45 Long Colt

K

KnotRight

New member
I have most of the "Modern" toys (calibers) that I want. I started thinking about toys that I have always wanted. In rifles it was lever action guns and in pistols it has always been a 45 Long Colt. For some reason that caliber has always had my interest. Maybe it for the old cowboy movies I used to watch.

Looking at the prices of these guns are crazy. Besides being crazy they are really hard to find. The Colts are $1,600+ which I cannot see spending. Maybe a Ruger if you can find one. Have not seen many Ubertis around.

Who has one and how do you like that caliber? I have never shot one.
 
LOVE THE CALIBER.....Really do... its a do all caliber...loaded light to plink...loaded heavy to hunt self defense from anything.
I have a 45 Colt in a Taurus Gaucho.. wonderful trigger and action. Then i bought a 45 colt in Rossi lever.... LOVE it... wonderful combo.:)
 
The Colts are hard to find like you said. I waited all last year for one but ended up getting an Uberti Smoke Wagon. In my area they are easy to find in .45c and .357 caliber. The Rugers are also easy to find and they were all over gunbroker the last time I looked.

You might want to price .45c ammo before you buy. That is what got me into buying reloading gear. I found primers today, last box on the shelf. All I need now is brass and I can make my 1st $1000 dollar bullet.
 
I came around to .45 Colt through the back door, but I am home now.

When I first moved to Alaska and started having adventures with just my Nikon, a bunch of people insisted I needed a sidearm, .44magnum or better.

So I bought a .50 Xframe S&W and learned to shoot it out to 25 yards or so. It was just too heavy to get into action quickly, so I started looking at Nframe sized guns and ended up with a Redhawk in .45Colt.

Shazaam. Now I have a Vaquero in .45Colt to go with, I expect both of my next two handguns will be .45Colt as well, I want a 4.75" plow handle grip Vaquero to go with the 3.75" birdshead I have now, and I want a real NIB current factory production Colt.

After those two, I'll think about a 625 mountain gun and maybe a 5.5" someday...

I CCW and hunt interior Alaska with 270gr SAA bullets loaded to about 900fps. for trips to the coast in big bear country I take the Redhawk with 340gr bullets loaded to about 1100-1200 fps. For steel target I load 230gr bullets to 750fps and practice with my field guns.

Extremely versatile caliber, I am cooking some charcoal in my fireplace now, that someday will drive a .45 bullet down one of my bores...
 
The .45 Colt is my favorite cartridge, and probably the most do-it-all cartridge out there. The cartridge has a lot of history and nostalgia to it as well. I have a Ruger Bisley 5.5" that also comes with an extra .45 ACP cylinder and it's great. Cost isn't too good, but that's why I got into handloading years back.

From cowboy loads, to magnum class performance in a Ruger, it's likely the best bang for the buck, especially getting to shoot ACP too. Basic .45 Colt loads are easy, very light recoiling, like a gentle push. The big stuff is fun, and the Bisley grip is great for handling the heavier recoiling rounds. I had a Rossi/Puma '92 levergun at one point but I never used it, mainly I'm a handgun kind of guy.

bisley141113.jpg
 
I have Ubertis, and also a Rossi '92 in .45 Colt. Great and historical caliber. Please do yourself a favor. The correct term is .45 Colt. Drop the long. There was, well over a century ago a Long Colt load, but it only lasted for a short time.


Eric
 
I looked for a 4" Model 25 Smith & Wesson for well over a decade before I finally found one. Could have had any number of 6.5" barreled ones, but I wanted the 4".

I absolutely adore the combination.
 
I enjoy shooting my Ruger Blackhawk convertible. It has a cylinder for .45 acp and another for .45 Colt. My daughter loves the gun a little too much, even though she knows she will eventually get it. She mentions frequently how much she REALLY likes that gun. I'm not ready to give it to her yet, she will just have to wait.
 
One day five or six years ago, shortly after I started handloading (and consequently, picking up brass) I was picking some .45acp out of the brass bucket.

I was paying attention to mouth diameter, and I picked up a cartridge that was the right diameter, but was twice as tall...looked like a brass garbage can. I looked at the headstamp... .45 Colt. I picked up about 50 of them and took them home. I had owned .44Mag and Special before, but...meh. Maybe the guns, maybe the cartridges...no magic.

