Sorry if this is long winded but it got passed onto to me and IMHO really is the definitive 45 Colt article, Enjoy
Turbocharging the .45 Colt Ross Seyfried
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We know, of course, the .45 Colt is a blackpowder cartridge. We know
the cases are weak and the guns are weaker. We know that if it is
loaded to pressures much beyond a Daisy BB gun we and all bystanders
will be maimed by flying bits and pieces. We know the .44 Magnum can
be a powerful handgun suited to hunting and the .45 Colt cannot - or
do we? Sometimes it is both fun and rewarding to beat up on
conventional wisdom.
Many years ago I knew all these things. Every expert, including Elmer
Keith, had told me so. He put tremendous effort into magnumizing the
.44 Special and was thrilled with the advent of the .44 Magnum
because the old .45 could not become powerful. Time flies when youre
having fun, and the reality is I knew these things 20 years ago. Then
I was near the beginning of my learning curve when it came to taking
big game with a handgun. This learning curve was pretty frustrating.
Yes, my Elmer Special, a 4-inch barreled .44 Magnum, had taken a
lot of game. Deer tipped over pretty well and elk would succumb if
everything was just right.
In the midst of this I began to work in Africa. It was a handgunners
paradise. Plenty of deer and elk-like critters could be stalked to
within honest handgun range. Many could be taken with the .44 Magnum,
but I always felt like I was asking a boy to do a mans job.
Then it happened, the grand kudu bull with ivory-tipped spiraling
horns that nearly touched the top of the trees stood behind the
sights. He was only 60 yards away and the shot felt good; the front
sight nudged the back of his shoulder as the recoil began. My
Shangaan tracker followed the impossible, one track in a maze of hoof
prints. He followed the occasional fleck of blood, followed him over
the rocks and through the dreaded cactus maze known as the Devils
Jungle. He followed all that day and again the next morning. At last
the great bull fell, fell to a lucky rifle bullet that nipped his
neck as he flew through the timber. The .44 had hit well but not
perfectly, just a little high. It was almost enough to make me quit.
The following year the .44 Magnum was again my companion. This time
it carried heavier bullets, sort of pointy bullets designed by a
handgun-hunting expert. They were worse, much worse, than the old
Keith bullets. These veered and turned, tumbled and crippled. To make
matters worse, the great game - the holy grail - stalked my area. The
idea that I might take a Cape buffalo bull with my pistol became an
obsession. Three times that season I stalked close, three times I
drew the hammer, and three times I let it down in silence. The stakes
were too high, the gun too low.
Within this time frame, a fellow began to bother me with letters and
phone calls. He was a nut-case, of course, because he advocated power
beyond the .44s wildest dreams, advocated the .45 Colt. Perhaps if
he had claimed to be able to approach my .44, or even equal it, I
would have listened. But no, he suggested power and performance that
nearly doubled the standard. I knew it could not be. I knew the cases
were weak, I knew . . .
The fellow persisted until at last I could stand no more. Because it
is difficult for me to be rude, I simply acquiesced by allowing him
to drive to the ranch. There would be satisfaction, because my
chronograph and bullet scales would prove the truth. Or, if he was
crazy enough to actually try to fire the claimed power level, the
show would be more than worth the aggravation. Good explosions are
really fun to watch.
Here, he said, give it a try. Being no fool, because I KNEW, I
said, No, you try it; I value my fingers. And so he did. I stood
well back, stalking rearward at a metered pace just as the old-timers
did in a duel, as this maniac pressed the trigger on a hand grenade.
The round spoke with authority, a surprising authority. To my dismay
there was no blinding flash and no copious flow of blood. I crept
closer, slinking toward the chronograph. The mechanical monsters
always lie; it couldnt mean 1,500 fps, at least with the claimed
310-grain bullet! Go ahead, try that again, still smug in my
knowing accidents can happen. He did and it did, six times in a row -
310-grain bullets at 1,500 fps.
