The .45 Special v. the .45 AR

[tennexplorer]

These cases should work GREAT in my Model 25-3.. They have short 45ACP

cylinders, but are chambered in 45 Long Colt.. Standard 255 gr boolits

are too long for the 25-3.. 45 AR brass rim is also too THICK... l am gonna get some

You may like the Schofield brass better. It will work fine in a 25.

 

[wild47]

I can see that if you're using D/A revolvers with speed loaders the shorter length rounds may allow faster reloads than the longer Colt case's, of course this would only benefit competition events.

On another note, I'm a bit attracted to the idea of using the .45 specials in a lever action rifle, get the power of .45 acp rounds and with the shorter length case's ... more rounds in the magazine tube. Like using .38 spl's in .357 mag or .22 shorts in a .22 L.R. lever action rifle. It would definitely benefit any Trapper models in .45 Colt.

 

[DWalt]

Some may recognize that the .45 Cowboy case is very close dimensionally to the Model 1906 .45 revolver ammunition (sometimes called the .45 Special) used for the Army's 1906-1907 pistol trials. Except that the Model 1906 had a slightly longer case length of 0.92". The .45 Cowboy case is really nothing new.

 

[veeman]

I like shooting my Ruger Flattop 45 ACP cylinder with the 45 , Special brass. Fits perfectly, as that's what it's designed for. Great for fun plinking, very accurate with cast 230gr bullets.

 

[old tanker]

I think the rim on 45 AR is thicker.

I also believe the 45 AR is by no means obsolete and will only increase in use as 45 acp revolver are become more popular again.

My old model of 1955 45 acp revolver can not be made to shoot accurately with 45 acp cases.

With throat matched cast bullets and 45 AR cases it is amazingly accurate.

I believe in general that 45 AR cases in a 45 acp revolver will increase accuracy over the acp cases.

Had similar experience with my Model 25-2. GI hardball always shot so high that you had to hold on the bottom of the target frame on the 25 yard rapid fire target and the group would barely fit on #3 washtub. My buddy had a M1937 that looked like it spent its life in the bilge of a Brazilian submarine that would shoot rings around it!

Loading 185-200 grain lead wadcutters in auto rim brass improved things a lot. Still, if the bullets were large enough in diameter to fit the throats, with some brass there would be rounds that were difficult to chamber.

Altogether an exceedingly annoying revolver, but damn it was pretty!

 

[Walkingwolf]

The new short cases will probably chamber in any of the 45acp guns, but if the rim sits on the cylinder face they will have way excessive head space, .030 more than it should be. Thats why the 45 ar has such a thick rim.

If you loaded the new short 45 cases with the brass trimmed to the same overall length as a 45 acp and used a tapered crimp they should work vial head spacing the same way rimless cartridges do in semi autos, on the case mouth.

But, then I own 4 S&W revolvers that fire 45 acp and own no 45ar brass. I do own about 100 moon clips and lots of acp brass. With the right equipment loading and unloading the clips is so simple and nothing beats them for reloading your gun.

I think I paid about $3.00 for my unload tool at Lowe's Lumber. A copper expansion tube for a water heater once filed works great. Holds six loaded rounds, and about 7 spent cases.

 

[SLT223]

Hopefully this video will answer most of your questions:
Review On New 45 Cowboy Special Brass From Starline

Yes it did. It seems you are talking apples and oranges unless you are comparing load density. 45 Special, geometrically speaking, cannot functionally replace 45 Colt, unless I'm misunderstanding something.