what kind of "groups" should I be able to expect from my Colt 1917 revolver ???

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
had my retired smith buddy inspect the revolver, & it's solid & on time, barrel is pretty good... for safety he advised against factory 45 acp ammo...

I had some cast lighter loads around, that my father in law loaded 15-20 years ago, & I picked up 15 - 20 half moon clips...

prior to lubing everything up, I took it out & shot it a little... action was pretty gritty in double action ( though that smoothed up a bit after cleaning & lubing ) I think my best group was through a pistol rest ( I happened to be sighting in a 22 & had the rest out on the range that day ) with a group of 6" at 30 ft... my free hand single action group was more like 8"... just curious, without doing a full out load developement for the gun, what kind of groups should I be shooting for as I work up a load for this old war horse ???

any suggestions for loads ???
 
for safety he advised against factory 45 acp ammo...
Click to expand...
Well, maybe, but I don't think factory ammo/specs will hurt it a bit (no regular diet of +p stuff maybe... but even that upon occasion shouldn't hurt anything).

But whadda I know? I would still try a few cylinders of plain jane .45acp (or well crafted reloads to factory specs) and would expect +/-3" - 4" at 15 yds from a rested position (wrists rested while seated, not the firearm).

Did your smith slug the cylinder holes so you know actual size(s)? Everything aligned properly when in battery? Good forcing cone and muzzle? Rifling and barrel good to go? I assume so or 'smith would not have green lighted it, but I find the "no factory ammo" statement a tad worrisome.

I know Colts differ from the old S&W N frame, and metallurgy then isn't what it is today, but my old '37 Brazil is pretty much shooting factory ammo at the above group sizes (when I do my part).

There are others here who have real knowledge on your handgun model tho' so I'd await their input.
 
without doing a full out load developement for the gun, what kind of groups should I be shooting for as I work up a load for this old war horse ???
Click to expand...

The last time I shot one with factory .45acp ammo it ran 5 shots touching at 7 yards.

Those older guns take practice. I shoot a lot of them so I generally can outshoot my buds when it comes to tinysight pistols.

WildhellioutshootthemallthetimeanywayAlaska ™©2002-2011
 
Last edited:
thanks for the info... my buddy is extremely knowledgable... but also extremely conservative... but he feels those guns should only be shot with Auto Rim load level ammo, which is generally softer than acp ammo... he's worried about cylinder wall thickness & not such good metalurgy of the early guns ( of which mine appears to be ) so I usually end up "working my way up" from his recommendations... the old ammo I shot up from my father in law was pretty "soft"
 
His concern would be valid if the gun were a Webley Mk VI, but the Colt 1917 (and the S&W equivalent) are fine with standard .45 ACP loads. That being said, no gun has ever been harmed by shooting lighter loads than it was designed for.

Jim
 
There's been a lot of speculation about the Colt & S&W revolvers over the years as to whether they're suitable for a steady diet of ball .45 ACP.

Many people say no, many say yes.

I shoot mine (S&W) almost exclusively with lead.

But, there is some indication that S&W may have been worried about the effects of shooting full-bore military ammo through them and cut the chambers very generously as a means of keeping pressures in check.
 
I get 5 or 6 touching rounds at 25 feet through my S&W 1917 and Webley MkVI, using the same load of a 200 grain LSWC over 4.4 grains of Bullseye. I load the same into both .45 ACP and Auto-Rim cases. A nice light and accurate load that I intend to use in my Colt 1917.....when I get one. No need to stress these old revolvers, they do just fine with more conservative loads.
 
Thanks guys... I wasn't sure what kind of accuracy a double war revolver was capable of, so didn't know what I should be looking for in groups

I think I want ( at the very least ) to run lead through the old gal, & I don't have any factory loads in lead right now... the old ammo I tried, at least gave me a function test :) now to figure out what the gun prefers...

I shoot alot of magnum cartridge guns in both revolver & semi auto, but have never shot 45 auto's very well, so since I have so many other things to shoot, that I do shoot well ( I shoot my Ruger better than my Colt )... I don't shoot much 45 acp... but I have alot of reloading components, including 1000 cast bullets, that I don't use much of, so I'm hoping the old Colt takes to shooting my handloads well
 
The rifling on the Colt 1917 revolver is typically very shallow and doesn't like to "bite" into lead bullets. My example will shoot "patterns" of 6" at 25 yards with lead bullets of any type, though regular FMJ or JHP ammo will shoot groups half that size. Try some jacketed ammo in that roscoe, and I'm confident your groups will improve (unless there is some detail we're missing).

HTH,

vanfunk
 
The last time I shot one with factory .45acp ammo it ran 5 shots touching at 7 yards... I shoot a lot of them so I generally can outshoot my buds when it comes to tinysight pistols.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of my experience shooting an M1917... the owner shot a 5-shot-touching group just like you said, but when I shot it, I got the proverbial 6" shotgun pattern. :o
 
I'm not going to recommend that you use 230 grain 45 ACP ball ammo in your gun if your friend has recommended that you don't, because he may know something about your gun that I don't. I am going to tell you that I use that load in mine (brass-cased Rem-UMC) with moon clips because it's relatively inexpensive and it's what the gun was built to shoot. It's also the most accurate load I've ever used in my own gun. You can buy cheaper ball ammo than Rem-UMC but that's my standard load. No particular reason except its what I've always used and I played enough baseball in my youth to become superstitious.

I've got some Black Hills 45 Auto Rim 255 grain lead SWC ammo that I use as a HD load, which is a bigger hitter with a better-designed defensive bullet, that's ok for pitch black shooting conditions and 10 foot or less across-the -bedroom distance, but its not nearly as accurate in my gun at 10 yards and beyond as plain old military type ball ammo is, which is very accurate. The Black Hills stuff also cost me a small fortune so I've fired very little of it.

If I were a hand-loader I'd try a lead SWC bullet of about the same 230 grain weight as a military style ball bullet with exactly the same powder charge as a ball round and see how that worked. All else being equal I'd prefer the lead SWC bullet to a ball bullet, and it would probably be a little easier on the rifling.
 
Last edited:
Mike Venturino says that cast bullets in a 1917 or other .45 AR/ACP revolver is a sometimes thing. Some will shoot them accurately, some not.
 
Probably not used to the gun yet, give it some practice. I use Rem UMCs in all my .45 ACP pistols and they run great.

no gun has ever been harmed by shooting lighter loads than it was designed for
Click to expand...

Except for when slugs get stuck in the barrel
 
The only issues I have had in the things with GI ball is the WW-2 steel case stuff. It does not eject worth a dern.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top