1917 Conflicting Answers!?

[Jack Flash]

Thanks so much for the input! So does this mean that the revolver will be safe to shoot with 45acp even tho the cylinder has been bored out? Or is the stability of the gun compromised now?

The standard answer is: "If you have any doubts, have a qualified gunsmith check it over."

The above is never a bad idea... but I personally would not hesitate to shoot it with .45 ACP or .45 Auto Rim. As I said before, I would put away or sell the .45 Colt rounds.

 

[Jack Flash]

Buff:
IIRC, Colt M1917s originally were bored straight through, ie, without any shoulder at all. Thus, these early Colt revolvers HAD TO USE MOON CLIPS. I expect that .45 Colt would chamber and fire in them, sans moon clips of course, but how safe this practice is I cannot say.

Later on, Colt began to put shoulders in the chambers. (Perhaps the Army told them to? You would think that in an emergency it would be helpful to be able to load and fire the revolver even if the clips were not close at hand.)

 

[BUFF]

Yes, some of the early Colt 1917's had bored-through chambers with no step. The Army had Colt manufacture replacement cylinders, as those were not to specification, and was pretty thorough at swapping them out at depot level maintainance stops. You don't see many of them with the bad, non-stepped cylinders.

My Colt has steps in the chambers.

 

[Hoffa626]

would this ammo be safe to fire in this revolver?

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=520804

what does +P mean?
the site says "Please note that this ammunition is not intended for older guns. It is made for modern firearms only, as some of the ammunition could damage older and weaker firearms."

So to state my main goal, I spend a lot of time in the Rocky mountains and was hoping to be able to carry this revolver as my new side arm for bears.
it is a far cheaper solution than purchasing a ruger redhawk since i already own the da45.

 

[bettis1]

Hoffa,

The term "+P" means different things to different folks. In general, it is used to indicate that the ammo has been loaded to, or very near to, the maximum acceptable pressure for that cartridge.

I certainly would not shoot +P in your gun. If you weigh the cost of an emergency evac. from the Rockies, the cost of the hospital care, the treatment of hand/eye injuries and the possible loss of them caused from a catastrophic failure, I can't imagine that a rational decision could choose that over the cost of a new Ruger.

Bob

 

[Muley Gil]

I would NOT shoot +P .45 ACP in a 1917 revolver. Nor would I depend on a .45 ACP in a modern revolver or pistol for anti-bear use either.

Since there is a chance of running up on Old Griz, I'd prefer at least a .41 Magnum. I have a M629 .44 Magnum Mountain Gun that would be my choice for a lightweight bear gun.

 

[The Wizard]

I agree with Muley Gil, a .45 ACP revolver is a poor choice for four legged critter protection. A good choice for two legger critters though. To be honest with you I have spent a lot of time in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and can count on one hand, with fingers left over, the number of times I have come across a bear and reached for a firearm. I would have to take off both shoes to count the times I was concerned about two legged critters.

 

[BoDog]

I had a friend shoot a wild pig with a gold cup, he hit it in the area above the eyes. he said he knew he was in trouble when it just shook his head, it took body hits to kill it. 45 ball is not the answer.

 

[dsf]

would this ammo be safe to fire in this revolver?

Buffalo Bore Ammunition 45 Auto Rim (Not ACP) +P 200 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point Box of 20 - MidwayUSA

what does +P mean?
the site says "Please note that this ammunition is not intended for older guns. It is made for modern firearms only, as some of the ammunition could damage older and weaker firearms."

So to state my main goal, I spend a lot of time in the Rocky mountains and was hoping to be able to carry this revolver as my new side arm for bears.
it is a far cheaper solution than purchasing a ruger redhawk since i already own the da45.

I own a few older 45 ACP revolvers and do not put anything like +P or even the slightly souped up 45 ACP defense rounds. True the ACP is in general a low pressure round and a few rounds will probably not do any damage, but even a hot loaded 45 ACP isn't going to help you much against bears. If you want to carry it for "everything but" bears I'd go with the heaviest lead slug you can find.

BTW, I recently retired my Smith 657 in favor of the Redhawk for carrying in Oregon bear company.