S&W .455 Inquiry?
- Thread starter nthrut9
- Start date
As noted before, it appears the cylinder breech face has been shaved for .45 Colt. Here is a picture of my .455 HE 1st Model that was modified for .45 Colt. The headspace appears similar.
The cylinder face serial is removed when this is done.
The cylinder face serial is removed when this is done.
DWalt
Member
The chambers of a .455 can be converted to accept .45 Colt cartridges rather easily and inoffensively. And they will remain completely usable with .455 ammunition. I wouldn't recommend doing that with a high-condition example, but for one in lower cosmetic condition that I wanted to shoot, I wouldn't hesitate to convert it. Converting to .45 ACP is butchery.
Baltimoreed11754
Member
This cylinder has been rebated as opposed to shaved. A 45colt chamber reamed was run into the chambers but only as far as half the rim thickness. The 45colt round will chamber while the larger diameter .455 case rests on the cylinder's unmolested face. I have a couple modified that way.
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DWalt
Member
Precisely as I was talking about previously.
margethatcher
Member
I would love to see a picture of the recoil shield. Shaved fish?
The gap looks the same as on my unmolested one. Try a 45 Colt round, it probably won't fit. .455 ammo isn't all that easy to find but Midway had some from a production run (forget by whom) a year or two ago and those show up occasionally. And sometimes a gun show will still produce WWII era ammo although those are probably more collector items than for shooting at this point.
Jeff
SWCA #1457
Jeff
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Fiocchi has offered 455 ammo off and on over the last few years. Hornady also sold 455 ammo just a few years ago (I suspect Fiocchi made the cases for them) and both show up at gun shows fairly often here in the midwest. The OP says (in one of his comments) that there is a serial number on the cylinder so that would seem to eliminate the cylinder being shaved. If it has been rechambered to 45 Colt that is easily checked by simply attempting to load one. An unmodified chamber won't accept a 45 Colt round. The only other mod I've seen is a shaved breech face which allows using case made from Colt brass. Or modern made Schofield brass as one I bought came with a partial box of Cowboy 45 Schofield ammo (and the fired brass as well). That one actually works just fine with 455 ammo as well despite the rather loose head space.
DWalt
Member
Undoubtedly there are sources (most probably internet) for .455 ammunition, but I have seen none for a long time.
i have no desire to shoot this. I own over 120 S&W, Colt, and High Standards. Would be interested in selling or trading this for something else to go w/ what I already have. I'm 75 years old, and all this will be left to my nephew.
handejector
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Not always.
I have seen 45 Colt conversions that had filed away material from the recoil shield to make room for the thicker 45 Colt rims.
Not always.
I have seen 45 Colt conversions that had filed away material from the recoil shield to make room for the thicker 45 Colt rims.
I stand corrected! rejected and dejected......
but not neglected!
Not always.
I have seen 45 Colt conversions that had filed away material from the recoil shield to make room for the thicker 45 Colt rims.
Don't forget the conversions where the cylinders were slightly countersunk for the thicker .45 Colt rims.
A clear picture of the rear face of the cylinder would help.
A few years ago Starline ran some 0.455 cases, and Jet bullets in Alberta made the correct 265 grain bullets for 0.455 Mk II cartridges. They work well in my Commercial Mark VI one of the last made and probably a refugee from SA, and a S&W Mk II . Dave_n
Here are some pictures of a 455 cylinder that has been converted to 45 colt using the partial recess method. Notice the small shallow recesses. It still fires 455 as they have a wider rim
Although they don't show well in the photos there is a step in the chambers where the colt cases end. I purchased my 455 Triple-lock with this alteration already done to it. The recesses where a bit shallow though and the 45 colt cases drug a bit on recoil shield so I made them just a tiny bit deeper.
an unmolested 455 2nd model
Although they don't show well in the photos there is a step in the chambers where the colt cases end. I purchased my 455 Triple-lock with this alteration already done to it. The recesses where a bit shallow though and the 45 colt cases drug a bit on recoil shield so I made them just a tiny bit deeper.
an unmolested 455 2nd model
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