So far he had been lucky, but now the jig was up. I was going to
pound the cases out of the cylinder. Pound, yes, I knew pound,
because I had mildly overloaded the .44s before. When you add a
little more powder, you pound the ejector. At this level the .45 Colt
cases would have to be a mangled mess of weeping brass, but again my
fun was foiled. One finger gently lifted every case from its nest,
and one finger could press them home again. Then I tried it, and at
last I had pulled the trigger on some real handgun authority. The
nut-case was John Linebaugh. I sent him on his way with strict orders
not to return - until my gun was finished!
Less than a year later I drew the hammer and took a bead on the last
rib of the wounded hartebeest (the size of a spike elk). He did not
dance, did not run as if flea-bitten; he simply went down while the
bullet exited his shoulder and whined across the African woodland.
This was not a .44 Magnum any more!
Before we get off on the wrong foot, this is not about how bad the
.44 Magnum is but how glorious the .45 Colt can be. It comes in three
levels: the original blackpowder, modern six-shot and the
supercharged custom guns made with five-shot cylinders. Of interest
here are the last two where we surpass the accepted norm of 260-grain
bullets between 800 and 1,000 fps. Before we go there, we have to
explore how it is possible with weak brass and the other frailties
we know the .45 Colt possesses.
The weak-brass syndrome is the most known. Any fool can tell you that
if you reload a weak case with high pressure, you are in trouble.
This is why it is impossible to get modern performance out of the old
Colt. The problem is, the Colt case was, not is, weak. It began with
balloonheads. These are the kind just beyond rimfire, where the
primer pocket is raised within the thin head section. There was a
good use for this, called 40 grains of blackpowder. Without the thin
construction the big charge simply would not fit, but low and behold,
times change. Colt cases can be made just like any other, out of
excellent metal with modern solid-head construction. Without question
the finest, most resilient and able-to-handle-pressure cartridge
cases I have ever used are Federal .45 Colt cases. No, I do not mean
the best .45 Colt cases, or even the best handgun cases, but the best
brass cartridge cases I have ever used. These cases handle more
pressure, gracefully, than any of the best belted magnum brass. How
do I measure this? Well, lets just say in the beginning we did not
do pressure tests.
To make the new super-Colt fully compatible with big game, including
my buffalo, larger bullets were in order. Then, the Keith shape was
the best we knew. I ordered what was then a truly huge bullet from
NEI, one that weighed 335 grains when cast from Linotype or 350
grains out of wheelweights. Not only was this bullet heavy, but it
also took up a lot of space within the case. The loads I used seemed
very mild. The cases fell in and out of the cylinder, even on a hot
day. They could be reloaded 20 times, the primer pockets stayed
tight, and all in all, every apparent sign pointed to normal working
pressure.
After two years I had them tested at Hodgdon. Wow, the pressure was
beyond the extreme maximum for a .300 Weatherby! No, I absolutely do
not advocate using loads like this. That they worked speaks of three
things: the ability of the Colt cartridge, the strength and
resilience of Federal .45 Colt brass and that which looks after small
children and fools.
From those humble and unwise beginnings the .45 Colt has grown. We
learned about bullets, powder and the guns themselves. Perhaps some
of the most interesting lessons were not at full-maximum. Instead,
they came in the midlevels where they could be used in normal
production revolvers, equaling or at times greatly exceeding the .44
Magnum, while using much less pressure.
For this data we owe a debt to Hodgdon Powder Company for doing an
extensive workup for modern .45 Colts in its No. 26 manual. Here,
they worked to a maximum pressure of 30,000 CUP. We find delightful
loads, such as one delivering 300-grain bullets at 1,330 fps out a
7-inch test barrel. By comparison, in the same manual, the .44 Magnum
drives 300-grain bullets about 1,300 fps, while needing 35,000 to
38,000 CUP to get there. Again, we are not mad at the .44, just very
happy with the .45 for its extraordinary ability. At similar levels
the Colt will heave a big 325-grain bullet over 1,200 fps. We are now
at my old Keith .44 Magnum velocity but using 325 grainers instead
of 250.
