.450 Bexan
For anyone that has purchased a Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt/45ACP.
I bought it because I thought it would be cool to use 45 ACP on moon clips. Like numerous other owners in internet land, I was disappointed with the accuracy of the 45 ACP loads that work fine in my semi autos. Like others, I had trouble with light strikes when using moon clips due to the springiness of the clips.
The above, combined with boredom on some – 30 degree days led me here....
I had an ice cream container full of.308 range pickup brass......but I don’t own a .308.
What to do?
The .308 shell plate on my Loadmaster is also the same one used for 45ACP. So what would happen if I cut off the .308 cases to 45 Colt length?
Kind of the Mother of all 45 ACP cartridges at 1.300 inches long....
Ok so they fit in the cylinder but the 308 case is much thicker. I won’t be simply seating a bullet in that opening any time soon. I had read about a .451 Detonics reamer that existed at one time for making similar extended 45 ACP cases.
Well, I don’t have the patience to try to source one of those, but I do have an old unused Heli-Coil tap that I’m not using...... and a grinder.....
Trial and error... by grinding off the thread cutting teeth, I ended up with a reamer that could open up the soft brass case. I chucked the case in the drill press and clamped the reamer vertically in the drill press vise. (I really need to get a lathe.) This opened up the case enough to make it possible to expand the case mouth for a .452 projectile. The thickness of the remaining brass at the case mouth was still slightly thicker than factory 45 Colt brass.
Now I had a long case that would snap into my existing Ruger moon clips. The case walls were thicker than 45 Colt for added safety margin, and the internal case volume was slightly less than 45 Colt so I won’t be tempted to overstuff it with the Ruger only loads.
The primer ignition has become more reliable I believe, due to the extra mass of the thicker rifle brass and the larger bearing surface of the cases in the chambers. The cases almost headspace on the case mouth now, so this may provide a little more support when being struck by the firing pin.
The first try at the range was underwhelming. Accuracy was decent but the large rifle primers proved too hard for reliable ignition. I pulled the remaining rounds and reloaded them with Winchester large pistol primers. The following day ignition was fully reliable even though the large pistol primers sank a few thousandths deeper into the primer pockets.
Most of my testing was done with IMR 4227 powder, starting low at 15 grains and working up to 20 grains with both a 230 grain Campro plated round nose bullet as well as a 200 grain cast round nose flat point bullet. At 20 grains the case was filled to near the base of the bullet with room for maybe an extra grain or two. (I plan to consult with the spirits of Skeeter Skelton and Elmer Keith on whether I should go higher.)
The 230 Campros clocked around 850 fps from a 4.2 inch barrel, with the 200 grain cast averaging around 920fps. I will be trying some W296 soon to see if I can pick up a little more velocity.
So far this cartridge doesn’t do anything that can’t be done with 45 Colt except for snapping into moon clips, but it sure is cool dropping these long rounds into the cylinder. It’s also pretty cool naming your own cartridge.
For anyone that has purchased a Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt/45ACP.
I bought it because I thought it would be cool to use 45 ACP on moon clips. Like numerous other owners in internet land, I was disappointed with the accuracy of the 45 ACP loads that work fine in my semi autos. Like others, I had trouble with light strikes when using moon clips due to the springiness of the clips.
The above, combined with boredom on some – 30 degree days led me here....
I had an ice cream container full of.308 range pickup brass......but I don’t own a .308.
What to do?
The .308 shell plate on my Loadmaster is also the same one used for 45ACP. So what would happen if I cut off the .308 cases to 45 Colt length?
Kind of the Mother of all 45 ACP cartridges at 1.300 inches long....
Ok so they fit in the cylinder but the 308 case is much thicker. I won’t be simply seating a bullet in that opening any time soon. I had read about a .451 Detonics reamer that existed at one time for making similar extended 45 ACP cases.
Well, I don’t have the patience to try to source one of those, but I do have an old unused Heli-Coil tap that I’m not using...... and a grinder.....
Trial and error... by grinding off the thread cutting teeth, I ended up with a reamer that could open up the soft brass case. I chucked the case in the drill press and clamped the reamer vertically in the drill press vise. (I really need to get a lathe.) This opened up the case enough to make it possible to expand the case mouth for a .452 projectile. The thickness of the remaining brass at the case mouth was still slightly thicker than factory 45 Colt brass.
Now I had a long case that would snap into my existing Ruger moon clips. The case walls were thicker than 45 Colt for added safety margin, and the internal case volume was slightly less than 45 Colt so I won’t be tempted to overstuff it with the Ruger only loads.
The primer ignition has become more reliable I believe, due to the extra mass of the thicker rifle brass and the larger bearing surface of the cases in the chambers. The cases almost headspace on the case mouth now, so this may provide a little more support when being struck by the firing pin.
The first try at the range was underwhelming. Accuracy was decent but the large rifle primers proved too hard for reliable ignition. I pulled the remaining rounds and reloaded them with Winchester large pistol primers. The following day ignition was fully reliable even though the large pistol primers sank a few thousandths deeper into the primer pockets.
Most of my testing was done with IMR 4227 powder, starting low at 15 grains and working up to 20 grains with both a 230 grain Campro plated round nose bullet as well as a 200 grain cast round nose flat point bullet. At 20 grains the case was filled to near the base of the bullet with room for maybe an extra grain or two. (I plan to consult with the spirits of Skeeter Skelton and Elmer Keith on whether I should go higher.)
The 230 Campros clocked around 850 fps from a 4.2 inch barrel, with the 200 grain cast averaging around 920fps. I will be trying some W296 soon to see if I can pick up a little more velocity.
So far this cartridge doesn’t do anything that can’t be done with 45 Colt except for snapping into moon clips, but it sure is cool dropping these long rounds into the cylinder. It’s also pretty cool naming your own cartridge.
