New to me BH .45 Colt Conversation.

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Rclark

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Jail???? What's that? ..... Oh yeah ... California....

As for what to watch out for ... Not much. The throats are usually close enough.... But optimumly should pass a .452 lead bullet with finger pressure. If not probably could get the cylinder throats reamed. Other than that, just enjoy the gun and test the screws now to make sure not coming loose. I do like my 5 1/2" flattops. Remember this revolver can't handle Tier 3 loads (Ruger Only Loads). Tier 1 and 2 are okay. Enjoy!

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I bought my two convertibles for the .45 Colt cylinder. Not sure what the other one is used for .... <kidding> ha. That said, I did shoot a few .45 ACP to begin with and even started to develop loads that cartridge when it hit me ... why? The .45 Colt does it all and more. So retired the .45 ACP cylinders as both convertibles are exclusively .45 Colt shooters now.
 
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Joined
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the Great State of Wide-open (WY)
When I owned a .45 convertible, I discovered a couple of things. First, that I absolutely loved shootin' it! (Only reason I don't own it anymore, was an unexpected bill from the IRS that needed to be paid.) Second thing I learned was, if I shot it as much as I liked to, my hand hurt. But a Hogue monogrip fixed that - something that might be worth remembering!
:)
 

eveled

Hawkeye
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Apr 3, 2012
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Great gun! The acp cylinder is awesome. The stubby empties practically fall out on their own.
 

moparclan

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All my .45 Colt Ruger's have had the cylinder throats reamed, many were undersized. Easy process.
Enjoy your convertible.
 

Dave Schwaab

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Nov 2, 2014
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128
I love mine (model 5242). I fitted some lighter Wolff springs and an SBH hammer for easier one-handing. It has become my home defense gun.

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My other Convertible is a 1971 vintage, still with original lock work.

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I only used the .45 ACP cylinders back when my local dealer used to offer cheap ammo from the same reloader the PD used. Now, in retirement, I am usually shooting one of my Mark IIs, but it is nice to pull out one of the .45s now and then.
 

Ride1949

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I really like versatiity of the .45 convertibles. The Lipseys .45 flattop for SAMMI loads and .45 ACP and the large frame because I occasionally like to shoot some of the hotter factory loads and Ruger only handloads, just for fun, as well as .45 ACP. That covers everything I need.

YinandYang06-11-2012017_zps854c5d3e.JPG
 
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Hylander

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California
Thanks for the replies.
What is 1, 2 and 3 tier loads.
My Hornady book say T/C and Blackhawk only loads.
 

Hylander

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All right, found the difference.
The lipseys BH is made made on the smaller flat top frame with smaller Cylinder so less meat between the cylinders.
 
Joined
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Richmond Texas USA
For you Guys that want a 45 ACP size case but don't have the cylinder these are available. I use them for loading black powder in my Old Army conversions and they work great both shooting and reloading on a Dillon 650 with Colt Dies.
45 Cowboy Special Brass

0.892 - 0.896 O.A.L.

Status:
Backordered
Ship date: To Be Determined
The Cowboy .45 Special is a case that is optimized for use with light loads in .45 Colt caliber revolvers for Cowboy Action Shooting. Light loads with excessive airspace are a recipe for case splits and erratic function. By using the Cowboy .45 Special case, with its .45 Colt rim and .45 Auto length, the problem no longer exists. While many claim that .45 Auto load data can be used in this caliber, it is important to realize the limitations of the firearm it is chambered in and only use loads that fall within the pressure range of that firearm. Generally these can be loaded using .45 Colt dies and a modified (shortened) crimp die, or .45 Auto Rim roll crimp die.
 

Rclark

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What is 1, 2 and 3 tier loads.
Tier 1 is SAAMI 14K psi loads. Tier 2 is up to 23K psi loads. Tier 3 is 30K psi (Ruger Only Loads). You won't find Tier 2 loads in the reloading manual but has been referenced in Brian Pearce's Handloader magazine writing. What is really means is you can load a bit warmer than Tier 1 in the medium frame flattop or New Vaquero, but NOT ROL loads. Recall .45 ACP+P is 23K psi which is where Tier 2 comes from in .45 Colt.
 

Hylander

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Measured the chambers with a Caliper, .449, this is both cylinders.
I can not push a .452 or a .451 bullet through the chambers.
Looks like I will have to get the chambers honed to .451
Cylinder to barrel gap is great at less than .004
 

vlavalle

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Chandler, AZ
Measured the chambers with a Caliper, .449, this is both cylinders.
I can not push a .452 or a .451 bullet through the chambers.
Looks like I will have to get the chambers honed to .451
Cylinder to barrel gap is great at less than .004
I would like to throw a bit of caution and extra info regarding the actual bullet diameters for the .45. Here is an excrept from my ballistics file: "The modern .45 ammo bores vary as follows: the .45 ACP's and the .45 GAP's bores are both .451, the .45 Auto Rim is .452, and the .45 LC comes in two bores: .452 for jacketed bullets, and .454 for all lead bullets." So, based on this, it seems that boring to only .451 would not be enough!