The great part is that we do not need highly specialized or expensive
custom revolvers to get this remarkable performance. These loads are
for out-of-the-box Ruger .45 Colts or other arms with similar
strength. Loading the Colt to this level is perfectly logical. If we
begin with a .44 Magnum revolver designed to operate at 40,000 CUP
pressure and then reduce the metal thickness in the outside cylinder
wall by about 10 percent, we have a .45 Colt cylinder. The cylinder
metal is the same and the frame is the same, but we only ask the Colt
to work at 30,000 CUP, a pressure reduction of 25 percent. In the
end, the frail Colt actually increases the margin of safety.
While it may be out of place in Handloader, there is a source of
fine quality factory ammunition loaded to this same level. Buffalo
Bore offers three loads. The first two are outstanding, the same
ammunition I load for myself. They are the 300-grain Speer jacketed
and a 325-grain LBT hard cast. Both are specified at 1,350 fps by the
maker (no doubt out of a nonvented pressure barrel.) Both chronograph
right at 1,275 fps out of my stock Ruger Bisleys. In essence, they
are factory loads that can be fired out of factory revolvers and be
up to taking any game in North America, and almost anything else.
A third load is for those who think a lighter, faster bullet is
better for small deer. This is a 260-grain jacketed hollowpoint with
1,400 fps velocity. These loads also point out an interesting facet
of the .45 and other big-bore revolvers. That is, it is easier to
drive big bullets than small ones. All three loads are loaded to the
same pressure level, and the diminutive 260-grain bullet only exceeds
the spectacular 325-grain LBT by 50 fps.
For the few who want or need more power than the stock revolvers can
deliver, the five-shot conversions await. For me, these constitute my
general duty, super-power revolvers. On occasion I use the .475, but
my day-to-day workhorse is the five-shooter .45.
I do not use the .454 Casull. Many will want some explanation
surrounding my disregard for the .454. Basically it is not necessary.
That is, the .45 Colt can do virtually anything the .454 can do. This
is because large-bore revolver performance is a function of cylinder
capacity, not case length. The short cylinders in the Freedom
revolvers actually have less capacity than a long, custom Ruger
cylinder. Other revolvers with full-length cylinders chambered for
the .454 Casull have the same capacity as, not more than, the .45s.
The long cases are really only added expense. The only real excuse
for owning a .454 is to be able to say the cartridges will not fit in
a .45 Colt chamber.
While this is usually true, it is not absolute, and in a moment I
will show you a way to achieve an even more reliable safety factor
with .45 Colt cases. I also do not like the double action .454s
because they lack the lines, balance and shootability of the Ruger
Bisley. Having said all of that, if you own a .454 with a full-length
cylinder it can be as good as the .45 Colt. Oh, if Ruger had only
made us a five-shot .45 Colt or even the .454 on the proven Bisley
design!
The five-shot .45 Colt functions at the same pressure levels as the
.454 Casull. This is true magnum rifle pressure of 50,000 to 55,000
CUP. With this we can push 325-grain bullets over 1,500 fps and 360
grainers over 1,400 fps. It is important to realize that performance,
penetration and game-taking ability in revolvers is not a pure
function of velocity.
The .45 Swift concept fails miserably. This is the idea of driving
light, 225- or 250-grain bullets at speeds approaching 2,000 fps.
Expanding bullets usually splatter, while solids lack the sectional
density for good penetration. We must not be deceived by thinking
that hunting handguns behave or perform like modern smallbore rifles.
Therefore, the mid- to heavyweight bullets, 300 to 360 grains, become
the superstars. They are efficient in that they allow the moderately
slow powders to do their best work, and they have the momentum to
drive a large flatnose unerringly through critters large and small.
Because almost every shooter is accuracy-conscious, lets take a
moment to look at the old .45 Colts potential. We have always been
told that it is an accurate cartridge, but that was at the
blackpowder power level. Conventional wisdom usually says if you want
a gun to be accurate, dont lean on it. I can tell you the Colt does
not care, and perhaps even enjoys healthy doses of gunpowder. The
six-shot, midlevel loads fired from factory revolvers will regularly
group in less than 3 inches at 50 yards. Of course, there really are
no accurate cartridges. The correct wording is that there are
accurate guns.
