Oddball .45 Ammo info needed

[teufelmann55]

Alrighty then folks,

I am looking for any info on the Cartridge, Caliber .45, High Density Shot XM261-and a place to locate a few for my collection

 

[maxwayne]

Years ago, I believe it was the American Rifleman that did a spread on 45's and this cartridge. I don't remember is as being very successful.

 

[Gabby Hayes]

The only .45 ACP shotshell I've ever heard of was the "Shot, Cal .45 M15," a survival round from WW-II or thereabouts. However, maxwayne is correct in that the Sept 76 issue of "American Rifleman" had an article on the XM261.

One place to look might be http://www.oldguns.net/

Scroll down the left side and look for "Ammunition for Collectors." If you search there for "M15" you'll come across, under the "U.S. Military Cartridges 1865-1965" section, two references for the M15 .45 ACP Shot cartridge, including a photograph of an original box.

 

[PreserveFreedom]

Just for the record, CCI currently makes shotshells in 45ACP.

 

[SDC]

I've got ONE of these rounds in my collection, and it's a weird one, alright. The "bullet" is a 4-piece semi-transparent sabot that encloses some #4 shot (my best guess for shot size) suspended in what looks like bathtub caulking. Apparently, the rounds were made for "tunnel rats" in Vietnam, who wanted to increase their chances of a hit. If you'd like, I can mail you a picture of the round I've got (or post it, if anyone's curious). If I remember right, I got mine at a cartridge-collector's show in Pennsylvania several years ago. Don't know if any are still available, though.
Stacey C.

 

[gyp_c2]

I'd love to see that!!! If it's too big you can e-mail it or post a link...Thanks!

 

[teufelmann55]

Yeah If you could email that picture to me I'd appreciate it. In response to the post (I went to the website mentioned)I have plenty of M-15 shot ctgs. I also have an M-12 shot cartridge but thank you anyway-all that is needed is a brass blank and the XM-261 shot ctg

 

[SDC]

Here's a shot of the XM261 (top), along with a shot of some of the other .45 ACP shot rounds in my collection. The XM261 is headstamped "WESTERN 45 AUTO", with a red primer seal.

Left to right, these are two Peters riot-control shot loads for the Thompson submachinegun (red/brown and blue shot cups), an M15 shot load from WW2 (RA 4), the XM261 ("tunnel-rat" load), a BBM Hardcap shot load (the "jacket" is just a thin cup filled with shot), a CCI Blazer shot load, and a Remington rose-crimp shot load.