Shootin A 1911 With Black Powder Loads

awesome, When the 1911 came out was the ACP designed for BP? I know my old Enfield was but that cartridge predates the .45 acp by just a tad.
 
No.
One of the essential factors that led to the initial development of SUCCESSFUL auto pistols was the introduction of smokeless powder, about 15 years prior.
BP gunks up the mechanism too much. You CAN shoot it, obviously, in an auto, but not too long.

The 1911 was designed around smokeless.
Denis
 
Have heard of them running four or five mags without a mishap but one mag is all I ever did.
 
Man, I can't help but think of the unholy mess that would be left. I have, though, thought about running a magazine or two through one of mine. But the mess...the nasty mess...
 
Heck just take the grips off, lock back the slide and slosh it around in a pan of soapy water like ya do a Remington. If ya got Pachmayers on it ya don't even have to take them off.:D
 
As much as I enjoy competing with my blackpowder cartridge guns, I have no desire to shoot it in my 1911's. Mark
 
dpris said:
BP gunks up the mechanism too much. You CAN shoot it, obviously, in an auto, but not too long.
Click to expand...

hardcase said:
Man, I can't help but think of the unholy mess that would be left. I have, though, thought about running a magazine or two through one of mine. But the mess...the nasty mess...
Click to expand...

Pure bunk.

When we started talking about Wild Bunch matches in SASS, I thought it would be cool to shoot a match using BP in all my cartridges like I normally do. I loaded up a little over 200 rounds of .45ACP using three different bullet weights (160, 200, and 250 grain) and three different powders (Pinnacle, T7 and fffg Goex) and ran them through my AMT Hardballer 1911 clone. All rounds cycled through the pistol with no problems other than 2 failures to feed towards the end of the shooting session that I blame on me being tired and not the rounds themselves. It did not "Gum Up and Jam". The pistol was no dirtier than it would have been if I had run 200 rounds of hardball through it - in fact, I think it may not have been as dirty. And, it was easier to clean - no chemicals, fewer patches - just a little Balistol and water.

After the practice session I settled on the 200 grain fffg Goex load and shot the match with no hiccups what so ever.

Load yours up with BP and go out and have some fun. It'll sure make other shooters sit up and take notice.
 
The breech in a 1911 is locked up and sealed until after the bullet is well clear of the barrel so there shouldn't be a large amount of residue in the gun except for the bore of the barrel. Shouldn't be any worse than running BP loads through a lever action rifle.
There could be some blowby if the pressures are too low and it fails to expand the case to seal the chamber.

The 1911 is not a gas operated semi-auto, it's just the recoil of the gun that reloads it.
 
Hello, This subject comes up quite often..including b.p. loads in modern jacketed rifle loads.
There is a post on another site, where a Shilo Sharps was returned to factory for a re-barrel.
Owner had fired b.p. loads using jacketed bullets..and had failed to remove all the copper fouling from bore.
The b.p. fouling did it's dirty work hidden under that copper...Barrel was sawn in half & found to be deeply pitted.
The early .303 Lee-Metford had rounded lands & grooves to help control b.p. fouling...Cordite replaced it a few years later.
 
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