.45 Long Colt to .45 ACP

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doceville

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hello to the gunsmiths,

i wondered how hard (ie expensive) it would be to convert an 1894 type lever action rilfe in .45 Long Colt to .45ACP?

anyone done this? or is it just dumb?

I started shooting 1911's last year and wanted a rifle that would shoot the same pistol cartridges.

thanks
 
I am not a gunsmith but the first problem that comes to mind is that the 45 Colt is a rimmed cartridge and the 45 ACP is not.
In revolvers one normally uses moon clips for the 45ACP but obviously that would not work in a rifle.

Good luck.
 
Marlin 336s are made in .35 Remington, so it is possible to make leverguns work with rimless cases. .45 ACP would headspace on the case mouth, the same way it does in an auto pistol. The potential problem I see is getting the much shorter .45 ACP case to feed. Also, I'm not sure if you would be able to set back the barrel (which would also require that the magazine tube be shortened) and rechamber it, or if you would need a whole new barrel. Either way, I think it would be a pretty expensive conversion, assuming it could be done.
 
The two cartridges use different bullet diameters too.
What you need is a revolver chambered in .45 Colt. You have a choice between a single action or a double action. The Ruger Vaquero or a Smith M25. There are others.
 
actually, the 45 colt uses a bullet 451 to 454 diameter- the 45 acp uses a 451-452- depending on the manufacturer , say ruger, uses a 451- as do a great deal of the modern manufacturers
 
Cheaper than converting a lever action, would be to look for a good used Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 ACP. I had one years ago as a companion to my pistols, and have many times regretted selling it. It was also surprisingly accurate as I used to shoot pigeons off the barn roof at 100 yds or less!
 
The Tigre carbine, a copy of the 92 Winchester was made in .45ACP at one time.
While it might be possible to convert a .45LC lever carbine to .45ACP, it would take a LOT of work. Converting the barrel would be the easy part.
 
The .45 ACP has the same rim. as the .308 so it would be cheaper to just rebarrel some bolt gun to .45 acp or may be a break action SS. The lever idea would prolly not work well because the cartridge is very short and would be a feeding nightmare...IMHO
 
ok,

some meat to chew on...i guess it is a dumb idea...i looked at the marlin camp on the interweb...i think it would a great option...i will look into the cx4...thanks all

doc evil
 
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