Heavy 45 Colt in Governor RESULTS

The barrel is rifled. If it weren't, the gun would be classified as Any Other Weapon under the National Firearms Act and would be subject to Federal registration, a $5 tax, and lots of paperwork for transfer.

It would be a better shotgun with a smooth bore, but the accuracy with bullets would be much worse.

I wonder if anyone has legally made one of these (or a Judge) into a smooth bore. I know that S&W made some smooth bore revolvers in the pre-1934 era - has anyone here ever owned or shot one?
 
Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for this. I was looking for some load data on .45 Colt for the Governor, and I think I'm going to shoot for 850fps with a 250gr bullet after reading this. I'll post up the load when I'm done. Thank you for taking the time to throw this up.
 
I'm the friend!

I'm the guy whose governor we ran these loads through. All but the 8.8 were very managable. The 8.8 load felt recoil was bareable for me, but you knew it was hot. I also shot those loads with the factory grips, which are a bit small. I bet with some larger grips I could handle the gun better with those loads. I am currently able to hit bowling pins DA at 15/18 yards with the 8.5 Unique w/240 SWC load, and they seem to fly off the table! So I think that load is probably coming out of my gun at around 775, considering the load data differences presented by roadgunner. I havn't tried from any farther away. I will and let you know.
 
LOL, another year old thread brought back as a Zombie...

Any hot load you put through the Governor is going to feel hot but not deliver the velocity you would get from even a 4" S&W or Ruger. First, the barrel has a slightly larger diameter than it should for 45 Colt bullets because it's really designed for the 410 shotshells. Secondly, it's only a 2.5" barrel and that will add to the loss of velocity. Next you are shooting a 260gr bullet instead of a 250gr bullet and even though it's only 10gr more you will still add to the loss of velocity there too.

IMO 850 fps from a 2.5" Gov is a very hot load and you shouldn't push any further.
 
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Any chrono results from Fed 410 buckshot? I believe it is 4 36cal round balls at approx 70 grains per????
 
At least it was the owner of the gun from the OP's opener that brought the thread back to life. I tried to find a side by side of the Judge and the Gov's cylinders because I know the Judge's cylinder walls look paper thin at the outer edges. I'm just curious how much meat is in the Gov's cylinder walls trying to contain these loads and on top of that they have the stop notch cuts to deal with.
 
roundgunner said:
I have some results.

load---------------------------Governor-------4" 25
260gr RNFP---6.2 Titegroup-----709--------- 780
260gr RNFP---6.5 Titegroup-----751----------805
260gr RNFP---8.5 Unique--------836----------899
260gr RNFP---8.8 Unique--------851----------916

I'm not going to go any hotter. My friend is happy and it is pretty snappy at 850 fps. I would feel pretty good hiking around with it here in the eastern mountains.

A couple bear hunters were going on about the 45 Colt not being enough gun and on and on BUT, we are not talking about hunting bears, we are talking about a light weight revolver he already has to hike with.

I would bet in the last 130+ years many many black bears have been done in with a 45 Colt with no damage to it's owner.
Click to expand...

I was not able to duplicate this. What primer did you use? I only achieved 699 FPS with 8.8 grains of Unique. Two out of ten hit the 730s.

Mike
 
tommy F said:
Any chrono results from Fed 410 buckshot? I believe it is 4 36cal round balls at approx 70 grains per????
Click to expand...

I chrono'd three shots of 2.5" 000 four-pellet buck. They were as follows:

813 FPS
797 FPS
779 FPS

The pellets weigh 61.0 grains each (244.0 grains total). I determined this by dissecting a round and weighing the buckshot.

Mike
 
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roundgunner said:
The primers were Federal
Click to expand...

Standard (not magnum)?

My velocities were way off of yours. I am wondering if I got some bad powder or something.

How about your crimp? I used a Lee FCD set to a medium crimp (contact plus 3/4 turn).

Mike
 
I used a slightly lighter bullet than you did. I was using Berry's 250 GR FP bullets. I thought I might match or exceed your velocity with a 10 grain lighter bullet.

I would be quite happy to come up with a load that hits 850 FPS. So far I have tried Bullseye, Unique, and CFE Pistol. I have not been able to get past about 715 FPS average with any of them.

Mike
 
45 colt, 250 grain lead bullet. 9.0 unique = 900 fps out of my 5?" model 25. Maybe its a 6".

Accurate as can be.

David
 
David R said:
45 colt, 250 grain lead bullet. 9.0 unique = 900 fps out of my 5?" model 25. Maybe its a 6".

Accurate as can be.

David
Click to expand...

The Governor's short barrel makes it a challenge to reload for. 9.0 grains of Unique only pushed a 250 GR FP Berry's plated bullet to 715 FPS average in the Governor. For this load, I used a new Starline case, a CCI 300 primer, an OAL of 1.595", and a medium crimp using a Lee FCD.

With the velocity another forum member was able to get with 8.8 grains of Unique and a 260 grain lead bullet, I am wondering what is wrong with my can of powder. I have had it a few years, but just recently broke the seal on and started using it.

I was also having an issue with extreme spread using Unique and CFE Pistol. My hottest load, which was 9.0 grains of Unique, settled down to a 49 FPS spread, which is acceptable. I tried 9.2 grains of CFE Pistol and only achieved 629 FPS average with a 122 FPS spread. I think Unique and CFE Pistol like to work best when the case is closer to capacity. I am not convinced that these slower burning powders are suitable for use in short barreled revolvers. These loads were all pushing the Berry's 250 GR FP.

Mike
 
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Vortec MAX said:
The Governor's short barrel makes it a challenge to reload for. 9.0 grains of Unique only pushed a 250 GR FP Berry's plated bullet to 715 FPS average in the Governor. For this load, I used a new Starline case, a CCI 300 primer, an OAL of 1.595", and a medium crimp using a Lee FCD.

With the velocity another forum member was able to get with 8.8 grains of Unique and a 260 grain lead bullet, I am wondering what is wrong with my can of powder. I have had it a few years, but just recently broke the seal on and started using it.

I was also having an issue with extreme spread using Unique and CFE Pistol. My hottest load, which was 9.0 grains of Unique, settled down to a 49 FPS spread, which is acceptable. I tried 9.2 grains of CFE Pistol and only achieved 629 FPS average with a 122 FPS spread. I think Unique and CFE Pistol like to work best when the case is closer to capacity. I am not convinced that these slower burning powders are suitable for use in short barreled revolvers. These loads were all pushing the Berry's 250 GR FP.

Mike
Click to expand...

That Is likely your reloading setup or technique. Gun to gun variations can be quite large, so taking info from one shooter & trying to match it in your gun is pointless. The load will be what it is in your gun, no way around that. If you want higher vel with lower pressures, go to a slower powder like Longshot or BlueDot, even 2400. Even in the shorter bbl, you'll always get higher vel with slower powders, even ins short bbl, but pay for that in greater muzzle blast. A 250gr lead bullet @ 800fps should be easy to achieve unless your gun is really sloppy, oversize chamber & large cyl gap. Plated will be slower, more friction & not as good a seal in the bbl.
 
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This all seems like going to a ton of trouble to fail to duplicate good old hard ball .45 acp out of a 1911.

The Governor is a novelty item in my humble opinion and not to be taken seriously as a defensive firearm.

Just my opinion, of course.
 
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