new revolver 45 Colt

[inspector_17]

Looking up the specs on the cartridge, it's dia is 454. Looking for molds, dies, sizer finding mostly at 452. Is this right? Thought dia was supposed to be larger? Not new to reloading just this cartridge.

[gunoil]

Ditto: me too, bought a mix of dillon & lee dies from ebay. Want a cartidge gage now. I have 200 gr. lymans & some wax bullets. Bought brass on Casboolit forum. Have federal primers. Got alot to learn, no hurry for me.

[FlatTop45LC]

Most all common modern 45 colt revolvers have .451 or so barrels. Cylinder throats run from 450 to 457 unfortunately.

In an ideal world all revolvers had 4525 throats and 451 bores.

[Char-Gar]

Long ago, the single action revolvers made by Colt had a barrel groove diameter of .454, but that is not the case of any revolver made by anybody since the end of WWII. Therefore the .454 you read is a hold over from days long gone. You can count on all post-war sixguns in this caliber having barrel groove diameters of .451 or .452.

However what determines size of he bullet is the diameter of the throat in the cylinder charge hole and as noted those can be all over the place. you need to determine that before buying any sizing dies or bullet molds. That is step one.

[6bg6ga]

As mentioned above the revolvers before WWII were .454 and after WWII they were more standard at .452 The above advice is correct. Determine the correct size before purchasing components.

[MtGun44]

+1 on CharGar. . . . ultimately -- "it depends" is accurate for a LOT of stuff on the
ancient but wonderful .45 Colt.

Bill

[inspector_17]

No wonder I love this forum. Thanks for the great and fast info!

[DougGuy]

You -do- want a mold that will drop at .454" then you can size to .452" no problem. Do you have the revolver? If you are buying a Ruger, it may need the cylinder throats sized to .4525" which is most common for shooting .452" boolits. The cost for this is less than a cheap pair of grips including the shipping.

[enfieldphile]

If one acquires the revolver first, then measure the cylinder throats w/ a pin gage, prior to ordering molds/sizing dies, etc. Get an average size for the throats and use that as a guide to order mold and sizing chambers.

Remember, the artisens here will make you whatever custom size you require. The few $$ they charge is a mere pitenence! Chris made my Star dies. Tom made my molds.


FWIW, I find the latest S&W chamber mouths to be the most consistant and closer to nominal.

[Markbo]

I have only been reloading about 8 or 9 years. .45 Colt has become my favorite revolver cartridge. I have 6 .45 revolvers I load for. After a LOT of trial & error and a steep learning curve I foind the need to ream chamber throats on only 2. What I have done is get all my stuff in .454" and size cast bullets for each gun.

Since this all started when I was early into reloading & not casting I had ordered cast bullets from several different makers. They were all .452" and they were all way too hard. Since I learned only a little and can shoot all my revolvers without leading (thank you castboolits.com!) every one of those several 1,000 hard cast I have left are sized to shoot in my various 1911s.

Cast boolits in general & the .45 Colt in particular is extremely detail oriented to get everything just right. Much more effort than jacketed.rifle loads. But with just a few tools (pin gauges are sure nice to have) and some experimenting you can find the right size for every revolver. Then you can start mixing the 100s of primer, powder & bullet combinations to find that one great load for each one, keeping in mind the bullets own variables of weight, style & hardness.

And isnt that half the fun of reloading? :) NOW I understand why all the old timers here told me they were just learning or didnt know much yet. I will never know everything i want to know.

[Char-Gar]

It really isn't as hard as all of that. Folks have been shooting cast bullets in the 255 - 260 range over 6.5/Bullseye or 8.5 Unique for generations with good results. Hardness of Bhn 9-11 is about right and sized .452 or .454 depending on cylinder throat size.

It may be fun to reinvent the wheel, but it is't necessary.

[John Boy]

EMH M1892 -24"

45 Colt

443
447


Puma 1892 -20"

45 Colt

443
449


Uberti M1866

45 Colt

443
448


Uberti M1860

45 Colt

441
448


Cimarron Thunderer-5.5"
45 Colt

442
448


Taurus Thunderbolt

45 Colt

443
448


Uberti M1873 Cattleman-4 5/8"
45 Colt

443
448


Ruger SSBH-4 5/8

45 Colt

442
448


Ruger SSBH-4 5/8

45 Colt

442
448



45 Long Colt dimensions are pretty standard with manufacturers today

[MtGun44]

What do the numbers represent? No heading on the
columns.

Bill

[Markbo]

....It may be fun to reinvent the wheel, but it is't necessary....
Well sure if all you want to test is 2 loads in every gun. Where's the fun in that???



What do the numbers represent? No heading on the
columns.

Bill

Yeah those sure dont look like any standard .45 colt measuremebts that I am familar with! :D

[paul h]

Looking up the specs on the cartridge, it's dia is 454. Looking for molds, dies, sizer finding mostly at 452. Is this right? Thought dia was supposed to be larger? Not new to reloading just this cartridge.

The original 45 colt used .454" bullets. The 45 acp uses .451" bullets.

Modern manufacturers (really since the 1970's or 80's) decided to standardize on the .451" size for both the 45 acp and modern 45 colt revolvers. So mold and sizer manufacturers have followed suit hence the preponderance of .452" molds and sizers.