.45 super anyone?

H

HighValleyRanch

New member
I've decided to configure my Glock 21c to .45 super instead of a 10mm conversion. Mainly because I will still be able to shoot .45acp in the same barrel and I have a Kahr p45 that I will shoot some .45 +P loads in.

I just got a Stormlake fully supported black oxide barrel on GT, and will purchase some .45 super starline brass online. The new barrel will also allow me to shoot some lead target reloads I already have.

Plans are to get some flat nose hardcast 255 grain bullets and start my journey from there.

Any advice is welcomed from those who have already gone this route.

Also am seriously considering chopping the glock 21 to 30 size, since I live in a ten round limit state and the ten round 30 magazine will be close to a glock 19 size grip length. I've done chops on a number of glocks alreay, so not a problem.
My last Glock 20 project:
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Well 45 Super believe it or not isn't a whole lot more pressure than +P ammo 23k psi 45 ACP +P, 28/29k psi 45 Super, 40k psi 460 Rowland:eek:, the real difference is slide velocity.
 
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Super

I did the .45 Super in my 1911. The only change to the gun was 28lb. recoil spring.
I have a couple of boxes of loaded ammo on the shelf. I have not shot it in a while. Ultimately, i preferred the .400 CorBon as a heavier duty alternate. Change the barrel and spring and I am good to go.
I don’t use that one much either.
Pete
 
I have been playing with 45 super in my S&W 4506. The gun is a tank and I have no concerns with the excessive pressure. So far my favorite powder has been Longshot.

There is an extensive thread on Glocktalk about 45 super in glocks. I would start there.
 
I did the .45 Super in my 1911. The only change to the gun was 28lb. recoil spring.
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Good grief...how in hell do you rack the slide on that monster? I've got a .40 S&W Browning Hi-Power that's languishing in the safe for just that reason...you gotta get a death grip on the slide to rack it! By comparison, my Ruger and Colt Commanders are kitty-cats in .45 ACP. Rod
 
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I've got my eyes on a couple of 4506s for just this reason (to shoot 45 Super). But, I'm so surprised you're enjoying Longshot!! Other than 800X I think it's the only powder I've sworn never to use again in anything. :)

I never found any 45 Super loads back long ago when I was looking for them, but it may be time to look again a little harder. I'd hope for something in AA 5 or 7 maybe.
 
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darkgael said:
I did the .45 Super in my 1911. The only change to the gun was 28lb. recoil spring.
I have a couple of boxes of loaded ammo on the shelf. I have not shot it in a while. Ultimately, i preferred the .400 CorBon as a heavier duty alternate. Change the barrel and spring and I am good to go.
I don’t use that one much either.
Pete
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28 lb. spring?, at the most you would need a 22-24 lb. spring, in my SR1911CMD I will be using a 20-22 lb. spring, the 20 lb. will be for 400 Cor-Bon and "light" 45 Super.
 
Slowing the slide velocity in recoil is necessary, but doubling slide velocity going the other way is every bit as harmful.
There are simple mods to the 1911 that allow reasonable recoil spring rates.
 
Heck yeah 45 Super. I have found this recipe for success in converting 1911's to 45 super
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=5966

Luckily I actualy found a Springfield that left the factory as 45Super not many of them made. The one in the video is not mine but I found one at an estate sale brand new with actual 45 super brass and all. I wish I knew the story for it as it was brand new tages never removed from it and the starline brass still sealed in the bag. Someone was intent on shooting it but never got around to it I guess.
 
I was very interested in .45 Super/.45 SMC for awhile, but in a rather ironic twist, the same folks who attempt to promote the .45 Super by offering conversions managed to talk me out of it.
Seriously, in their desperate attempt to convince readers that only they were qualified to convert a .45 ACP chambered firearm to safely shoot .45 Super and that a DIY job was likely to result in damage to the firearm as well as personal injury to the shooter, they only managed to convince me that a cartridge with such a slim margin for error wasn't something that I would be comfortable shooting.

That said, if I were going to dabble with .45 Super, then I would cut out the middleman and buy a Heckler & Koch USP45 Elite, an extremely durable .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol which can safely shoot .45 Super without the need for any aftermarket modifications.
 
It's highly suggested you buy as much brass as you can and dies, even if you do not reload, so you will not be left with a firearm you can't shoot. The assorted MBA's running the firearms companies think nothing of discontinuing stuff with no regard for their existing customers.
Midway shows the Super as being loaded by only 2 companies. Buffalo Bore and Underwood. Starting at about $1 per shot.
Starline is the only source of brass. $28.99 per 100 at Midway. $26.99 per 100 at Graf's.
The Super runs at considerably less pressure than the 10mm. The 10mm runs at a max of 37,500 PSI. The Super at around 28,000 PSI. SAAMI doesn't have any specs for the Super at all. The .45 +P runs at 23,000 PSI vs 21,000 PSI for the ACP.
http://www.lasc.us/SAAMIMaxPressure.htm
"...I've got a .40 S&W Browning Hi-Power..." Have a .41 AE barrel in my Inglis BHP with an recommended(at the time) 18 pound spring(I think. I'd have to look. Still have the gun rag article.). The 2 cartridges run at the same SAAMI Max pressures of 35,000 PSI. I think it needs something a bit heavier though. I tend to limp wrist the thing using 210 grain bullets. Oh and I bought 500 cases when I bought the barrel or I'd have no ammo at all.
 
