Army revolver oddities......

[Bob Wright]

I have read with some interest of two revolvers made for US Army testing that went nowhere exceedingly fast.

The first was the Colt .45 Revolver of 1906 or so. This revolver was a factory miscarriage of a New Service revolver. The gun was made to accommodate the .45 M1906 cartridge, and the cylinder length was just long enough for the cartridge, and the frame was shortened by the same amount. A stunted New Service being the result. The whereabouts of this gun is not known.

The second was a WW II experiment to make a .30 Carbine revolver. The revolver was a much reworked M1917 S&W made to accept the .30 Carbine with half moon clips. The barrel length was the 5 1/2" Army standard. Muzzle blast with GI ammunition dazzled those who tried the revolver out. I have no idea where this revolver might be today.

Bob Wright

 

[eveled]

Next time I’m at the Springfield armory I’ll ask if they have any prototype revolvers. If the Army kept them that’s were they’d be.

 

[Colonialgirl]

For the COLT; You may want to check with the WOOLAROC Museum in Bartlesville Oklahoma, One of the Phillips Brothers (Phillips 66 fame) was a collector of COLT firearms and has a MASSIVE collection displayed there including experimental models that never made it into production.

 

[blume357]

I, as well as I'm sure others here, have a Ruger Single Action Revolver that shoots the 30 caliber carbine. It is really a hoot to shoot and will make others on the firing line turn and take note. I realized I should have brought mine to the latest East Coast Ruger Forum members gathering.... I'll try and remember for next year.

Would be fun to get look at that 45acp stubby.

 

[Bob Wright]

...............................................

Would be fun to get look at that 45acp stubby.

Was not a .45 ACP, but .45 M1906, a rimmed revolver round. I sort of duplicated it with my .45 Xtra Short, which I now call the .45 Special:




As a matter of interest, I saved any .45 Colt cases that had split case mouths. When i got a bunch, enough to fill a box of fifty, I cut them to .45 ACP length. Thesese will work in my Ruger Blackhawk with the ACP cylinder in place, as well as ACP ammunition.

Bob Wright

 

[kmoore]

My father and I bought 2 of the .30 Blackhawks around 1974. Mine did fine, his had 1 cylinder chamber that would not fire any the GI ammo. It went back to the factory and was fixed. We had purchased them since Dad had a case or more of GI ammo. That gun shot flames out the muzzle like no other revolver I never shot or have owned. And loud, yep it was.
When the free ammo was used up, he reloaded it. I sold mine.
My opinion, even though it was like a handgun round, it was much better suited in the M1 Carbine. I ended up owning 3 of those over the years and enjoyed blasting away with them. I ended up making a small fortune selling all 3 about 12 years ago.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

...............................................

Would be fun to get look at that 45acp stubby.

Was not a .45 ACP, but .45 M1906, a rimmed revolver round. I sort of duplicated it with my .45 Xtra Short, which I now call the .45 Special:




As a matter of interest, I saved any .45 Colt cases that had split case mouths. When i got a bunch, enough to fill a box of fifty, I cut them to .45 ACP length. Thesese will work in my Ruger Blackhawk with the ACP cylinder in place, as well as ACP ammunition.

Bob Wright

The .45 Cowboy Special has been around for several years . . .

https://www.starlinebrass.com/45-cowboy-special

We made up a bunch of these when we first heard of the idea, and it was quite fun.

 

[Bob Wright]

Craig, of Graveyard Jack Gunleather, tells me the .45 Cowboy Special will not work in his Ruger .45 ACP cylinder, so I'm assuming mine are slightly shorter, as they are the same length as the .45 ACP and do work in my ACP cylinders. Looking at the specs for the M1906 I believe they, too, are a trifle longer.

But, be that as it may, I'm getting prolonged life from my split .45 Colt cases that I would normally discard.

And here is my precision method of rough cutting to length. Use a case trimmer for final length:





Bob Wright

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Dunno what Craig's problem is, they work fine in mine . . . both the Starline samples we got as well as the cutoff LCs.

I like your rough trim fixture. Good idea.

 

[protoolman]

My .45 cowboy specials from Starline chamber fine in my acp cylinder. Been using them for many years since the first batch came out.