ROA Question with .45 Colt

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11B40

Bearcat
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Nov 15, 2009
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I have a 1976 blue one that I have shot many times with BP. Now I have an R&D conversion for it and was wondering if the .45 Auto Rim could be used in the cylinder? Opinions?
 
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The rims on .45 AR are thicker than the rims on .45 Colt.

If the cartridges will fit properly into the chambers, they'll probably be OK, but don't be surprised if they don't. You may not be able to properly assemble and install the loaded cylinder.

JMHO YMMV
 

Driftwood Johnson

Blackhawk
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Sep 25, 2007
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Land of the Pilgrims
Howdy

No. 45 Colt rims are .060 thick. 45 AR rims are .090 thick. The cap will not close properly over 45 AR rims and the cylinder will not fit in the gun. You may or may not be able to chamber 45 Schofield rounds, they have rims the same thickness as a 45 Colt, but they are larger in diameter. I had to have the countebores in the R&D cylinders for my Remmies opened up a tad in order to shoot Schofields in them. But if you want a really short case you will be able to chamber 45 Cowboy Specials in your R&D cylinder.
 

11B40

Bearcat
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Messages
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NY, Not really America
Driftwood Johnson":d29atyj2 said:
Howdy

No. 45 Colt rims are .060 thick. 45 AR rims are .090 thick. The cap will not close properly over 45 AR rims and the cylinder will not fit in the gun. You may or may not be able to chamber 45 Schofield rounds, they have rims the same thickness as a 45 Colt, but they are larger in diameter. I had to have the countebores in the R&D cylinders for my Remmies opened up a tad in order to shoot Schofields in them. But if you want a really short case you will be able to chamber 45 Cowboy Specials in your R&D cylinder.
Thank you for the replies. The reason I ask is that I would like to use the ROA for shooting ISU matches. I started shooting these matches in the early 70s with a Blackhawk and later sold off the Ruger (my mistake) for a 1911 that I built into a race gun. Now I want to go back to the long sight radius of the Ruger. The rub is our indoor range doesn't allow BP shot. That is why I was thinking about a shorter case loaded more like my .45 ACP, which gets 4.1 grains of Bullseye under a 200 grain SWC. What about trimming down .45 colt brass? would that work?
 

Driftwood Johnson

Blackhawk
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Land of the Pilgrims
Howdy

The issue with trimming down 45 Colt brass that far is that the farther you get from the case mouth, the thicker the brass gets. Even though it is a straight cartridge on the outside, the interior tapers slightly, with the case wall getting thicker the farther you go. Trimming the brass down that far it might be a real problem getting a good crimp.

As I said, if your cylinder will accept 45 Schofield rims, that is one way to go, the Schofield has less case capacity than the 45 Colt, and can more easily be loaded down without issues of too little powder in the case. Starline makes 45 Schofield cases, I load them all the time for my 45 Colt revolvers. But the rim is wider in diameter than 45 Colt, so you may have an issue chambering the rounds in your R&D cylinder. You may not, I had to open up the counterbores in my cylinders to accept Schofield rims, but I believe R&D has changed things slightly now so that their cylinders will accept Schofield rims. It depends on when yours was made. I can measure my counterbores and get back to you to give you an idea of what mine were opened up to to accept Schofield rims.

Or you could call up Adirondack Jack and buy some of his 45 Cowboy Special brass. It is specifically designed to do exactly what you want. Provide a cartridge with the same case head and rim as the 45 Colt, but in the same length as the 45 ACP.

http://www.cowboy45special.com/cowboy45brass.html
 

11B40

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
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NY, Not really America
Spoke to Jack about 3 hours ago after I did a search for the .45 special cases. We talked for a good bit and with those cases I may even be able to stay with the same loading as the ACP using the same bullets. I did order a set of .45 colt dies in case I want to play with the long cases. Thanks again All.
 
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