Lever action in 45 ACP?

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Pistoler0

New member
Do you know of a lever action in 45 ACP?

I am trying to think of alternatives to semi-auto PCCs.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
google is your friend. It has been done however generally rimmed casings are used in lever guns and rimless cases do not work terribly well. nothing production that I found in the first few search results. but it does sound like a cool gun. it would have a lot of magazine capacity and be very light on recoil

Also another thread with a very similar topic was recently opened and locked for being too much conjecture.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609814
 
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Pistoler0

New member
Good point, I will edit the original post and get rid of the "if they get restricted" part. ;)

<<nothing production>> Yep that's what I am realizing.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
and rimless cases do not work terribly well.
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Straight rimless (or essentially straight) were never used mostly due to issues with headspacing. Bottle neck rimless rifle rounds work JUST FINE.

.250-3000, .243. .300 Savage, .308 Win, and .35 Rem being the most common. There are a couple guns that even took the .30-06

Probably have to modify the extractor.
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Going from .45Colt to .45ACP? probably, since the .45acp is spec'd at .480" rim (and that would be a max dimension, most brass will be a bit less than that) and the .45 Colt is spec'd at .512".

Next question, does the bolt face itself have the clearance needed so a new/modified extractor can reach "in" as much as it needs to to grab and hold .45acp cases??

or could it be done with a different design of extractor hook? I don't know, never considered the idea before...

The Savage 99 and Browning BLR are already well set up for the .45acp size case head and body diameter (same as the .308) but you'd have a couple inches of "empty" space the ACP would have to move through to get to the chamber, so some kind of spacer system would need to be designed.

Plus, neither of those is a cheap rifle to experiment on, and the Savage is out of production, anyway...

And, if you could get it to work, you'd have only a fraction of the ammo capacity of a tube magazine gun. .45ACP should work ok in a tube mag, the RN is fairly blunt. Pointed 9mm (FMJ) would be a BAD idea in a tube magazine.

The most practical alternative to semi auto PCC's is simply the existing lever action PCCs, accepting their chamberings as they are.
 
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Scorch

New member
About 35 years ago, I met a gunsmith at a gun show in Reno who had a 94 in 45ACP on his show bench. I asked him how much it would cost to make another. He shook his head, told me he was just showing it to let people know he knew how but would never make another one. I saw an article in a gun rag maybe 35 years ago about a lever action in 45ACP, and I remember it was tremendously expensive, several thousand dollars. For about $1000 you can get an AR in 45, I would look there.
 
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TruthTellers

New member
Custom gunsmithing is expensive because it's custom, there's a lot of work that would have to be done, but if this was a production rifle that Henry, Rossi, or Ruger/Marlin would make, they could make a .45 ACP production rifle for a grand because they'd have the tooling and machines all set up, the mass production down, and their $12/hr operators trained up.

I feel like I've been saying this phrase repeatedly online lately, but the demand for such a thing isn't there... yet. I think the demand can be there once the industry realizes that a cheap centerfire ammo, which is usually pistol ammo like 9mm and .45 ACP, in a lever action would be popular because the ammo is cheap and because the tube's capacity would be higher than with longer revolver or rifle ammo.

The thing about a .45 ACP lever rifle is that it would be capable of shooting .45 Super as well and .45 Super in a rifle would be quite powerful.
 
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44caliberkid

New member
In Australia they have done a lot of pump action conversions on AR's and AK's, in all kinds of calibers. A modern short stroke pump in action that uses AR, 308AR, and Glock magazines, integral top rail for your choice of rear sight or scope, and an optional front sight. You could do a 357/ 44 Mag version that used Desert Eagle mags. They'd sell a million of them.
 
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Pistoler0

New member
TruthTellers said:
the demand can be there once the industry realizes that a cheap centerfire ammo, which is usually pistol ammo like 9mm and .45 ACP, in a lever action would be popular because the ammo is cheap and because the tube's capacity would be higher than with longer revolver or rifle ammo.

The thing about a .45 ACP lever rifle is that it would be capable of shooting .45 Super as well and .45 Super in a rifle would be quite powerful.
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+1

yeah, this, exactly.
45 Super in a rifle is up to 1100 ft-lbs KE, and surpasses even 10mm
 
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Pistoler0

New member
Scorch said:
For about $1000 you can get an AR in 45, I would look there.
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I mean you are right, but I was thinking about alternatives if I could not get a semi-auto AR, for whatever reason.

Of course I'd much rather have the AR in whatever pistol caliber.
 
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Drm50

New member
My computer chip is getting dim but I believe I remember a 92 Win knock off, Mexican made in 45acp. El Tigre was name of in, late 50s?
 
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Scorch

New member
I believe I remember a 92 Win knock off, Mexican made in 45acp. El Tigre was name of in, late 50s?
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El Tigre rifles were made in Spain in the 1920s. They were imported into North and South America after WW2. They were kinda-sorta clones of the Winchester 92, sorta like the Rossi 92. The ones I've seen were in 44-40. I have never heard of one in a different chambering. In any case, the 45 ACP is too short to use in a 92 (original or clone).
 
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