Maximizing The .45 Colt
The .45 Colt comes in several different makes and models.
Large frame Rugers allow the use of heavier than normal handloading.
When it comes to handgun cartridges, I can be as fickle as fickle can be — especially when trying to pin down favorites. But there’s one cartridge I always come back to no matter how many times I stray. It’s the cartridge I have the most handguns chambered for, and handgun wise, the cartridge I’ve killed the most game with. My hands down favorite cartridge is the grand old .45 Colt, especially when loaded with a Lyman 454424 cast slug and pushed by 20 grains of 2400 in large frame Rugers or equivalent. This load packs a punch that’ll punch clean through an elk, much less whitetail.
Tyler Gun Works prettied up this old Vaquero for a
one-of-a-kind custom with ram horn stocks.
Roll Your Own
Being a handloader is paramount for making the .45 Colt my favorite cartridge. Handloading unleashes the .45 Colt to its full potential, making it capable of handling some lofty chores. Add specialty guns to the mix, such as five-shot cylinders, and you can really load heavy, eye-opening loads capable of bringing down dinosaurs of any species.
Yet, the grand old .45 Colt can be loaded down to pipsqueak performance for a pleasant day of plinking. Recoil is mild, as is the report, with these reduced powder-puff loads. Handloaders can even take advantage of using .45 Schofield brass for plinking, making identification easier and powder charges smaller for the same velocity as full sized .45 Colt cases.
.45 Schofield cartridges can be shot in .45 Colt revolvers.
Factory Fodder
Most factory ammo uses traditional radiused flat-nose bullets having a very small flat, or meplat. With these swagged bullets, the velocity usually runs in the neighborhood of 800-900 fps. Depending on hardness, diameter and barrel condition, leading runs the gamut from none to severe. It all depends on your barrel condition, is it smooth or rough?
As mentioned, .45 Schofield ammo can be shot in .45 Colt guns for non-handloaders. The light loads are a pleasure to shoot and great for introducing kids to shooting big-bore sixguns.
Jacketed slugs will rectify the most severe of leading if your gun tends to lead the soft swagged lead bullets.
Factory fodder can be easy shooting cowboy action
oad or heavy Buffalo Bore wild for hunting.
By casting your own slugs, you have an infinite
variety of cast bullets to shoot.
Heavy Duty
Specialty ammo makers such as Buffalo Bore and HSM’s Bear Load, provide heavy bullets with high velocity ammunition for hunters using large-framed guns made by Ruger, S&W, BFR and Taurus, to name a few. Bullets from 300-360 grains are pushed 1,150-1,300 fps for outstanding field performance.
Whether stainless or blued steel, there’s a
.45 Colt with your name on it.
Altering the cylinder allows the use of shooting .45 ACP
with moon clips in .45 Colt double-action revolvers.
TK Custom
For double action (DA) shooters, you can play with medium loads by sending your swing out cylinder to TK Custom for a little custom work. It’ll be worth your while if you want the pleasure and convenience of being able to shoot .45 ACP ammo in your .45 Colt.
I have a 4” Ruger Redhawk that TK did their cylinder modification on. There’s no need to send your whole gun, just the cylinder. Now, I can shoot moon-clipped .45 ACP ammo in my double-action Redhawk, and I do so plentifully and joyfully. I even enjoy loading up the moon clips with the TK Custom tool, it’s so easy. .
Dual-cylinder revolvers add versatility to .45 Colts.
Close-up shot of the work TK Custom performs on cylinders.
Here’s a Ruger Old Army cylinder made by Hallow Arms,
allowing you to shoot .45 Colt cartridges in your Old Army.
Dual Cylinder
Ruger has offered dual-cylinder single-action sixguns for years. The extra cylinder is chambered for the .45 ACP. If you already have a Ruger .45 Colt Blackhawk, just send your gun into Ruger for a .45 ACP cylinder and they’ll make and fit one for your gun for a nominal fee.
These guns, all Rugers, will shoot — as these targets show.
Black Powder Guns
For the most traditional of shooters out there, those who enjoy burning charcoal with their black powder shooters, namely Ruger Old Army’s and 1858 Army remakes by several companies, you can purchase auxiliary cylinder for shooting .45 Colt cartridges.
The cylinder replaces the factory cylinder. Loading is done by removing the cylinder top, loading the cartridges in the chambers, then putting the top back on and replacing the cylinder in gun.
It’s a fun way for shooting your black powder pistol without all the mess involved of having to clean-up after shooting black powder. Companies like Howell Arms and Taylor’s & Company offer these cylinders.
HSM’s .45 Colt Bear Load features a 325-grain cast bullet at 1,150 fps.
Final Word
As you can see, there’s plenty of ways to enjoy your .45 Colts and their variants. With lots of guns, different ammo, in basically three different power levels, and the many different products adding versatility to your sixshooters, you can see why the grand old .45 Colt, and its guns, are my favorite. It’s also why it’s still around today after 142 years.