When I asked Hamilton Bowen to create a revolver that would show just
how accurate a revolver could be, he chose the five-shot .45 Colt
system. The goal was to fire one-inch groups at 100 yards, to produce
fine rifle accuracy with a revolver. A one-inch revolver raises the
difficulty level to extreme, when we realize this is not necessarily
easy with a bolt-action rifle. Asking a revolver - with five
different chambers that are disconnected from the bore, with a gap
between the barrel and cylinder, with all of the inherent
inaccuracies - to play on the rifle field is akin to changing lead
into gold.
To his immense credit, Bowen succeeded on the first attempt. Several
loads hovered around 2 inches. One magical combination, the big
360-grain LBT wide flatnose, loaded to maximum with H-110, fired many
groups that were an inch or less. This is an entire story unto
itself, but suffice to say the .45 Colt is accurate. Further, the
technology that went into that special revolver is now standard
equipment on all Bowen conversions.
The .45 Colt is easy to load. Magnum Large Pistol primers serve
perfectly at either the 30,000 or 50,000 CUP level. Both levels are
at their very best with H-110 or Winchester 296 powders. Others work,
but none are so friendly. Having said that, there is a new powder
lurking on the .45 Colt (and many other) horizons. This is Hodgdon
LILGUN. It was designed for the .410 shotgun where H-110 and
W-296 used to rule the roost. Essentially LILGUN is like H-110 but
easier to ignite. Also, looking at data for many cartridges, we see
some very interesting pressure and velocity relationships where
LILGUN gives more velocity, at less pressure, than any other powder.
I have tried it in my .45s and am delighted. Hodgdon is currently
working on .45 Colt load data, and it should be available by the time
you read this. Below maximum performance, LILGUN might prove ideal
for moderately reduced loads. With 300-grain bullets for example,
H-110 at times has too much velocity variation in the 1,000- to
1,100-fps range. My tests with LILGUN, even at 30 degrees
Fahrenheit, had less than 20 fps variation at 1,075 fps. Soon we may
be able to change the name of LILGUN to BIG CRITTER.
Data for the five-shot revolvers is not published by any powder
company for obvious liability reasons. Normally, I do not print
specific loads either because of the variables involved with custom
revolvers. All makers of these pieces will furnish you with loading
data for their revolvers. Essentially they are loaded to a given
velocity level with a given bullet. Maximum loads occur just before
or when the base of the bullet makes contact with the powder in the
case, using H-110 or W-296 powder only! Any degree of compression can
create excess pressure. For those who wish to use .45 Colt cases in
their .454 Casull revolvers, the case-capacity judgment can be used.
To get the utmost from the .45 Colt, the LBT bullet designs are very
helpful. In addition to their accuracy and game-taking potential, the
bullets are made so as much of the bullet as possible is out of the
case, maximizing case capacity. If I could only have one bullet for
the .45, it would be the 325-grain LBT long flatnose. This is an
outstanding bullet at any velocity from 1,100 to 1,500 fps, and it
will work well on almost any game animal. Bullet selection can be
rounded out by adding a 300-grain wide flatnose and a wide or long
flatnose in the 350-grain class. While production of LBT moulds has
ceased, at least one maker has agreed to produce the designs. They
can be had from Robert Applegate, PO Box 58, Yoncalla OR 97499.
The Colt also likes jacketed bullets, but it is important to choose
ones with good construction when the velocity goes up. The 300-grain
Speer plated jacket is an excellent bullet. These, besides the Nosler
Partition and the Swift A-Frame, offer fine performance on midsized
game. If you are after big critters, nothing but nothing is as good
as the hard, cast solids with flat noses.
Whenever we load .45 Colt cases to extreme levels, a good dose of
common sense is necessary to avoid their being fired in a revolver
not suited to the pressure. I follow two plans. The first, when
possible, is foolproof. That is, each level of ammunition is loaded
to an overall length that will prevent it from being fired in
revolvers with less capability.