But that big LC... What a visually arresting piece of brass. Yes, I actually bought a handgun so I could load that brass. :)

It didn't take long before I had three of them. Unfortunately, common sense prevailed, and I am back to just one (4" M-25 Mountain Gun, Mike ;)) but it is one of my favorites. It is a great handloader's (and shooter's) cartridge.

Enjoy.

Edited to add:
Sarge, good read. Thank you for sharing.
 
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Learn to handload

That helps with the 'sticker shock' most experiance when buying ammo for it.
I swear that the finest 'do everything' load for any handgun ever is the old 270 SAA mold bullet at 950 fps.
 
I love the 45 Colt. I have a Ruger Blackhawk and Rossi 92 chambered for it and hunt occasionally with them. The only drawback is the cost of ammo. For me it is a handloaders dream cartridge. Cowboy loads are pleasant to shoot and actually make pretty good SD loads. Loaded hot it is a hoot to shoot and will knock heck out of anything here in Texas.
I say jump in with both feet. You won't regret it.
 
I shoot both Colt and Rugers in 45Colt but as of late my most shot 45Colt is a Uberti 1858 Remington New Army with a R&D conversion cylinder. For smokless you need to stick with cowboy loads but with black powder you can load them to the max.
 
I looked for a 4" Model 25 Smith & Wesson for well over a decade before I finally found one. Could have had any number of 6.5" barreled ones, but I wanted the 4".

I absolutely adore the combination.
Click to expand...

Lucky dog, I'd love to have a 4" version. I've got a 25-5 with the 8 3/8" barrel and it's a fantastic shooter. That long sight radius makes it a tack driver but the 4" would be great for carrying in the woods where the longer barrel is just a little too cumbersome. Maybe some day I'll find the right gun at the right price.

I do love the .45 Colt and plan to pick up a Ruger Blackhawk chambered for it maybe next year. Just a great all around cartridge but I would suggest handloading for it and casting your own bullets if you can (just waiting for mold blocks to come back in stock so I can start casting). It's an expensive cartridge to shoot without handloading.

Stu
 
My favorite do all caliber is .45 Colt which has been on the job since 1873. My favorite revolver at the moment is my medium frame Ruger flattop convertable 5 1/2" from Lipseys. Just right. Was out shooting it yesterday. Just something about .45 Colt that I just can't get enough of.

It is a reloader's cartridge though to get the most benifit.
 
I will agree with everyone else, it is a great round and the reason I started reloading. My collection had grown from one Ruger SS birdshead VAQ to also having a Ruger SS 4 5/8 BH, S&W 625MG, Redhawk 7 1/2, Rossi 92 and last but not least a Marlin 1894. I just cant get enough of that caliber.:)
 
Eric M said:
Quote:
There was, well over a century ago a Long Colt load, but it only lasted for a short time.

por favor! Details, please?


Bob Wright
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A few years ago, author John Malloy had a relatively lengthy article published in The Shotgun News, titled "In Search of the .45 Long Colt". After considerable research, author Malloy concluded: "...Thus, almost all of our evidence points to the term '.45 Long Colt' being in error. There apparently never was a cartridge called the .45 Short Colt, and no major ammunition manufacturer has ever use the term .45 Long Colt. No known American firearms manufacturer, with the exception of Ruger from 1986 to date (which might simply be a mistake that has been perpetuated) has ever used the chambering other than .45 Colt. Winchester and Marlin rifles use the term .45 Colt for their chambering.
"In summary, a search was made for a cartridge called the .45 Long Colt. It really could not be found.
"So, this should settle the issue, shouldn't it? The proper term is '.45 Colt'. Still, '.45 Long Colt' rolls off the tongue easily and has begun to sound familiar. Most everybody knows what we mean when we say it. Does it really make any difference what term we use?
"Perhaps it does. We in the firearms community ought to use uniform and precise terminology. If we do not-if any name is just as good as any other name-we leave ourselves open to the garbled language of bureaucrats who think a bullet and a cartridge are the same thing, or that semi-automatic rifles are machine-guns..."
Author Malloy observed "Gun people have always participated in friendly discussions." (emphasis mine :)). Now, is a clip really the same as a magazine? :D
 
long colt terminology

my guess is that the term "long" colt gets thrown in these days just to eliminate any possible confusion vs. 45acp -- nobody wants to ask for (or click on) "45 colt" and end up with the wrong thing...
 
I rather doubt it. The .45 ACP is so dimensionally different than the .45 Colt, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone would confuse the two. Plus, neither round could be chambered in the other's and have any realistic chance of being fired in the "wrong" gun.
 
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