460 Rowland vs 45 ACP

[calm seas]

So, muddled meanderings in the outhouse...looking at the 460 Rowland kit for a 1911, it seems heavier springs, different brass, and a comped barrel are all it takes.
Yes, I know the 460 brass is longer, but OAL is the same as the 45, so you just have more boolet in the brass. Heavier springs to handle the recoil, and a comped barrel to help with recoil.
The 30 Super Carry thread tickled this fancy. I am not looking at doing it, just wondering what I am missing in the conversion.
My 'know just enough to get in trouble' mind says the 460 is just increasing pressure in the same space to achieve faster velocity.

[kingrj]

Yes...just as the .45 Super is a .45 acp loaded to higher pressures the .460 is loaded to even higher pressures than the Super.

[calm seas]

So, nothing but an increase in chamber pressure to increase velocity to achieve a 'new cartridge'?

[calm seas]

The 357 and 44Mag have longer brass, AND a longer cartridge OAL. The Rowland has the same OAL as the 45 ACP. The longer brass is (my guess) to prevent loading in a pistol that the recoil might damage. To my simple mind, that means an increase in pressure has created a 'new' cartridge. I'm probably missing something somewhere.

[megasupermagnum]

You are acting like that is a small thing. Yes, as far as I know, 460 Rowland still fits in normal 45 ACP magazines, but other than that, you are talking about messing with everything else. The only way I know of is to buy a conversion kit from460 Rowland.com. Or find a used kit. It's a whole new barrel, different chamber, with a big old compensator on the end. It needs heavier springs, and very likely buffers. Possibly even a stronger magazine spring. I don't know about every model, but it's likely you need a special firing pin, and stronger return spring. It is about as radical as pistol conversions get.

45 Super is a different deal. It is nothing but a hot loaded 45 ACP. There is technically a 45 Super case with thicker web near the head, but plenty of people shoot standard 45 ACP brass. It isn't like it is a high pressure cartridge. 45 ACP +P is 23,000 PSI. 45 Super is the same case, but loaded to 28,000 PSI. There's not a ton of info out there on what you need to do to various pistols. Generally heavier recoil springs and buffers. It is about the top end of what a normal semi-auto can handle, along with 10mm auto.

P.S. The 460 Rowland runs up to 40,000 PSI. It is an animal.

[No_1]

I have 2 guns chambered in 460 Rowland. The first is a 625 with the cylinder chamber lengthened by Clark Custom to accommodate 460 Rowland and the other is a Colt 1991A1 with a Clark Custom 460 Rowland Kit installed. I jumped on the Rowland bandwagon in the early days with the 625. The cases are 1/16” longer but since the boolits seat at normal 45acp depths the rounds chamber in factory mags with no additional work required. My 1911 kit came with a barrel that had the COMP lock tighted in place, a recoil spring, maybe one other spring, and load data. Brass can be purchased from Starline.

If I remember correctly the original load data was pretty hot and was throttled back some. Current data will take 185 gr. boolits above 1400 FPS and 230’s (easily) to 1150 FPS. I have done a bit of load development with many different boolits including the RCBS 255 LSWC for use in the 625. My current load using AA7 sends Berry Plated 230’s down range @1128 ave vel, 687 energy, 5 Std Dev, and 11 fps spread.

[jdfoxinc]

Rowland designed the 360 rowland to equal .357 magnum loads in a 9x19 platform and 460 rowland to equal. 44 magnum in a .45 acp platform. Conversions for glock 21 are also available.