Shoot .45 ACP in .45 Long Colt

[Glenn Lynn]

Okay! If you can shoot .38 Special ammo in a gun chambered for .357 Magnum, can you shoot .45 ACP ammo in a .45 Long Colt (Taurus Judge). The reason I ask is that it seems to be very difficult to find .45 Long Colt ammo. Sorry! I do not have either .45 ACP or .45 Long Colt in my hand to compare the two. The difference may be obvious.

[knight0334]

Originally Posted by Glenn Lynn

Okay! If you can shoot .38 Special ammo in a gun chambered for .357 Magnum, can you shoot .45 ACP ammo in a .45 Long Colt (Taurus Judge). The reason I ask is that it seems to be very difficult to find .45 Long Colt ammo. Sorry! I do not have either .45 ACP or .45 Long Colt in my hand to compare the two. The difference may be obvious.

Headspacing.. Research that term.. Rimless cartridges headspace on the mouth of the casing. Where as rimmed cartridges headspace on the rim.

The only way that you could shoot 45acp in a 45Colt is to have the cylinder cut to use moon clips. ...so without having it machined, no - you cannot.

[Glenn Lynn]

Thanks for the answer, Knight0034.

[Lucas]

Even moon clips wouldn't be a very good solution. ACP chamber base diameter is .476, while 45 colt base diameter is .480. ACP neck diameter is .473, while 45 colt chamber is .480 at the neck. Those chamber dimensions may lead to casings splitting or rupturing.

Yes, there are a number of companies that will gladly mill your cylinder for you, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

[edward8612@charter.net]

.45 acp now comes also with rims. Haven't tried it yet, but it should work in the Taurus Judge. The bullet diameter of both the 45 colt and 45 acp is .451".
There will be about a 1/4" space after the end of the acp bullet but before the beginning of where the cylinder narrows. This could mess up the inside of the cylinder a little. Also, the acp's pressure is 21,000 compared to the colt's 14,000. So BEWARE!

[Lucas]

Even 45 auto rim is not a good match for a 45 colt cylinder. Yes, they share bullet diameter, but they don't share case diameter.

[Dave_n]

The difference in case diameter between 45AR and 45 Colt is not a problem. A fair number of S&W 0.455 cylinders were bored through for 45 Colt and they work very well with 45AR. Been there, done that (and still do). The only potential problem is the relative thickness of the two rims. Would have to try the cases in a specific gun. Why not simply "roll your own"? I have been doing do for years; a slight expenditure up front but over time the costs are roughly 40-50% of new, and you can tailor your load to your own level of "happiness!" Dave_n