45 super???

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curtmg

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What is it? Can I make my glock 21sf use it? Is it available, does it just use regular 45 ACP brass? My loading manuals don't say anything about it, but I keep seeing little mentions of it here and there, mostly here.

Thanks
 
In short... the '45 Super' is a .45" bullet going way fast (i.e. it's 10mm Auto comparable) in your standard .45ACP gun.

The dimensions are identical to regular .45ACP brass; but they (the brass) is stronger to handle the higher pressure.

Yes, it's available (you order the brass from Starline) and you load using your .45ACP dies.

It's not officially supported by any powder companies because of the liability... someone puts a .45SUPER cartridge in a pistol that can't handle it.

FYI: Most modern guns can handle the cartridge with heavier springs installed (See *Wolff Gunsprings - order the heaviest ones) and no ill effect.

The 45 Super is tres cool.

I only shoot 45 Super from my Ruger KP345 with Heavy spring; no problems after nearly 500+ rounds - the brass can actually handle lots of pressure (think .460 Rowland) but other components will fail before due to recoil; my magazines for instance will flip the next cartridge if I go up to and beyond 10.4 grains of Longshot.
 
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I wouldn't shoot it in a Glock 21 personally, I'd want something with as much chamber support as possible and a metal frame to protect my hand in case something goes wrong (powder manufacturers don't have load data for .45super; so you don't really know what kinda pressures you're getting)...just my $.02
 
IM_Lugger said:
I wouldn't shoot it in a Glock 21 personally, I'd want something with as much chamber support as possible and a metal frame to protect my hand in case something goes wrong (powder manufacturers don't have load data for .45super; so you don't really know what kinda pressures you're getting)...just my $.02
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From the links posted, I'm not going to convert the glock over, it'd be a cool project though. Chamber support doesn't seem to be the issue, the brass is .023 thicker through the web, from what the given links report, so the unsupported part of the case, is solid brass anyway. I'm just worried about bashing the slide on the frame. Once I have a 1911, I'll consider it for sure. Thanks for all the info, it gave my wife something new to roll her eyes about, when she asks "what are you reading now?"
 
If the pressure is 28500 psi the brass is .023 thicker I don't see why one couldn't fire it in a G21. G22's and G17's deal with pressures of 35000 psi and I can't see Glock making the G21 to a lesser standard then the other two mentioned. G37 mentioned using a heavier recoil spring in his post, pop that in and you should be good to go.
 
Yeah... to further make you guys excited: Look at specs on the .460 Rowland... crazy right?

Now, get this, the Starline brass for the 460 Rowland is made in the same manner (same heat treatment process) as the 45 Super - thus, 45 Super could be loaded to 460 Rowland specs if the pistol could handle it (*The 460 Rowland conversion is a serious one with new barrel and compensator and mag springs, etc. A little more involved than just swapping recoil springs.)

I'm using Hodgdon Longshot for my 200gr. 45 Super loadings and the book data max is 8.1gr - The same data minimum for 200gr .460 Rowland is 12gr (but the brass is the same in construction & material).

So, I decided to see how far I could go with 45 Super...

I went in .2gr increments from 8.2gr upwards. You'll be please to know that with my gun (Ruger KP345) and my components I did not see a single sign of overpressure all the way up to 10.6gr of Longshot (almost getting to 460 Rowland minimal specs) - we're talking easy 41 Magnum performance (easy beating 10mm Auto --- and it's a .45ACP at the heart ;)).

I had to stop there though because at 10.6gr the recoil was so incredible that it was causing the cartridges in the magazine to flip and stove pipe after each shot! (literally each shot cause a stove pipe of the next cartridge) - This could probably have been fixed with a stronger mag spring, but why push it :)

At 10.4gr of Longshot I was getting the above problem once every 4 or 5 shots (not reliable).

At 10.2gr I've had zero malfunctions in over 100 rounds. It's awesome. I was at the range yesterday and I let a Range officer fire these little monsters and his exact words were "Holy Sh!t!!!" after the first shot.
He said he felt like he was shooting a revolver - it's really not that bad though ;)

I love the 45 Super. Of course as with anything... find out what works for your gun. The Ruger KP345 has a very tight chamber and is a strong gun.

I think the Glock could handle it with a stronger recoil spring, but you want to do as I did and check for signs of overpressure as you go up. Look for primer smear and case bulge.

P.S. As a testament to HOW STRONG the 45 Super brass is and how tight the RUGER chamber is... I can take the spent brass from a 10.6gr loading and it will still drop in the chamber (a little snug, but still all the way no problem) :) Whoa!
 
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I use necked down .45 Super Brass to manufacture rounds in .400 CorBon. It works very well and I have had 165 grain bullets move down range at 1,700 fps out of my 1911. Does anyone know if Starline still ships to Canada?
 
Garand said:
I use necked down .45 Super Brass to manufacture rounds in .400 CorBon. It works very well and I have had 165 grain bullets move down range at 1,700 fps out of my 1911. Does anyone know if Starline still ships to Canada?
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They do. 500pcs is under $100, so they ship it.
 
Taurus 1911 I just got is approved by .460 Rowland conversion. I loaded some .45+P loads will try it tomorrow. Hmm...maybe I should try even hotter stuff...
 
That's a pretty good price for brass. I'm pretty sure I just paid $23.50 for a hundred Winchester brass.
I think I'll order 500 of the super .45 and experiment and then have some fun as well! I just checked their website and their price is $100.47, so I think I'll give them a call tomorrow and see just how sticky they are on that $100 limit.
 
IM_Lugger: I got those loads on my own... I went off of the reloading data available at http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp and worked up until I got the failures to feed :) I went in .2gr increments firing 8 shots of each charge and inspecting each case meticulously. If you go hotter, make sure you get the 45 Super brass; the .45 ACP+P brass is stronger than .45 ACP, but not as strong as 45 Super.

BTW I noticed the most accurate loads were 8.2gr for me (I am using LONGSHOT powder, 200gr bullets and a COL of 29.9~30.2mm with Winchester Primers).

Austen: I just checked... that sucks, not long ago it was around $97 for 500... please let us know if they will make a $99.99 exception for Canadians; I might order some more soon just to keep a stock pile :)

Worst case scenario is you could ask them to sell you 250 pieces I suppose.
 
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