Shopping for a "cowboy" gun!

[Aguila Blanca]

Cowboys loved their leverguns in 45colt and the extra barrel length gives it a huge power boost.

Hawg is absolutely correct. It actually went the other way. Colt eventually began chambering the six-gun in .44-40 so that "cowboys" could use the same round in their revolvers as in their carbines. Chambering lever action carbines in .45 Colt is strictly a modern phenomenon.

 

[44 AMP]

The original .45 Colt cases didn't have much of a rim. Plenty to work in a single action revolver, but, as believed by the gunmakers of the day, not enough to work reliably in a lever action.

SO, they made no lever actions in .45 Colt.

With the change in the case from the old balloon head to the modern solid head, the rim got changed a little bit, enough to be large enough and strong enough to work reliably in lever actions, and, as mentioned, eventually the rifle makers DID make .45 Colt lever guns, and they did work ok. Still do, from what I hear.

 

[Hawg]

Uberti was the first one to chamber a lever action in .45 Colt.

 

[jstert]

i would get a revolver that handles both 45lc and 45acp, the latter round being much cheaper. buy a used ruger blackhawk with confidence, given ruger’s excellent lifetime warranty.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

i would get a revolver that handles both 45lc and 45acp, the latter round being much cheaper.

I'm scratching my head, but off the top of it I cannot think of any revolver that chambers both 45 Colt and 45 ACP. 45 Colt rims are about .060 in thickness, but because 45 ACP is often shot with moon clips, there is about .030 more relief behind the cylinder in a revolver chambered for 45 ACP. That is why 45 Auto Rim was developed, to take up the space of about .090 behind the cylinder. I could be wrong, but unless custom modified, I cannot think of a revolver that chambers both 45 Colt and 45 ACP.

Except of course, my old convertible Ruger Blackhawk that came with two cylinders, one for 45 Colt and one for 45 ACP. I'm pretty sure that is the only way one can have an off the shelf revolver that chambers the two different cartridges, one that comes with two different cylinders. Current model Rugers (like my old Blackhawk) are great, they come with a transfer bar that makes them completely safe to carry fully loaded with six rounds in the cylinder.

Not so much with many of the Italian imports, most of them have the traditional lockwork that is only safe to carry loaded with five rounds, with an empty chamber under the hammer. This is an older 45 Colt Uberti Cattleman I bought about 20 years ago that has the traditional Colt style lockwork and is only safe to carry with five rounds and an empty chamber under the hammer.

Current Uberti revolvers have been modified with a retractable firing pin that make them safe to carry fully loaded with six rounds.




You said you don't want 'really expensive', or something like that, so I will not post any photos of any of my Colts.

The hell I won't. Here is a 38-40 Bisley Colt that shipped in 1909 along with a 38-40 Winchester Model 1873 that shipped in 1887.

Regarding rim sizes of old 45 Colt cartridges, all of these, except the two on the far right have rims much too small to be grabbed by the extractor claw of a rifle. The one on the far right is a modern 45 Colt round. Notice the much wider rim, and space above the rim that gives a rifle rifle extractor claw enough space to grab the rim. The round second to the right is a special 45 Colt that was developed for a Colt double action revolver, with an extra wide rim for the extractor to be able to push against.

 

[lowercase]

I have an EMF Great Western II "Californian". It's made by Pietta, and is a faithful SAA replica. Mine is a .45 Colt, but I saw EMF running a sale on their .45 acp cylinders, so I snagged one. The .45 acp cylinder is unfluted, and the gun shots great in either caliber.

I got it just to have one, and figured that real SAAs were too expensive. Then right after buying it, I practically tripped over an SAA at a great price, so now have both.

Pic is from EMF's page. The wood on my gun's grips looks better than the picture, but otherwise it's exactly the same. It has been a good firearm and I would purchase it again.

 

[44 AMP]

I'm scratching my head, but off the top of it I cannot think of any revolver that chambers both 45 Colt and 45 ACP.

The S&W Governor shoots .45 Colt, .45acp, and .410 shotshell (2.5" I think)

Ruger advertises one of its Redhawks capable of shooting .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .45ACP.

The ACP requires clips. I don't have any, but I've seen some pictures and it appears there's a different approach than the old 1917 revolvers and their clips.

The cylinder is recessed for the clip, so there isn't the space needed between the back of the cylinder and the recoil shield that the old system needed. The space that the thick rim on the .45 Auto Rim case filled up isn't there, on the new guns.

While these guns will fire ACP rounds they are literally just hanging in space, supported only by the clip, and not the chamber walls. On firing the ACP brass expands and does seal in the chamber, so it works. Rounds go in, go bang, and come out, no problem.

Though I can't help but think the ACP brass is rather bulged by this, so reloaders won't be real happy with that, apparently it does work, and there's no chatter about the ACP brass splitting.

I've got the convertible Blackhawk .45, don't use the ACP cylinder much, but when I do, no clips needed, and it doesn't stress the brass.

 

[Hawg]

The Uberti retractable hammer requires a small screwdriver to operate. The older ones have a hammer block that won't let the firing pin reach the primer unless the trigger is pulled.

 

[stinkeypete]

In the long run, every Ruger single action I have ever owned (and that's a lot of them) I have always sold for more than I paid for it.

That's why a good quality gun can be inexpensive, even if it costs $200 more at the front end. You get more than your money back at the back end while enjoying a nicer bean spitter.