Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds 45 Colt Target loads "Cowboy Special" brass

Friends

I have just completed a run somewhat unique .45 caliber revolver ammunition.

This is .45 Cowboy Special.







The .45 Cowboy Special is a .45 Colt, cut down to .45 ACP length. The idea was for a shorter case for lighter loads when you are not loading heavy "Bear/Elk" etc loads. It is a far more efficient case and you end up with much better accuracy as a result.



These loads are 200 grain Hardcast Semi Wadcutters.

Velocity averaged 935 FPS using my Ruger BlackHawk with 4 & 5/8th" barrel.

When I get my hands on a longer barrel .45 Colt I will post up some numbers, as I don't have a 7.5" .45 Colt, but I would be curious to know the #s.


I did a fair amount of T&E and found the "sweet spot", wanting a tack driving load and this is definitely it.

These are 5 shot ( A shade under 25 yards) groups and I am quite positive that the single hole outside the tiny cluster in each group is the fault of the operator and not the load/gun.





Suffice to say, this one is where my testing stopped!

With a 200 grain SWC in a .45 Colt revolver, the recoil is quite reasonable. I found myself really wanting to shoot these a LOT! lol Its definitely one that would be a superb all around load for small game, small/medium game, or even HD if you wanted to use it for that role.


Here is a pic of the .45 Cowboy Special next to standard .45 Colt brass to give a comparison:





And to stop all the chicken little theorists that come out of the woodwork every time; NO it is not going to lead up your chambers and cause your gun to explode. It is no different than shooting .38 Specials in a .357, .44 Specials in a .44 Magnum, etc.

Continuing on.


This is produced in new Starline brass.

Price includes shipping and insurance.

It is $115 per 100 rounds to your door, which after S&I works out to about $45 per box of 50.

They will come packaged in 100 round hard side plastic ammo containers for their protection and for your later use, re-use.







* No, I don't sell them in boxes of 20. The shipping (not to mention packaging) is so costly that it makes no sense to do so .



Post the amount you want followed with a PM, so I can keep track please.

I have 1,400 rounds available at the moment.

I take Venmo, USPS Money order, or checks (once cleared by the bank). I do not take paypal.

Please post the amount you want followed by a PM.


You have to be 21 since it is handgun ammo. Will only ship to places where legal and it is your responsibility to know your local laws. No shipping to restricted states or jurisdictions. CONUS only, and I do not ship to, MA, DC, CT, CA or other locations with restrictions.



FAQs


YES, I am a licensed manufacturer of ammunition.
NO, These are not "re-loads" this is new manufactured ammunition, using new components.
NO, I am not interested in trades of old brass.
NO, for a multitude of reasons I do not disclose what powder types or amounts are used in the manufacturing of the ammunition.
NO, I am not currently producing any rifle ammunition.
NO, returns of ammunition are not accepted. Know what you are ordering, before you order.




Thanks all.

This may be a dumb question but would these function in a 45 auto rimmed revolver then?

The .45 Auto Rim and .45 Colt have different rim thickness dimensions as well as diameters. I would expect that you would have some functioning issues.

These should work in a 45 auto cylinder of a Ruger single action tho, right?

I have a 7.5” Blackhawk if you wanna send me some for, you know, testing purposes.

It is a shortened .45 COLT cartridge case

The ammunition works in .45 COLT cylinders.


It does NOT work in .45 ACP cylinders.

.45 COLT and .45 ACP cartridge cases have two different rim types.

Specific to Blackhawks.

Blackhawk .45 ACP cylinders have always been notoriously short throated. They will chamber factory ball ammo, but for example, not take a typical LSWC with any part of the driving band over the rim of the case.

When I built my custom Flattop .45 convertible, I had my ACP cylinder chambers reamed deeper to accept standard loads that were normally shot in autos.





Again,

This ammo is for .45 COLT guns NOT ACP guns.

Thanks for clearing that up. Had always heard they “should” work in the ACP cylinders. Glad to know they won’t!

This may help:

Left to Right

1st 3 cartridges are .45 ACP (semi auto rounds), the last is a .45 Colt Cowboy (revolver round)

#1 Factory 230 grain ball,
#2 Factory 230 grain JHP,
#3 200 grain SWC loaded to an optimal cartridge overall to run in semi autos,
#4 200 grain SWC Colt Cowboy

They are shown next to a large frame unmodified Ruger Blackhawk .45 ACP (NOT .45 Colt) cylinder.



Now with the cartridges in the cylinder:






They are in the same order
1 through 4.

You can see the two factory .45 ACP cartridges fit flush and with rotate the cylinder.
However, if you were to use a standard 200 grain SWC loaded for optimal use in a semi auto such as a 1911, you see that it does not chamber properly in the cylinder and will not cycle.

The same applies with the .45 Colt Cowboy revolver cartridge.

You "could " if it was your desire, deep seat the projectile into the case and have it work, but there are issues that come up when doing so. It simply depends on your end goals.

I honestly cannot afford to take the time away from the business to discuss all the what ifs. But I hope this helps answer some of the questions for some folks.

Cheers Friends!!

UUUPP!

UP!

BUMP!

I will take a hundred Ted...

You got it!

1,300 rounds

13 boxes left.

Here is a pic of the .45 Cowboy Special next to a .45 Schofield, and a .45 Colt/Long Colt.

Went out shooting some more.

3-5 shot groups over bags. Tried a couple different techniques and found that the gun did not do well with the heel resting on the bags, as noted by group 2. It really opened the group up. But at 20 yards this short .45 Colt/Cowboy Special shoots little, tiny groups!

UP!

11 boxes left!

Sir, Who makes the picatinny mount for the Ruger Blackhawk that you have pictured.
Thank you

The mount is a Weigand weigatinny mount. You can get them on Amazon or direct from the site. I have a few and they are very good bases.

10 boxes left

bump