45super and/or 460 Rowland in new Redhawk 45acp thoughts?

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louiethelump

Buckeye
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Oct 17, 2005
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I have received my new Redhawk 45Colt/45acp and plan to shoot it mostly with 45acp. The thought crossed my mind and I wanted opinions from you folks. Since the chamber in these guns are cut deep for the 45 Colt, and moon clips have to be used with the 45acp, the 45 Super ammo and 460 Rowland COULD be loaded into the clips and fired in this gun. I know this would not be approved by Ruger but over pressure 45 Colt loads are not approved by Ruger either. What are the thoughts of the Redhawk handling the higher pressure rounds?? The 45 Super is about 28,000 and the 460 Rowland about 40,000.

Has anyone done any of this?

Thanks for all input.
 

BPGuy

Single-Sixer
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Jan 2, 2017
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Yes I believe he does.

louiethelump, I started a topic just like this a few months ago, and no one could seem to agree on anything. I'm of the opinion that you could do as you've suggested. Minimal use would probably be fine, extended use might blow things up. Or one round might blow things up. Bottom line, nobody really knows because, as far as I'm aware, no one has ever done it and no one knows the exact pressures the cylinder will contain, either short (one shot) or long (hundreds/thousands) term.

I think .45 Win Mag would fit, too.

I'm not an expert, a metallurgist, professional ammo loader, or anything else. This is just my layman's opinion. And you know what opinions on the internet are worth. Shooting anything besides what the factory recommends in any firearm is done at your own risk.
 

louiethelump

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Yup. Used wrong numbers. Fixed

I was thinking along the lines of the hot Ruger loads that are near 44 magnum pressure and if they are ok in the Redhawk. This is my first Redhawk and I am not sure where it ranks compared to the full size Blackhawk.

I have pretty much quit loading the 45 Colt but load 45acp. I plan to shoot standard 45acp mostly but was thinking about a factory heavier load I could keep a spring clip of on hand in case something wandered inside my fence. My next door neighbor had a 7' gator INSIDE his fence a week or so ago. (They climb fences) The gator trapper came out and got him and warned my neighbor to keep eye out for a big one, based on the injuries to the little 7 footer indicating he lost a fight to a bigger one.

Anyway, I appreciate any input.
 

CraigC

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Shouldn't be a problem at all, even long term, considering Brian Pearce's 50-55,000psi loads for the .45Colt in the Redhawk.
 

s4s4u

Hunter
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That gun is available in 44 mag and 44 mag pressures do approach 40k. If you stay under 44 mag pressures you should be okay, although the 45 Colt chambers are a bit larger so if the cylinder is the same size there will be less steel around the holes. The longer case might improve accuracy somewhat, and that gun hasn't shown the accuracy with 45 ACP to make me want one for that purpose.
 

BIgMuddy

Blackhawk
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Feb 15, 2007
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Linn Creek MO
CraigC said:
Shouldn't be a problem at all, even long term, considering Brian Pearce's 50-55,000psi loads for the .45Colt in the Redhawk.

+1

The only reason I would ever get one of those guns would be to shoot the Rowland out of it.....and would not hesitate to do so. I'm going to make a guess and say that if you plan to shoot acp's primarily and carry a full moon clip of some some heavier loads, the POI will be quite a bit different. Might not matter at gator range though. :)

I think it would be fun to work with the 45 Super, Rowland, Win Mag, etc. in that gun. I like the vesatility afforded with the moon clips.

Don't mean to criticize your thinking at all, but would it not be just as easy to carry a speed loader with some heavy 45 Colt loads? I am sure you can beat Rowland performance with the Colt in your Ruger.

Dan
 

louiethelump

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Expensive=total cost.

Set up to load 45acp with lots of bullets and brass and two guns that use it. Plenty of available 45acp factory ammo (I never "carry" reloads) in case I ever want to carry this gun. Zero cost

Get reset up for loading 45 Colt after getting out of it and getting rid of everything but bullets: probably 100-200 dollars.

Moon clips are equal to a speed loader but at lower cost and less bulk. The high performance ammo is still more compact than the overly large 45 Colt rounds then plus the speed loader.

That is my logic. Probably will never even try the hot 45 acp variations, just checking to see if you guys think it probably safe. If it makes sense or not only I can decide as like all of you, my situation is unique. I live in the Withlacoochee State forest in a little house out of the way and away from people. We have no big bears here just the little Florida Black bears and never see them. 45acp costs a lot less to buy than 45 Colt even if I don't load it.

All goes out the window if the 45acp not accurate. It is deadly accurate in my Vaquero Birds head. I am sure you can understand about keeping the different types of ammo on hand to a minimum.
 

BIgMuddy

Blackhawk
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All makes perfect sense to me......:)

I hope the acp's shoot well for you. Loading some Supers would be a fun project and would probably fit your needs well. I'd like to hear how it works. I've shot some in my Blackhawk convertible and the velocities are pretty impressive.

Dan
 

rangerbob

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Jan 9, 2011
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I bought my Redhawk .45 before the .45acp option was available. So I had my local smith cut mine to fit the readily available 1917 style(S&W) moon clips. I shot handloaded .45 Win Mags in it with no problem other than stout recoil.The Win Mags were for my T/C Contender. One can shoot .45 Gaps as well, not to mention .45 Schofields. I don't see any problem with the Super and 460. I have some 455 Webleys that I loaded for another that would not work in his Webley due to if being opened up for moon clips after WWII. They may work as well if the firing pin can reach them and, of course, they are loaded light. Of course, standard "Ruger only" .45 Colt loads will handle just about anything that comes along. Bob! :wink:
 

Kanook

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If you are planning on using that for gator defense, I would use this bullet 265 WFNGC from cast performance. I use a 180 WFNGC from them for my 357mag with excellent results.

Most round nose and hollow points are not recommended. They tend to ricochet. Also remember that you have a very small target to hit. If you miss, it will keep coming.
 

choirboy

Bearcat
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Jul 18, 2004
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USA
I think if I were in a similar dilemma I'd go with Buffalo Bore or Garrett's in the 45 Colt.
 
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