CIL .455 Colt

[ddixie884]

That four and a half inch barrel New Service is a doozy. Also as far as I’m concerned that CIL is the best factory ammo load ever in .455. Great ballistics. The right case, bullet and 100fps better velocity. JMHO – YMMV

 

[kaaskop49]

Cool thread! I'd read about this cartridge on p. 251 of the old Stebbins book, "Pistols, A Modern Encyclopedia." from 1961, but I'd never seen a photo of it. Thanks to those above who did. C-I-L had some interesting loads years ago, the above .455 Colt being one. IIRC, there was a 265 or 275 gr .303 round. Back then, rarely a problem crossing the border. Driver's was enough and bags almost never searched.

I'd buy 'leftover' ammo from small local sporting goods stores that had lost their firearms trade. Pistol permit was enough: they'd sell you any caliber to turn up a few bucks. I once bought 5 100rd boxes of RWS CB caps for $1.50 each, MUCH quieter than the modern CCI versions.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[jeeps]

Lee makes dies and starline brass ,you can load your own.

 

[murphydog]

From a little internet sleuthing, it appears C-I-L (Canadian Industries Limited) "Dominion" brand ceased production in about 1976 after the company was bought out by IVI (Industries Valcartier Inc), which made the "Imperial" brand. They in turn stopped making ammunition in about 1984. Apparently IVI was bought by General Dynamics and may still make powder/propellant.

There is also a reference to a SDI company making ammunition in India which may have some sort of connection to IVI.

 

[glowe]

So what's a full box of the Dominion CIL 455 Colt going for nowadays?

Just ran across a box that sold for $53. Oc course shipping and handling has to be added.

Item # 31614 (Ended 2023-06-02 23:23:48) - CIL, Dominion, 455 Colt, 265 Grain Lead, Full, 1pc. Multi-colore...

 

[Jack Flash]

I would gladly pay $53 for a 50 round box of NOS Dominion/CIL .455
You'd pay that (or more) for a box of .45 Colt these days.

 

[ddixie884]

Lee makes dies and starline brass ,you can load your own.

Not really, Starline brass is Mark II. To match CIL specs in this short case would cause an over pressure event.

 

[Model19man]

Lee makes dies and starline brass ,you can load your own.

Starline does not show .455 Colt at all.

 

[Model19man]

Not really, Starline brass is Mark II. To match CIL specs in this short case would cause an over pressure event.

And the Starline 455 Webley is out of stock and backordered.

 

[ddixie884]

If it says backorder and you need some get on the list. That means they're about to make a run...........

 

[ddixie884]

I wrote to star line several Times when they were talking about making .455 Webley trying to get them to make the mark I case. It would’ve worked on anything in .455 and would have been so much better.

 

[Rock185]

Don't remember what I paid for it, but I bought some of the Fiocchi .455 about 4 years ago. Seems like I got it from SG ammo. I chronographed it in my old MKVI Webley with 6" barrel. It averaged a very leisurely 554 FPS. Looks like CIL ballistics, if as fast as published, exceeds the Flocci ammo I tested by quite a bit.

BTW, throat diameter on my old Webley measures .450". A bit tighter than many might expect. Some other Webley owners have reported their guns have throats measuring .450" also. The .452" cast bullets and .451" plated bullets shoot well in my old gun. I wondered if my Webley would even be on the paper at 15 yards, but it did better than I expected.
A pulled bullet from a factory Fiocchi round measured .454", and weighed 263.4 grains..

 

[470Evans]

I have several 455s, both Colt New Services as well as a Smith. I shoot the CIL 455 Colt brass in them and I'm always on the prowl for more.

I recently picked up a box of unfired, unloaded 455 Colt CIL brass on Gunsinternational for $35 plus shipping that I thought was a steal.

The throats on the Colts all measure .456 and the Smith measures .457 as measured with pin gauges.