The basic guns have the following effective cylinder length (length
of actual cylinder, plus the rim thickness): Colt SAA - 1.660 inches,
stock Ruger Bisley/Blackhawk - 1.750 inches and the five-shot
conversions - 1.840 inches. Thus, each kind of ammunition can be
loaded so it is too long for any lower level. This is especially easy
and important for the big five-shooters, to be absolutely certain no
50,000 CUP load finds it way into a Colt SAA.
If bullets with short noses are used, making it impractical to crimp
at the long OAL dimension, another safeguard is practical. This is to
use different brands of brass for different applications. If you have
both Colt and stock Ruger revolvers, for instance, reserve one brand
of brass for the high-pressure modern loads. Make the rule
unbreakable. If, for example, you choose to load the high-pressure
loads in Winchester brass, simply never fire a W-W case in your Colt.
As we move up to the five-shot pressure level we can begin to detect
differences in the brasss ability to withstand pressure. Federal,
Starline and Buffalo Bore headstamps are the toughest, while
Winchester and Remington are just a little more apt to get sticky
at extreme maximum pressure. Therefore, it is logical to use one of
these in five-shooters. Because I began with Federal brass, all my
super-power five-shot loads are assembled in Federal cases. Starline
brass is used in my regular Rugers, and SAA loads are in W-W cases.
A last thought on reloading these and other revolver rounds with
heavy recoil. To avoid having the bullets jump the crimp, you must
have plenty of case tension on the bullets. Be sure your expanders
are less than .450 inch for bullets sized to .451 or .452 inch. Also,
apply a heavy crimp, swedging the case mouth well into the crimp
groove. If you fire only part of a cylinder full and reload, be sure
the unfired ones from the first batch are next in line. This way no
round will have to endure more than five recoil cycles.
There it is, without peer the finest big-bore hunting cartridge in
existence - more powerful than a .44, able to leap tall buildings and
take Cape buffalo.
Yes, at last I found the gun that gave me the confidence to let the
hammer down with a loud noise. It was the original, made on an El
Dorado frame, firing 335-grain Keith bullets made of Linotype. We
followed the tracks of five old bulls into the thorn thicket. Dense
thorn bush and poor visibility made the situation seem impossible,
until the lead bull stepped up on an old ant hill. Against all
wisdom, better judgment and common sense, I tried the brain shot. He
went down like a stone and bounced up like a rubber ball. Now it was
potentially ugly. A wounded bull, fully unhindered but very angry,
dove into miles of hooked thorns. I followed with only the revolver.
After all of them I have followed, this is the only one that did what
they are all supposed to do. He laid a trap, doubled back and waited.
My good friend Hugo Seia saw him first, probably saving my hide,
because at his nod the bull was unlimbering from 30 feet to our left.
I pounded his shoulders twice as he swiveled, breaking his
concentration and slowing the charge. Then I planted my feet square
on for the fight. It was time to wait through the hour and a half it
took for the next second to unfold.
Over my shoulder Hugo spoke quietly, Shoot well, senor, he is
coming. The two shoulder shots had diminished the brutes power not
his determination, but to touch me with his horns he had to step into
the 10-foot long clearing. I would have one clear shot. As he roared
into the clearing, he hooked a small ebony tree with the sweep of his
left horn, and in his weakened state needed to bow his neck and turn
his head slightly to snap it. The base of his neck was exposed for a
half second. The .45 drove him to the ground.
From this incident and perhaps 20 other remarkable things this old
gun did over two years, Hugo dubbed it The Short .458, because so
many times it performed as if it were a big-bore rifle. This was the
supreme compliment from an Angolan professional hunter with more
experience than almost any of the famous ones. Put in perspective,
he carries a .460 Weatherby he calls a Portuguese Twenty Two. I
suppose it is not surprising that I remain rather prejudiced in favor
of the ancient .45.
My wallet is shaking right now.
