.45LC snubbie...yow

M

Marko Kloos

Inactive
I picked up a NIB Taurus 450 at my local GunHaus today...had to fill my two-guns-a-month obligations. I have a boatload of *&* wheelguns, so I'm pretty spoiled as far as revolvers go, but the new Tauri I've seen (and bought) hold up very well in comparison. Trigger pull on the 450 is excellent, smooth and crisp with no stacking at all, and the cylinder locks tighter than a Swiss bank vault.

I wonder if this frame will digest the stomping .45LC loads offered by CorBon...for now it's loaded with CCI Blazer 200gr loads with Gold Dot bullets.

taurus450.jpg
 
WARNING!

Do *NOT* under any circumstances load any ".45+P" stuff, which is almost always labeled "Ruger ONLY".

One shot of that is likely to damage that gun. The stuff is basically .44Mag ballistic energy levels with a bit less peak pressure.

The good news is, there are excellent .45LC self defense loads available that WILL work in that gun, and more or less duplicate .45ACP ballistics in a 4" barrel.

Cor-Bon's version is a 200grain JHP at 1,10fps from a 4" tube, which is just a little bit hotter than their .45ACP 200grain load (identical projectile). So from your 2" barrel, the horsepower should be extremely close to the .45ACP load.

http://www.cor-bon.com/ammo.html

Cor-Bon says their next incarnation of the "Powerball" ammo will be a 200grain .45ACP. Since the barrel diameter of .45LC is identical, we can expect them to load that in .45LC cases very soon and when they do, that would be my top pick.

If you really want to understand .45LC ballistics and what can be done in terms of hunting loads at pressures that gun can take, go to:

http://www.sixgunner.com/linebaugh/Default.htm

Read everything in the left-hand column under "GUNNOTES". Pay particular attention to the loads used in hunting by his 100lbs wife with good effect - that's the sort of "woods load" your gun can handle. As a rule of thumb, if a load is rated OK in an Italian SAA clone, your gun should be able to eat it.
 
That's purty. How do you feel about the integrated safety lock?
 
lendringser, you're my hero!

Man, you are the revolver-buyingest individual I know! I thought those .45 LC Tauri looked pretty keen when I first saw one a month or so ago. Please let us know how she shoots!
 
The lock on the Tauri doesn't bother me that much: it is unobtrusive, and it is deactivated by default. I'd never use it, but I can see its usefulness for folks who want to lock their gun while it is not under their control. Not everyone has a gun safe.

"Revolver-buyingest...", heh. :) I just like them for their simplicity and elegance. I have autos, too, but I collect revolvers.
 
You get all the good guns! Now what's happened to that Performance Center SW13 you were teasing us with only a few weeks ago?? :cool:
 
The poster who said "Ruger only".......

is righ on when he talks about shooting the hot Cor Bon stuff in 45LC. Handloaders can easily duplicate or exceed 44 magnum velocities/energies in 45LC. The problem is that so many 45 LC revolvers are simply not made to deal with the increased pressure that the handloads or the Cor Bon stuff produces. Rugers are. Asa to whether or not the Taurus 450 would take that kind of pressure I don't know. And, if I don't know then I sure would not take the chance. Do you think Taurus would give you a straight answer? I would try to find out before I experimented. Good shooting.
 
Not ALL Cor-Bons are "Ruger only"

When Ruger uses the term "45LC+P", it's a Ruger-only. But in their self-defense line, their 45LC is NOT so labeled and would be a good choice in that gun.

So it's important not to use generic terms like "hot". Sorry, just clearing that up.

If you want to get technical, some of the load data I've seen recommends 15,000psi loads for vintage (but still post-black powder era) SAAs, around 20,000 for newer SAAs, the various Italian guns, etc and 33,000 for Ruger SAs. Redhawks and converted SuperRedhawks can take 40,000.

I'd say that Taurus should be kept at 20,000 max for carry and small amounts of practice, and most practice should be around 15k or below. The CorBon self defense load, a 200grain at 1,100fps, should be a hair less than 20,000.
 
Of course, that same gun is also available in .41 Magnum, but even if hunting load-type .45LC was doable, I sure wouldn't pull the trigger... ;)
 
Jim March...

You are indicating that a redhawk will take higher power loads in 45LC thana blackhawk...

How about a Bisley? In your opinion, where does that stand in the overall strength category?

Thanks!

JT
 
J.T. King,

The only way a Bisley differs from a standard Blackhawk is in the gripframe, a non-load-bearing and swappable part (ie, a Bisley can be converted to a standard, and vice versa, in minutes), so it's no different from any other Blackhawk, strengthwise. The main reason that heavy-recoiling caliber conversions are done on Bisleys is the fact that most folks find the grip more comfortable under recoil. :)
 
JT, that's correct...

And so is Tamara :).

The Vaquero, Blackhawk, Bisley and even Super Blackhawk all share the same basic "core frame", at least when we're talking about "new model" series (the sort that shipped from the factory with the transfer-bar safety, after 1973). Among the "old models" there were variations in frame size between .357 and .44Mag, fr'instance.

Only grips, hammers, sights, cylinders and in some cases scope mounts change between models.

In my case, I'm going to install an aftermarket grip frame so I really don't care if I start with a Vaquero or Bisley-Vaquero.

Dunno why, but enough different sources claim that the big Ruger DAs can handle more recoil that I have to believe it. I'd have to measure, but I'll bet good money the DA cylinder is fatter across, more basic "meat". Linebaugh does custom SA cylinders that are so fat they barely fit in the frame, but that's for very warm .45LC - by the time you hit .454Casull power levels, he'll only do it in a five-shot cylinder. Yet the factory SuperRedHawk in .454 is a sixgun.
 
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