45 Colt vs. 45 ACP - is there a difference in rifling?

akriet

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Did/does S&W use the same rifling in barrels for guns chambered in 45 Colt and 45 ACP, or are there any differences - twist, depth of rifling, or groove/bore dimensions?
 
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Sir, I don't know about now, but they used to be different. Rifling in .45 Colts was five-groove, while .45 ACP was six-groove and shallower for jacketed bullets. Bore and groove diameters differed, too, but more according to era than chambering.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.
 
Actually, there are still differences in rifling between most S&W Revolvers and the .45 ACP revolvers. The .45 ACP's still have narrow, six land rifling while S&W's "standard" is five wide lands.

My 625's shoot really well, so I don't consider it a "downer". All my revolvers see is my own cast bullets. I have heard people complain about the "new" barrels but I have shot both of mine and several of my friends' 625 revolvers and they shoot really well (625-6 and 625-8's). I'm talking under 1" at 25 yards.

If you try to shoot commercial soft swaged bullets at elevated velocities, I suppose that could cause a problem, but with my own cast bullets I see NO problem whatsoever with bullets of varying designs.

FWIW
Dale53
 
I believe where this really shows up is with the older 25-2 vs 25-5 guns. The 25-5 45 Colt had deep rifling and would shoot lead bullets just fine. The 25-2 Model 1955 Targets had shallow rifling, and did not shoot most lead bullets well.

Bob
 

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