I have a Lipsys .45 Flattop Convertible (little did I know now that when I bought it that it could not shoot the highest powered .45 LC round!), and I have shoot full powered .45 ACP rounds (Atomic 185 gr at 1,225 fps), and pretty heavy .45 LC rounds (Buffalo Bore (260 gr bullet at 1,450 fps). There are two more more powerful .45 LC rounds made, but I am warned not to shoot these in my flattop. Why on earth did Lipsys build such a restricted gun???

I have shoot both all lead rounds as well as partially jacketed and FMJ rounds as well. All of these rounds fit into the cylinders just fine, and shoot just fine.
 

Rclark

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Why on earth did Lipsys build such a restricted gun???
Easy. Because a lot of us like it and prefer the more Colt like revolver. For myself it is all the .45 Colt that I need... at the range... and in the field. Wish they would have done it years and years ago :) . Therefore for me it is 'perfect' and glad that we finally have the .45 Colt (and .44 Special) on the medium frame. If one wants to shoot the real stoat stuff then there is the large frame .45 Colt BH revolver and of course Freedom Arms has what you need. Choices for all :) . Yeeessss!

As for bullets .452 Lead bullets is all you need. The bore of all modern .45 Colt Rugers is .451. The idea is the throats should be at least .001 over the bore. Hence .452 is the optimum bullet diameter and why we ream to .4525 if throuts are undersized. But if you have oversize throats, the bullet needs to be sized accordingly for accuracy, so sometimes .454 bullets may be necessary to fit the throats properly. Simple as that.
 
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Hylander

Single-Sixer
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May 1, 2008
Messages
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I would like to throw a bit of caution and extra info regarding the actual bullet diameters for the .45. Here is an excrept from my ballistics file: "The modern .45 ammo bores vary as follows: the .45 ACP's and the .45 GAP's bores are both .451, the .45 Auto Rim is .452, and the .45 LC comes in two bores: .452 for jacketed bullets, and .454 for all lead bullets." So, based on this, it seems that boring to only .451 would not be enough!

I have a Lipsys .45 Flattop Convertible (little did I know now that when I bought it that it could not shoot the highest powered .45 LC round!), and I have shoot full powered .45 ACP rounds (Atomic 185 gr at 1,225 fps), and pretty heavy .45 LC rounds (Buffalo Bore (260 gr bullet at 1,450 fps). There are two more more powerful .45 LC rounds made, but I am warned not to shoot these in my flattop. Why on earth did Lipsys build such a restricted gun???

I have shoot both all lead rounds as well as partially jacketed and FMJ rounds as well. All of these rounds fit into the cylinders just fine, and shoot just fine.
I could be wrong but the normal bore on a ruger 45 is .451
They do not make .451 for jacketed .454 for cast.
I have seen some lever rifles with oversized bores. If you have a Ruger with a bore of .454 you have an issue.
Lipsys does not make the guns, they are made by Ruger for Lipsys distribution.
Lipsys edition was made on a medium frame because of customer demand just like they wanted a smaller framed Vaquero.
The revolver is easier handing and a lot of people don't need to shoot the magnum loads.
Anyhow if you want to continue to shoot magnum loads you need the large frame Blackhawk, cause that flat top is going to give up the ghost.
 

hittman

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Why on earth did Lipsys build such a restricted gun???
Lipsey's sells what Ruger builds.
I can see Lipsey's having a say on things like finish and grips and sites. But doubt Ruger does things like bore tolerances and gaps bases on Lipsey's specifications, needs or desires.
 

vlavalle

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 10, 2022
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Chandler, AZ
Easy. Because a lot of us like it and prefer the more Colt like revolver. For myself it is all the .45 Colt that I need... at the range... and in the field. Wish they would have done it years and years ago :) . Therefore for me it is 'perfect' and glad that we finally have the .45 Colt (and .44 Special) on the medium frame. If one wants to shoot the real stoat stuff then there is the large frame .45 Colt BH revolver and of course Freedom Arms has what you need. Choices for all :) . Yeeessss!

As for bullets .452 Lead bullets is all you need. The bore of all modern .45 Colt Rugers is .451. The idea is the throats should be at least .001 over the bore. Hence .452 is the optimum bullet diameter and why we ream to .4525 if throuts are undersized. But if you have oversize throats, the bullet needs to be sized accordingly for accuracy, so sometimes .454 bullets may be necessary to fit the throats properly. Simple as that.
Rclark- Yes, is see why you wanted a weaker .45 Colt, but I was not informed of this at all. I wanted one that could shoot ANY ,45 Colt ammo, and even Ruger did not know about this limitation with the Lipsys version. Ruger dod not know that this was alighter version of their .45 Colt BH, and told me repeatedly (via email) that I had the strongest Ruger .45 Colt revolver. But Buffalo Bore told me otherwise, and that I should NOT shoot their very high end .45 Colt ammo since my .45 Ruger was a smaller frame. So, I believed Buffao Bore, and they even put a disclaimer on the ammo page (perhaps as a result of my inquiry) of their high end ammo, and that their most powerful Colt .45 ammo should never be shot in the mid sized Ruger frames, just as the Flattop versionis such a case.

While I understand that you had no desire to have the full capability of a Ruger .45 Colt revolver, but to me that just says never shoot the real hot ammo in your gun, and always shoot the lower powered ammo. So, what advantage is it to have a version that cannot shoot the very high end ammo?.
 
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