Whats up with reaming 45 cylinder throats.

[Bigshot270]

Forgive me if this has been discussed, but Im about to buy a Blackhawk Bisley 7 1/2 and I want the 45. This is my first big bore single action and I knew nothing about reaming until reading on this forum. But I really dont want to have to "ream" a brand new pistol. So why do the 45s seem to have throats to small? Can this not be corrected by Ruger during mfg or is it just because of the 45 case itself? Anyway Im thinking a 44 mag might be a lot less trouble.

 

[donut757]

Im no expert but some will step in m sure... My understanding was it was for cast bullets.

Looking forward to what the experts say as well

 

[Snyd]

It depends on the gun and what you shoot. The bore will probably be .451. The throats will probably be .451ish. If you shoot jacketed bullets you're gonna be good to go. If you shoot cast, the proper size boolit for a .451 bore is .452. In that case you want the throats to be .4525 so the boolits slip on through and don't get sized down before hitting the barrel. This helps with leading and improves accuracy.

Buy the gun and go shoot it first!

 

[BlackEagle]

I prefer the .44 mag. If you reload and have your heart set on the .45 then it will probably be the best choice. I think the need for reaming was on some of the "older" revolvers, but if you are wanting the .45 in order to squeeze the last ounce of perfomance out of it to best the .44 magnum then you might need to consider a little tuning/reaming. JMHO

 

[Steve Myers]

This is for mainly cast, as stated above.

Assuming you already have the gun, AND want to shoot cast... I have a new Ruger Lipsey Flattop 45 conv. Other than putting about 100 45 ACP FMJs thru it before I get set up for 45 Colt, I am shooting nothing but cast, and probably will only shoot cast moving forward.

I did not slug my cylinder or barrel. And I did NOT have to do any reaming. I hoped the gun would perform with cast bullets sized to .452 - meaning a cylinder/throat at least .452 (to allow cast bullet to 'pass thru' unmolested), then hit a (hopefully) non-choke constricted barrel of .451 bore and fly happily ever after into single holes.

And - drum roll pls - it does! I have one load that shoots a ragged hole. ALL other loads shoot exceptionally well.

Moral of the story - Ruger is getting the cylinder/throat/bore right for cast bullets these days, at least in some instances. Maybe I am just lucky (Nah, that NEVER happens!) but my 44 SPC and the 45 have been near perfect - with no reaming/fire lapping, etc.

Don't sweat it unless you want to shoot a lot of cast bullets, until after you have shot it, and it fails to perform as desired. If that occurs, then slug the cylinders and barrel. Then consider fire lapping first. I would suggest that reaming cylinders would be one of the last steps. YMMV

 

[BlackEagle]

And I do like the .45 Colt too.

 

[Bigshot270]

Thanks for the replys. I do reload...one reason I wanted a 45. I will shoot mostly jacketed boolits, but some cast also. I like the idea of a single action shooting a bullet over a hundred years old. I do NOT want to have accuracy problems and end up reaming, lapping and all the other stuff.

 

[BIgMuddy]

I have two Bisley 45's from the early 90's. Had to ream the cylinder on one, and the other was fine as is. A friend of mine just bought a brand new 7.5" Bisley, also a 45 and his throats did not need any work done on them. His gun is a real tack driver.

What does this mean? Hit or miss I think as to the throat size. Not much help probably, but I would go for it. If you get one that shoots as good as my buddy's you will be more than please.

Dan

 

[lark63]

Go ahead and buy it- Very nice guns. Get some shooting in before jumping on the reaming idea. It may or may not need it.

 

[flatgate]

lark63 is Right On!

flatgate

 

[jbntx]

... Get some shooting in before jumping on the reaming idea. It may or may not need it.

I agree with lark63.

Shoot at least 200 rounds through it before making any decision about reaming the cylinder throats.

My New Vaquero 45 Colt didn't need reaming.
It's very accurate, shoots to point of aim and no leading at all.

 

[Rclark]

Go ahead and buy it- Very nice guns. Get some shooting in before jumping on the reaming idea. It may or may not need it.

+1 . The newer revolvers do seem 'better' but not perfect. Get it, shoot it.

All I shoot is lead... Out of my four .45 Ruger revolvers, five of the six cylinders were not .4525, and I reamed them to proper size. The old Vaquero was the worst, and opening up the throats cut my groups in half. FYI, I reamed my two .45 Flatttop convertibles before even shooting them as 3 of the 4 cylinders did not pass a .452 bullet with finger pressure. Using plug gauges the throats would pass .451 but not .452. BTW, they 'may' have shot just fine, but I have the .4525 reamer on hand, so just opened 'em up proper. Both guns shoot great (.45 Colt and .45 ACP).

 

[VA Shooter]

I got my 4 5/8 Blackhawk last year 45 colt/45acp and shoot cast sized .452 and have had no issues with the gun at all it is a tack driver with no leading BUY THE GUN CAST YOUR OWN AND HAVE FUN

 

[45sixgun]

I got a .45 convertible recently and have put somewhere around 150 rounds through it. Accuracy isn't close to that of my .44 Special. The other night I took some bullets and tried pushing them through the throats. The .44 bullets went through with finger pressure. The .45 bullets wouldn't come close to going through. Since my accuracy isn't the best with it, I'm thinking I need to get it reamed. I don't really have the $ to do it right now, so I may just shoot the .44 until I can save up.

 

[dlhredfoxx]

I've got a reamer , t-handle and guide bushings if anyone ever needs to borrow it. It's easy to do and doesn't make sense to spend $150 for doing a gun or two. It's out on loan to my bro-in-law right now but should be back in a week or two. PM me if you're interested. I've only used it on three 45 colt Rugers so its still plenty sharp. Would recommend using cutting oil when you do it, makes it go faster and slows down the wear and tear on the reamer.

 

[45sixgun]

PM sent! I already tried someone on this forum who is from my city, but he doesn't shoot .45. Like you said, it doesn't make sense to buy if you're only doing it for one gun. Do you use the same reamer for the ACP cylinder? Mine is a convertible. I guess I need to check if that cylinder even needs doing. I would love to see the same accuracy in my .45 as I'm seeing in the .44. Thanks for the offer!

 

[dlhredfoxx]

I've only used it on 45 colt cylinders, so Im not sure about the ACP. Just replied to your PM, send me your address and I'll mail it to you once I get it back.

 

[Tommy Kelly]

There was one going around on the forum where you paid for the reamer then sold it to someone else on a wating list. It worked out fine kind of like a chain letter you used it then sent it on. you ended up with free use as long as you kept it moving. We used it and had great results. I did 3 cylinders on my 2 45's. The wating list was long on people wanting it next. Everyone took great care of the tool and it worked fine.

 

[A14jd]

When you use the reamer, what is the finished size? I have an older 45BH and it won't shoot jacketed boolits for squat. It does ok with cast.

I also have an older New model Vaquero and a 45 Flattop. I haven't shot those enough to know how they shoot.

 

[Rclark]

.4525