45/45 ACP revisited

Shot my new Ruger Redhawk 45/45ACP Sunday. using 230 gr. FMJ S&B and GI ball it shoots patterns not groups. Same with 225 gr. Barnes defense loads in 45. Winchester silvertips in 180 gr were better. Did not have anything else so I do not know if its manufacturer or bullet weight. At this point accuracy does not compare with my 625. Did not shoot 45 Win Mags yet. I am very disappointed. Seems like the trigger is a lot stiff. I am having my gunsmith smooth up the trigger in hopes this will help.

Patterns?? For sure something isn't right here & I'd be disappointed too.

You will probly need to have your cylinder throats reamed out.

Redhawk?

The .45LC chamber is .4" longer than the ACP case, so the bullet will probably fully exit the case before it touches the throat. I wouldn't hold my breath for great accuracy from the ACP in these guns. .45 Win Mag should do significantly better since it is only .1" short in the chamber; this is a more typical bullet jump that should allow the bullet to align to the throat before it fully leaves the case.

You've apparently missed all the previous discussion of this model's accuracy.

The long .45 Colt chambers are not conducive to best accuracy with the short .45 ACP.
In my testing, using several commercial ACP loads through two samples, the worst group was 13 inches at 25 yards with one 230 ball load.

You'll need to try several ACP loads to find some that tighten up.
You may be lucky & find a usable one in the first 5, or you may have to run a dozen through your gun.

This is not just your gun, it's that model, and the issue has been widely reported & discussed.

The convertible Red should be considered a .45 Colt that CAN shoot ACPs in a pinch, it should not be considered primarily an ACP shooter.

.45 Colt accuracy is usually good, since that's the caliber the chambers are dimensioned for.

Contacting Ruger may easily result in them having you send it back in, after which you'll get the gun back with a brief "In Specs" note, and it'll do exactly the same thing.

It is very simply the nature of that beast.
Denis

My .45 ACP cylinders went unused for many years after the initial new wore off. Then tried them with my .45 Xtra Short cartridges:



These are made from salvaged .45 Colt cases that have split at the case mouth, trimmed to .45 ACP length:




Bob Wright

If the cylinder chamber is the proper length for the cartridge it makes all the difference. My Bisley convertible shoots 45 ACP well, but the Redhawks are just not going to cut the mustard with all that freebore.

One thing people new to the convertible Reds need to understand is that NOTHING is comparable to the convertible Blacks.
You can't expect the same ACP results through a modified convertible Redhawk .45 Colt cylinder with long chambers that you can through a Blackhawk dedicated ACP cylinder with short chambers.
Denis

Sounds like they need dedicated acp cylinders. Too bad, sorry you guys have to deal with this. When it came out it seemed like such a good idea.

When it came out it seemed like such a good idea.

Click to expand...

Perhaps to some, but I imediately recognized the potential for poor accuracy as soon as I saw the product. Been there, done that. They (Ruger) had to have known as well.

I have to believe they recognized it as a modification that was already being done that they were loosing market share on. When I bought mine, I only expected SD type accuracy from the ACP; given that having another company cut the cylinder for moon clips was over 100$, I chose to go with the factory option.

Yes I did miss all the accuracy issues discussion. I wanted it so I could shoot 45 Win Mag interchangeably without having to carry a bunch of extra cylinders. I have a 3 screw Blackhawk with 45 & 45ACP cylinders. Had it for 20+ years. Have yet to shoot it. Seem to gravitate to the 1911 when I want to shoot ACP. If it shoots Win mag and 45LC OK then I will be partially satisfied. Seems like it should have shot the 225 gr 45LC better than it did.

Bob Wright said:

My .45 ACP cylinders went unused for many years after the initial new wore off. Then tried them with my .45 Xtra Short cartridges:



These are made from salvaged .45 Colt cases that have split at the case mouth, trimmed to .45 ACP length:




Bob Wright

Click to expand...

I'm going to buy me one of these real soon. I keep putting it off.

My problem with the subj Redhawk was the dinky grip; after putting on a T-grip, my accuracy improved.

I just have to comment on Bob's excellent printing.

Bob's the man.

Shot 45 Win mag last week. Best accuracy so far. Four rounds touching with two flyers. One left one right. Based on review of previous targets, looks like I have two suspect chambers. Is there any fix for that? I have not shot lead or many various bullet weights yet. I do not reload so gathering different rounds is a bit expensive and will take time. I do have some round nose lead target rounds and some match 45ACP to try. As an aside Underwood ammo will fit the moon clips and chamber in my revolver without modification. Did have one problem. All groups were low and left. I attempted to move bullet strike to right. Could not move rear sight to right, Ruger is sending me a replacement rear sight. Very good customer service seems like. Shipped same day I called. I still would like to know why sight is frozen all the way left. Customer service rep had no clue either. I must say I really like this pistol.

Bob Wright said:

My .45 ACP cylinders went unused for many years after the initial new wore off. Then tried them with my .45 Xtra Short cartridges:



These are made from salvaged .45 Colt cases that have split at the case mouth, trimmed to .45 ACP length:

Bob Wright

Click to expand...

Bob, that looks distinctly like a New Model Blackhawk (although a very nice one!). How did that get into your accumulation? :lol: