.45 Auto Rim in .45 LC NMBlaclhawk
- Thread starter Sea Buck
- Start date
Bob Wright
New member
M1917 revolvers have their cylinder headspaced for .45 ACP with half moon clips, so the .45 Auto Rim has an extra thick rim to fill this space.
Ruger Blackhawks don't require half moon clips, so their cylinders provide tighter headspace, which precludes use of .45 AR ammunition.
The cylinders can be counterbored to accomodate the thicker rim, but I believe the chambers have to be deepened also.
Bob Wright
Ruger Blackhawks don't require half moon clips, so their cylinders provide tighter headspace, which precludes use of .45 AR ammunition.
The cylinders can be counterbored to accomodate the thicker rim, but I believe the chambers have to be deepened also.
Bob Wright
Mike Irwin
Staff
"Far cheaper to just use the a.c.p. rounds & full or half moon clips. "
That wouldn't make any sense in this case.
The Blackhawk is a solid-frame single action revolver that has an ejector rod under the barrel like a Colt Peacemaker.
If you clip the ammo you have to disassemble the gun to load and unload it.
That wouldn't make any sense in this case.
The Blackhawk is a solid-frame single action revolver that has an ejector rod under the barrel like a Colt Peacemaker.
If you clip the ammo you have to disassemble the gun to load and unload it.
Thanks for for the info. I don't mind using .45ACP's as I shoot those a lot also. I use light loads so they will probably fall out of the cylinder.I'll develope something stiffer when I carry it to check out my property or as a woods gun with the ACP cylinder in.I was hoping to be able to use the LC cylinder for the Auto Rim's.I do not have a LC die set and look forward to doing some work with that round.
I bought my first Ruger .45 Convertible back in 83. I had a .45 auto, and thought it would be nice to plink without having to hunt for the brass in the weeds.
I made one small mistake. I bought, and shot a box of Winchester .45 Colt rounds, before I fired any .45ACP in the gun. Big mistake!
In the 31 years since, that gun has had maybe 300rnds of .45ACP through it, and a LOT of .45 Colt.
Get dies for the .45 Colt. There is nothing you can do with an SA revolver where the .45ACP is better downrange. Some use a 1911magazine as a sort of speed loader for the ACP cylinder, but that's the only thing I can think of where the advantage is for the ACP.
There is nothing wrong with the Blackhawk in .45ACP, you're just not getting the full potential from the gun, compared to the .45 Colt.
Also, even full house ACP loads feel like light target rounds (recoil wise) in the big Ruger. Once you run some regular .45 Colt loads (or heavier) through your gun (and not the cat sneeze cowboy action loads), you'll understand the difference clearly.
Have fun, enjoy!
I made one small mistake. I bought, and shot a box of Winchester .45 Colt rounds, before I fired any .45ACP in the gun. Big mistake!
In the 31 years since, that gun has had maybe 300rnds of .45ACP through it, and a LOT of .45 Colt.
Get dies for the .45 Colt. There is nothing you can do with an SA revolver where the .45ACP is better downrange. Some use a 1911magazine as a sort of speed loader for the ACP cylinder, but that's the only thing I can think of where the advantage is for the ACP.
There is nothing wrong with the Blackhawk in .45ACP, you're just not getting the full potential from the gun, compared to the .45 Colt.
Also, even full house ACP loads feel like light target rounds (recoil wise) in the big Ruger. Once you run some regular .45 Colt loads (or heavier) through your gun (and not the cat sneeze cowboy action loads), you'll understand the difference clearly.
Have fun, enjoy!
It will serve no purpose to use Auto-Rim brass in a Blackhawk.
The rim is only there for DA revolvers to have something for the ejector star to push on. Same with the 1/2 moon clips. That is what they were made for.
SA revolvers eject the cases from the inside, not the outside, so the rim has no purpose. The Ruger chambers are cut to headspace the shell on the case mouth, so again no rim is needed.
Auto-Rim brass is harder to get, and therefore you are better off using standard ACP brass in a Blackhawk ACP cylinder.
The rim is only there for DA revolvers to have something for the ejector star to push on. Same with the 1/2 moon clips. That is what they were made for.
SA revolvers eject the cases from the inside, not the outside, so the rim has no purpose. The Ruger chambers are cut to headspace the shell on the case mouth, so again no rim is needed.
Auto-Rim brass is harder to get, and therefore you are better off using standard ACP brass in a Blackhawk ACP cylinder.
Bob Wright
New member
sandbag said:
From the OP's original question, apparently he has a goodly supply of .45 AR brass he wants to use and questioned the possibility of modifying the .45 Colt cylinder to do so.
As has been pointed out, impractical to do so. the 45 Colt cylinder can be converted to .45 AR, but would then be dedicated to .45 AR.
Bob Wright
From the OP's original question, apparently he has a goodly supply of .45 AR brass he wants to use and questioned the possibility of modifying the .45 Colt cylinder to do so.
