 
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