Was there a concealable S&W .45 Colt

[Ed4032]

The 1909 Colt Army revolver will take 45 Colt. It was a stop gap between the old west 45 and the 1917 revolver. It replaced the ill fated 1901 32 revolver. They did not make very many.

 

[NOTREDAME]

.45 colt to carry

I picked this one up in 2009.
Here is a 25-2 that was set up for .45 Long colt. With a good belt and holster it’s not bad to carry, but the majority of the time it’s in a shoulder holster during cooler weather. It weighs in at 40 oz loaded.
The last picture is a .357. 44 special, 44 mag, jovino 45apc and
The .45 LC

 

[CH4]

Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a 45 Colt snubnose, but I do have have alternative big bore snubbies that I occasionally ccw.

24-3
696
629-1
396
625-3

 

[StrawHat]

Here is my edc, a Model 22-4 and the OWB scabbard I prefer.

Kevin

 

[pantannojack]

Why would one choose .45 Colt over .44 Special?

 

[StrawHat]

Why would one choose .45 Colt over .44 Special?

Blonde or brunette?

Both cartridges have cult like followers but the reality is a +/- 250 grain projectile flying at 950-1100 fps is the same regardless of the .02” difference in diameter.

Kevin

 

[DR505]

Why would one choose .45 Colt over .44 Special?

I am a .45 Colt fan...I have more of these than anything else in revolvers. I just never warmed up to the .44 Special. At this stage of life I don't see buying any .44s, but I am already planning on picking up a new .45 Colt.

Here are some of mine...these are all 25-9s:

 

[Doug M.]

The ballistic envelope of .44 special/45ACP/45 Colt has more overlap than not. One need not load any of them to higher levels for personal defense use against human assailants. I have a 296 (fanny pack gun for dog walking); I have a 4" 629 converted to 45 ACP (Bowen) and a 5" M25-7. Any one of them will do just fine for the uses I would have for them. I suspect that some day I will buy a good chest rig for the 5". I also have a 4" .44 mag and load it with the same ammo as the 296.

Personally, I would not below a 3" barrel in most of those calibers, mostly for ergonomic reasons.

 

[Denverd0n]

I have a 3" model 65 that I like quite a lot. I always thought that S&W should make a clone of that gun (3", fixed sights, round butt), but make it a 5-shot .44 special. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat.

I guess I wouldn't mind if they did it in a .45 Colt, or even an ACP, but I really prefer .44 spcl.

 

[steelslaver]

Here is my edc, a Model 22-4 and the OWB scabbard I prefer.

Kevin

Drooling thinking about those grips, Sweet holster too.

 

[robvious]

the Taurus 450 Ultra-lite is a lightweight 5 shot 45 Colt.. discontinued, and getting difficult to find, but a solid mighty pipsqueek if you can get one... have never tried "big" loads, but quite manageable with cowboy loads

 

[StrawHat]

Drooling thinking about those grips, Sweet holster too.

The grips are from Ken Driskill, smooth elk, with plenty of skin oil rubbed into them over the years.

The holster was written about here,

My latest Sunday Scabbard

Kevin

 

[clang444]

Here is a WWI era .455 Hand Ejector that has been reamed to .45 Colt and had its barrel nipped to ~3":


Fixed sites and reasonable weight. 6 shot instead of 5, but it might fit your bill. A set of rubber grips would soften recoil, but also add bulk and weight.


As previously mentioned, plenty of 1917s have had their barrels cut down. Here's a commercial version with the barrel nipped to 4". The grips are original and have matching SN:

It must have been a copper's gun at some point that wanted a 4" barrel for duty carry. Or maybe the end of the barrel was damaged and cutting off the damaged part was the fix...

 

[LittleAugieMo]

For correct answer see 22hipower post on 1917

 

[Grayfox]

I'm a big fan of the .45 Colt and the guns S&W has made for them.
Some years back I got an itch for a snubby, but couldn't find one. So I made my own.
28-2 frame, 25-5 cylinder, 25-2 barrel and some odds and ends ended up as this.