As has been pointed out, impractical to do so. the 45 Colt cylinder can be converted to .45 AR, but would then be dedicated to .45 AR.
Bob Wright
Wouldn't it make more sense to relieve the rear of the Blackhawk's .45 acp cylinder? It would allow .45 Auto rim to headspace on the rim as well as .45 acp headspacing on the case mouth.
Since there likely isn't an issue of excessive unsupported case for the .45 acp after the conversion, and the oal of both cases is .898- why wouldn't this work?
I don't have a Blackhawk .45 acp cylinder in front of me (all of mine are in .45 Colt) but I don't see why this wouldn't work.
Since there likely isn't an issue of excessive unsupported case for the .45 acp after the conversion, and the oal of both cases is .898- why wouldn't this work?
I don't have a Blackhawk .45 acp cylinder in front of me (all of mine are in .45 Colt) but I don't see why this wouldn't work.
Magnum Wheel Man
New member
^^^ If I'm fully understanding... in theory, that sounds good, but if you recess the chambers, you have to deepen them for the case mouth as well, which then makes them too deep for the ACP case to properly headspace on it's case mouth...
BTW... it's super easy to take the rim thickness off the 45 Colt cylinder & clean up chambers to work for the Autorim, but it would be a dedicated 45 Autorim cylinder ( I have a custom convertible in 45 Colt / 45 Autorim ) reason I built the 45 Autorim cylinder, is because I bought a 5 gallon bucket of 45 Autorim cases for scrap price... way more than I'd ever need for my 1917 Colt
all that said... I also agree, if you started loading & shooting 45 Colt, there really is no reason to shoot the ACP or Autorim, other than to have something different... I haven't had my Autorim cylinder in the gun, since it was completed
another reason I don't swap cylinders... is very often, the 2 different cartridges don't shoot to the same point of aim, so the sights would need to be readjusted every time the cylinder was swapped... or the time needs to be spent developing loads that shoot to the same point of aim ( which in essence make the 2 cartridges equal, & defeats the purpose, IMO )
BTW... it's super easy to take the rim thickness off the 45 Colt cylinder & clean up chambers to work for the Autorim, but it would be a dedicated 45 Autorim cylinder ( I have a custom convertible in 45 Colt / 45 Autorim ) reason I built the 45 Autorim cylinder, is because I bought a 5 gallon bucket of 45 Autorim cases for scrap price... way more than I'd ever need for my 1917 Colt
all that said... I also agree, if you started loading & shooting 45 Colt, there really is no reason to shoot the ACP or Autorim, other than to have something different... I haven't had my Autorim cylinder in the gun, since it was completed
another reason I don't swap cylinders... is very often, the 2 different cartridges don't shoot to the same point of aim, so the sights would need to be readjusted every time the cylinder was swapped... or the time needs to be spent developing loads that shoot to the same point of aim ( which in essence make the 2 cartridges equal, & defeats the purpose, IMO )
The chamber would stay the same length- both the auto rim and ACP chambers are .898 long- just the area for the thickness of the rim .0827" x .5154" dia would be cut.
There would be no issues with unsupported brass for the ACP case- as the brass would still have better support than in a 1911's chamber.
And yeah, I'll admit we're getting into the "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" territory here- I'll just stick with .45 colt too.
There would be no issues with unsupported brass for the ACP case- as the brass would still have better support than in a 1911's chamber.
And yeah, I'll admit we're getting into the "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" territory here- I'll just stick with .45 colt too.
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Have thought about having the rear of a 45 acp cylinder machined for 45 AR, only because I load some 45 AR for other double action revolvers. Prefer 45 ar brass over using clips, and being able to use it in a black hawk would be beneficial.
However ,most of the rounds shot through several black hawks are 45 LC .
However ,most of the rounds shot through several black hawks are 45 LC .
Jim Watson
New member
Another thing to consider. I have read of Ruger .45 Colt ratchets having to be cut to clear the slightly larger rims of .45 Schofield.
I suggest somebody stick an AR into a Ruger ACP cylinder and check for interference with the ratchet as well as thickness.
I suggest somebody stick an AR into a Ruger ACP cylinder and check for interference with the ratchet as well as thickness.
robhof
Ebay usually has quite a few 45Lc BH cylinders up on auction, I got a stainless for mine a few months back for $60, so fitting and modifying would be the only additional costs to have a 3 way convertible. I would suggest a stainless cylinder for a blued gun or blued for the stainless gun to quickly identify the AR modified cylinder. If you already got the dies and shells and can afford it, go for it.
Ebay usually has quite a few 45Lc BH cylinders up on auction, I got a stainless for mine a few months back for $60, so fitting and modifying would be the only additional costs to have a 3 way convertible. I would suggest a stainless cylinder for a blued gun or blued for the stainless gun to quickly identify the AR modified cylinder. If you already got the dies and shells and can afford it, go for it.