Seriously, in their desperate attempt to convince readers that only they were qualified to convert a .45 ACP chambered firearm to safely shoot .45 Super and that a DIY job was likely to result in damage to the firearm as well as personal injury to the shooter, they only managed to convince me that a cartridge with such a slim margin for error wasn't something that I would be comfortable shooting.
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So since the glock 20 and 21 are built on the same frame, what is the danger with the glock 21 not being able to handle lower pressure than 10mm? With a fully supported chamber of course and super brass?
 
HighValleyRanch said:
So since the glock 20 and 21 are built on the same frame, what is the danger with the glock 21 not being able to handle lower pressure than 10mm? With a fully supported chamber of course and super brass?
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It the slide velocity that's the real issue, 45 Super operates at 28k psi, I wouldn't recommend shooting it in a Aluminum frame 1911, but any steel frame should be GTG.
 
Well those folks are trying to sell you something there Forte S+W, really all that is needed is a stronger recoil spring, a flat bottom firing pin stop, and possibly a stronger firing pin spring, and even the flat firing pin stop is somewhat debatable. Now if you're talking about a 460 Rowland conversation, yeah that will require a 460 compensated barrel.
 
http://www.marksmanshipmatters.com/comparing-the-10-mm-450-smc-and-45-super-for-predator-defense/

"After comparing all the information, ballistic testing and field experience I could obtain I have concluded that my pistol of choice when afield in my home state of Utah will be a Glock 21 loaded with 255 grain hard cast lead flat point .45 Super ammunition. A second magazine loaded with the same ammunition and a third magazine loaded with CCI .45 ACP shot shells should serve me well in a variety of outdoor emergencies."

Larry and Stacey Mudgett
-Marksman Matters LLC.
www.marksmanshipmatters.com
 
silvermane_1 said:
Well those folks are trying to sell you something there Forte S+W, really all that is needed is a stronger recoil spring, a flat bottom firing pin stop, and possibly a stronger firing pin spring, and even the flat firing pin stop is somewhat debatable. Now if you're talking about a 460 Rowland conversation, yeah that will require a 460 compensated barrel.
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Obviously, but it made me lose interest regardless, especially when it was parroted by a number of articles on the .45 Super as well as many other folks who had already paid for such conversions.

Furthermore, there was a lot of debate among do-it-yourselfers regarding which parts actually needed to be replaced, what the specifications on said parts were, and even which firearms could actually withstand firing .45 Super with modifications. Some folks say you need several changes; guide rod, recoil spring, extractor, ramped barrel with full chamber support, firing pin spring, frame-buffer, etc while others say that all you need is a heavier recoil spring. Some folks say you need really heavy springs while others say you only need a slightly heavier spring than stock. Some folks say that only certain brands of 1911 are built strong enough to handle .45 Super while others say that you can modify anything besides a Khyber Pass 1911 to safely shoot .45 Super. Heck, I once read an article in which the author claimed that .45 SMC (basically an unlicensed .45 Super) out of ANY +P rated 1911 sans modifications.

Personally, I don't like wading through muddy waters while folks on both sides standing on dry land argue about how safe it is to do so. In other words, I wouldn't have any fun shooting .45 Super with doubts regarding whether it's safe for me to do so with the amount of mods I've made, nor would I enjoy shooting .45 Super if I paid through the nose for the extensive mods some claim are necessary, just to eliminate any margin for safety.

So yeah, I'd rather just buy a H&K USP45 Elite if I were dead set on shooting .45 Super, but right now in my life I lack the time and money to shoot even what I already have all the often, much less invest in an all-new firearm with specialty ammo.
 
darkgael said:
I did the .45 Super in my 1911. The only change to the gun was 28lb. recoil spring.
I have a couple of boxes of loaded ammo on the shelf. I have not shot it in a while. Ultimately, i preferred the .400 CorBon as a heavier duty alternate. Change the barrel and spring and I am good to go.
I don’t use that one much either.
Pete
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I really liked the idea of .400 Corbon but I was too late to the party. It's a shame it didn't get more traction. I also like .357 Sig and while not as obscure, it seems to be heading that way.

The thing I like about .45 Super is that it can be done with only slight modification. The question seems to be just how much modification is needed, or wanted.
 
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