 

[colt_saa]

The recoil on the scandium framed big bores with heavy bullets is considerable.

But with this highly modified 1917, recoil is much easier to deal with.
45 colt cylinder cut for acp in moon clips, cut down 1950 barrel, cur down grip frame and milled for adj rear sight

The original serial number is still attached

Yes the 44 special and the 45acp are ballistically similar and the 455 super is an option, butt it you want to launch a heavy slug with a big frontal area, the 45 colt is the king.

Another option is to ream a 45acp cylinder deep enough to chamber DOWNLOADED 45 win mags. A cylinder set up to fire 45 colts and 45acp in moon clips is able to do just that BTW. I would not be willing to try it with factory 45 win mag ammo at 40,000psi however. But it is possible to launch a 260 gr slug at 1,1000fps using those cases in revolver. But, I have never done it in using the modified 325 as the recoil would be brutal IMHO

If you use the 45 super brass you can push the 255 grain lead flat point at ~1,200 FPS in an unmodified Model 25/325/625 revolver. For personal defense I have been running 45 SUPER in my 2 3/8" Behlert for decades

For pine I use a 230 JHP at ~1,300 FPS im my 625 V-Comp

 

[colt_saa]

Why would one choose .45 Colt over .44 Special?

The 45 Long Colt has been around for decades longer than the 44 special

Personally I cannot think of anything that the 44 Special does that the 45 Long Colt can't do already.

The 44 Special just never comes to mind when I'm thinking of a big bore revolver

 

[BLUEDOT37]

If you use the 45 super brass you can push the 255 grain lead flat point at ~1,200 FPS in an unmodified Model 25/325/625 revolver.

Mark, tell me this is a typo??

A 255gr LSWC in a 45ACP case out of a 2-3/4" bbl at 1200fps?

45 Super brass is no longer than 45ACP & has slightly less case capacity. That bullet takes up about half of the case capacity, or more, of a 45ACP case (27.3gr/H²O).

I can't concoct a bullet/powder combo in QuickLoad that will reach 1200fps without astronomical pressures, far exceeding what the thin chambers of a S&W 45 cylinder are designed for & in that length barrel.

That would seem like a pretty hot load even in the bigger 45 Colt case in a S&W 625 & its longer barrel.

I try to limit my 45ACP revolvers to 45 Super level loads (~28K psi), even in my 25.6% larger 45WSM case's loads I developed for my 325TR

.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Alternative to 45 Colt in a 45ACP revolver: 45WSM

As I've rebutted before reaming a 45ACP cylinder to accept 45 Win Magnum (45WM) cases is tempting fate, IMO, & if something can possibly go wrong it will.

That's why I came up with that same case shortened to 45 S&W Schofield length to use in reamed 45ACP cylinders which I call the 45WSM.

Full length 45WM cases are too long for the cylinder to close when properly reamed for the 45WSM.

I've chrono tested Rim Rock's 270gr LSWC bullets, which I added gas checks to, at 1100fps in my 4" M325TR with the 45WSM cylinder installed.

Recoil is stout in the 325TR's Sc frame (a full lug 5" M625 would be better) but its not brutal like 44 Magnums are in my 329PD.

That same modified 45WSM cylinder does fit my 325NG, which would be more concealable, but I have no reasonable need to leave it in that revolver though it would fit the criteria for a "45 Colt power" snubby.

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[steelslaver]

I picked this one up in 2009.
Here is a 25-2 that was set up for .45 Long colt. With a good belt and holster it’s not bad to carry, but the majority of the time it’s in a shoulder holster during cooler weather. It weighs in at 40 oz loaded.
The last picture is a .357. 44 special, 44 mag, jovino 45apc and
The .45 LC

I like it. That was probably done by cutting the heavy barrel on both end. The muzzle end right over the end of the ejector shroud, then the rear shoulder and shroud were trimmed.