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- Thread starter Mike1982
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Welcome to the forum. Please head over to the General forum and use the top thread to introduce yourself.
Lead bullets for both chamberings now have the same diameters. Long ago, 45 Colt bullets were made two to three thousandths bigger. However, be aware many bullets for the 45 Colt are longer and heavier than those normally loaded in 45 Auto and either won't fit the magazines or feed or, if you try to seat them deeply enough in the 45 Auto case, will press into the area where the case walls start to thicken (about 0.35-0.36" below the mouth) and will expand the case too much to be able to chamber.
The bottom line is, whereas you can shoot most lead 45 Auto bullets in a 45 Colt, the reverse is often not true.
Lead bullets for both chamberings now have the same diameters. Long ago, 45 Colt bullets were made two to three thousandths bigger. However, be aware many bullets for the 45 Colt are longer and heavier than those normally loaded in 45 Auto and either won't fit the magazines or feed or, if you try to seat them deeply enough in the 45 Auto case, will press into the area where the case walls start to thicken (about 0.35-0.36" below the mouth) and will expand the case too much to be able to chamber.
The bottom line is, whereas you can shoot most lead 45 Auto bullets in a 45 Colt, the reverse is often not true.
Until the late 1980's 45 Colt was .454" diameter. All the guns I own fit this description because all were made before the change.
Around 1990 someone in the industry decided to make 45 Colt and 45 ACP share the same groove diameter. At that time projectiles for both started to be sold in .452" diameter.
You need to know the difference. As Nick says, the ones designed for 45 Colt seldom work well in 45 ACP.
Around 1990 someone in the industry decided to make 45 Colt and 45 ACP share the same groove diameter. At that time projectiles for both started to be sold in .452" diameter.
You need to know the difference. As Nick says, the ones designed for 45 Colt seldom work well in 45 ACP.
That reminds me to mention that Colt, according to John Taffin writing in 2019, is still making chamber throats at 0.454" to accept the old bullets, even though the barrel groove diameter is down to 0.451. Revolvers tend to shoot cast bullets best when they are sized for the chamber throats, so you want to check those on your revolver before choosing a bullet for it.
Until the late 1980's 45 Colt was .454" diameter.
The reduction of bore size from .454" down to .451-452" began after WWII, with different makers doing it at different times (and some not at all, or not till several decades later). It was not a standardized thing.
The idea was to get better accuracy from people shooting .45ACP bullets, and it makes no difference at all to the .454" lead bullets loaded in the .45 Colt ammo. The big lead slugs squeeze down that small amount just fine.
IF you're asking about the lead alloy in ACP and Colt bullets, it can be the same or it can be different, depending on who made them. Very soft alloys sometimes don't perform well in semi auto pistols, but revolvers don't care.
IN general, bullets 230gr and under are intended for the ACP, 250-255gr is the standard .45 Colt weight. There is a degree of "overlap". Generally, bullets made for use in revolvers will have a crimp groove. Bullets made for semi autos may not. Again, there are variations.
Take a look in a reloading manual and see what is listed. That will give you a base idea of what bullets are intended for which.
Do come back with any additional questions, we're here to help.