Is the .45 Colt the
First Magnum?
Tank’s first three .45 Colts, from top, a stainless 7.5" Blackhawk,
a blued Bisley with 7.5" barrel, and a Bisley Hunter with 7.5" barrel.
A Magnum is defined as “a gun designed to fire cartridges that are more powerful than its caliber would suggest.” Obviously, the folks writing dictionaries don’t know hooey about guns, but we get their meaning. Just because a cartridge doesn’t end with Magnum doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. As a matter of fact, my favorite cartridge falls into this category. And believe me, when loaded to its potential, you wouldn’t want to shoot a bushel basket of them at one setting.
The .45 Colt cartridge and Colt’s SAA have the distinction of being firsts. The .45 Colt is the first self-contained metallic cartridge, and the Colt SAA is the first sixgun able to fire such cartridges. They came out in 1873. Originally designed for US Cavalry soldiers, these “horse pistols” were made with the intention of shooting a horse from beneath opposing cavalry soldiers. Using a 250-grain radiused flat-nose bullet, with the tiniest of meplats, the black powder propelled projectile was successful, many times shooting completely through the horse. Velocity was around 1,000 FPS.
When the five-shot .454 Casull Bisley was released through
Lipsey’s, Tank was ecstatic! Finally, a factory gun capable
of shooting full-horsepower .45 Colt loads.
Magnums
In 1934, S&W released the .357 Magnum. It was the first “magnum” cartridge and was named so, advertising its power, separating itself from other cartridges. Fast forward 20+ years, and another Magnum was released, the famous .44 Magnum. While Elmer is mistakenly called the inventor of the .44 Magnum, he merely planted the seeds for the mighty Magnum with his hot-loaded .44 Special cartridges.
Elmer wanted his heavy-loaded .44 Specials going 1,200 FPS, with 250-grain cast bullets of his design to be loaded commercially, but the ammunition manufacturers were wary about the strength of older guns still being used by the public. Remington came up with the solution using a case .1″ longer so it couldn’t be loaded in older .44 Special guns, hence the birth of the .44 Magnum.
Ironically, it was Elmer’s early experimentation with the .45 Colt where he blew up a Colt SAA one fateful Fourth of July morning as a young man, converting him to the .44 Special. I always wondered what would have happened had the Ruger Blackhawk been around during Elmer’s quest of making the .45 Colt more than it was.
Tank’s mid-frames include a TGW Featherweight, top, and a
John Taffin Perfect Packin’ Pistol. What they give up power-wise,
they make up for with convenience and carry comfort.
Name Only?
The .45 Colt has a rather cavernous case capacity. This was necessary for loading the old cartridge, having warhorse status with black powder. But when smokeless powder came around, all that space seemed unnecessary. That is, until the likes of men like John Linebaugh came along. John had vision. He also had a working mind which totally understood the potential the .45 Colt possessed, especially in his custom 5-shot revolvers with strong, oversized cylinders.
An interesting fact John Linebaugh keenly observed was that whatever the .44 Magnum will do, the .45 Colt will do with roughly one half the barrel length, with nearly identical pressures. He further stated that whatever the .44 Magnum is capable of, the .45 Colt can duplicate it with 5,000 psi less pressure. This is with standard weight bullets. As slugs get heavier, the gap widens.
By having a larger powder capacity, the .45 Colt can hold 4-5 grains more powder than the .44 Magnum. The .44 Magnum needs 4,000 more psi to drive a 318-grain bullet the same velocity as the .45 Colt, again, with a barrel nearly twice as long as the .45 Colt. See how the advantage leans towards the grand old .45 Colt?
Ruger Leads the Way
Whether Bill Ruger realized it or not, he did more to promote the .45 Colt than simply making his large-framed revolvers chambered for the old cartridge. His stronger-than-needed sixguns allowed savvy handgunners to load the .45 Colt to a different level than standard mid-framed guns like the Colt SAA. Ruger would later chamber the .45 Colt in mid-frame sixguns at the request of customers shooting in cowboy action matches. These guns CANNOT handle the pressures of the large-frame sixguns.
When Ruger finally released the long-awaited five-shot sixguns through Lipsey’s in .480 Ruger, Ruger simultaneously released a five-shot .454 Casull, which could also handle heavier .45 Colt loads!
Two heavy handloads on the left, a 308-grain Keith SWC and
LBT 320-grain LFNGC, both loaded to around 1,300 FPS, next
to Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman Load for non-handloaders that
want to shoot Magnum .45 Colt loads.
Tank’s Progression
My own .45 Colt indoctrination started with a Ruger stainless Blackhawk sporting a 7.5″ barrel. Shortly after, a blued Bisley with a 7.5″ barrel followed me home. The larger Bisley grip was better for heavy recoiling loads, saving my middle knuckle from bashing against the trigger guard.
Of course, a Redhawk or two joined their brethren in the safe, along with a Lipsey’s Exclusive Bisley Hunter. I could easily scope this gun without drilling/tapping the frame. Lastly was the five-shot .45 Colt/454 Casull revolver. I won’t bore you with the other .45 Colt Rugers I’ve accumulated, but it’s never stopped, and I hope it never will. Heck, it goes without saying I had to get a John Taffin dual cylinder commemorative Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
With all the different frame size Rugers and other makes, just make sure your ammunition is correct for the gun you’re shooting, especially when shooting high-pressure Magnum .45 Colt loads. The .45 Colt has everything I love in a cartridge: history, versatility, reliability, and practicality. So don’t think the .45 Colt is some weak, anemic, old black powder cartridge shot by Fudds. It has more versatility and usefulness than practically any other cartridge out there.
