Is 45LC making a comeback?

Still would have been nice to have a bit thicker rim on the .45 Colt cartridge. More like the Auto Rim. Mine tend to get plenty 'beat up' after reloading them so many time. The .44s don't seem to have that problem. Guess it is just one of the 'little' things one has to 'live' with when shooting the grand o' .45 Colt!
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I doubt the problem is so much the thickness of the rim, but rather the diameter of it. .45 Auto Rim has a rim diameter of .5154" and a base diameter of .4709" while the .45 Long Colt has a rim diameter of .512" and a base diameter of .480". This means that the .45 AR's rim protrudes .02225" from each side while the .45 LC's protrudes only .016" thus giving your shellholder less to hold on to.
 
I'm convinced that if Elmer Keith had a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk to conduct his experiments with, we would never have heard of the .44 Mag.
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He ruined enough S&W's, he could have just as easily ruined a few Colt .45's....maybe he did.
 
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I'm convinced that if Elmer Keith had a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk to conduct his experiments with, we would never have heard of the .44 Mag.

He ruined enough S&W's, he could have just as easily ruined a few Colt .45's....maybe he did.
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He blew up at least one SAA that I know of. According to Taffin, he had the cartridges loaded with 300gr .458" bullets so we don't really know if the problem was an overly heavy powder charge, oversize bullets, or a combination of the two.
 
I have never been a user or fan of the the .45lc because I have thought the case was too weak to handle hot loads. I know it was originally a black powder cartridge and did not have to handle high pressures. Has the case been redesigned to where it is safe with heavy loads and hot pressures?
 
In a magazine article recounting the 4th of July adventure Mr. Keith did mention that he swaged the .458" bullet, but did not mention to what size he swaged it. Considering he had more than a decade experience as a bullet caster by then I think it reasonable to conclude he swaged to a reasonable size. I don't remember the exact term he used, but there was a fair amount of effort involved in getting the bullet diameter correct.

Also, modern .45LC brass is solid head just like modern .44Magnum.

The old time brass was "balloon head", much thinner case head. The original balloon head brass would hold 40grains by volume under a 250gr bullet. The modern solid head brass will only hold 35-37 gr by volume under the same bullet, because of the thicker case head.
 
Has the case been redesigned to where it is safe with heavy loads and hot pressures?
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Yes, a very long time ago. The .45Colt is routinely used in Redhawks and custom five-shot single actions up to 55,000psi.


I'm convinced that if Elmer Keith had a Ruger Blackhawk or Redhawk to conduct his experiments with, we would never have heard of the .44 Mag.
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That's putting the cart before the horse. Because those guns never would've existed without the .44Mag. If Ruger had chambered the .45Colt in their mid-frame Blackhawk instead of the large, it would not be as popular as it is today.


He ruined enough S&W's, he could have just as easily ruined a few Colt .45's....maybe he did.
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I'm interested to hear about all these guns he ruined. Because I've read all his work and only know of the one. As referenced above, it was a surplus blackpowder era iron frame Colt SAA loaded with a .45-70 bullet cut down to 300gr and a caseful of blackpowder.


It is a worthless round with no power.
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This sort of ignorance is not even worth a proper response.
 
Poindexter said:
Also, modern .45LC brass is solid head just like modern .44Magnum.

The old time brass was "balloon head", much thinner case head. The original balloon head brass would hold 40grains by volume under a 250gr bullet. The modern solid head brass will only hold 35-37 gr by volume under the same bullet, because of the thicker case head.
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Thanks for that. I have completely changed my view of the .45lc. It now seems to me to be one of the most useful and versitile rounds out there. Might be a .45lc SA in my future.
I have just lost a long standing .44 mag. vs .45lc argument with my best friend. ;)
 
Originally posted by Poindexter
In a magazine article recounting the 4th of July adventure Mr. Keith did mention that he swaged the .458" bullet, but did not mention to what size he swaged it. Considering he had more than a decade experience as a bullet caster by then I think it reasonable to conclude he swaged to a reasonable size. I don't remember the exact term he used, but there was a fair amount of effort involved in getting the bullet diameter correct.
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Actually, there's pretty good evidence that Keith was indeed using oversize bullets for his Independance Day mishap due to not having a proper bullet sizer. Note the following passage from one of Taffin's articles:

It is hard to believe that Keith was using .458" diameter bullets until one reads in his next article: "Don't know cause unless bullets oversize. I need a .45 Colt 454 bullet sizer. Know of one? The regular one on tool no good, makes them oval. Need a seperate one or a base first die for No. three tool." (American Rifleman, September 1,1925.)
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http://www.sixguns.com/range/elmer6.htm
 
From the seats I am sitting in it is making a comeback.

10 years or so ago if you wanted a 45 colt for serious use you had better dang well be a reloader. Today if you want you can get very potent "ruger only" loads from Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, and several other outfits. Many of these are on the shelf in places like bass pro, cabelas, sportsman's etc. .

10 years ago on the shelf IF you were lucky other the lead RB were silvertips, and that was it.

All of the rage in 410 handguns has put more self defense 45 colt choices out there as well.

The 45 colt redhawk was absent and returned. Smith has on and off done some 45 colt guns, in the serious single action guns i see more and more 45 colts on the street as well.
 
I'm interested to hear about all these guns he ruined. Because I've read all his work and only know of the one. As referenced above, it was a surplus blackpowder era iron frame Colt SAA loaded with a .45-70 bullet cut down to 300gr and a caseful of blackpowder.
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I know of no online link but I remember reading years ago about cracked forcing cones, bulged cylinders, bent ejectors etc. Remember Keith did his experiments with hot loaded .44 Specials out of Hand Ejector S&W's as far back as the 20's.
 
webleymkv said:
Actually, there's pretty good evidence that Keith was indeed using oversize bullets for his Independance Day mishap due to not having a proper bullet sizer. Note the following passage from one of Taffin's articles:
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I bow to your superior knowledge and bona fide bibliography. Fascinating man, pity my local library only has one book by him.
 
In reference to your post #24, .45 LC in the US Army was not only supposed to be a man stopper but a horse stopper as well, an animal which weighs 5 to 10 times the average man in the 1800's.
 
It is a worthless round with no power.
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:rolleyes:

From the online Hodgdon manual: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

335 GR. CPB LFN GC Hodgdon H110 .452" 1.680" 20.5 1109 19,200 CUP 23.5 1240 28,000 CUP

335 GR. CPB LFN GC Hodgdon Lil'Gun .452" 1.680" 17.0 1052 20,100 CUP 20.0 1206 29,600 CUP
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I can assure you that I'm running loads through my Redhawk slightly over the published pressures with a 330gr locally cast bullet.

Brian Pearce routinely publishes his own tested .45 Colt loads at the 32k level which is what he considers maximum for the Blackhawks, but well within their safety margins.

Don't reload? The heavy-hitter offerings from Buffalo Bore, HSM, Double Tap, Grizzly Cartridge, and others are a lot more than most want to hang onto when lit off.

The reality is that a .45 Colt with a 250-270gr Keith-style bullet traveling @ 1000fps will shoot completely through anything the L48 has to offer.
 
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