load 45acp with your 45colt dies?

[Gallahad]

maybe a dumb question, but can it be done? particularly for the ruger b.hawk convertible?

[SharonAnne]

i am not sure of the .45 Colt brass diameter, but it is MUCH longer than the .45acp and I doubt you can lower the crimp die enough for a proper crimp.

[Reed1911]

Short answer, yes, no, maybe.

It may size the brass enough for the cylinder, I've almost seen all .45ACP revolvers have a looser chamber than my 1911's (most are match cut so that has a lot to with it), but I'd give it a shot. The crimp will not be available, but if you are just shooting 230g at 700-750 you should not need it. Try it out and see, if it works go for it if not Lee dies will work for you if you want to save a few pennies.

[Blackhawk44]

If you were desperate you could load and crimp Colts with ACP dies, but Colt dies would not crimp ACP's.  It is far easier to buy seperate dies for each caliber.  As Reed said, while inexpensive, Lee would be fine for these applications.

[ricciardelli]

For around $35 you can buy a set of RCBS carbide dies...

Use the right tool for the job...

[coyotejoe]

The .45 Colt is only .004" larger in base diameter than the .45 ACP and most carbide sizing dies resize the case excessively so "probably" it will work. As mentioned you will not be able to crimp the case with the Colt dies but, also as mentioned, you may not need to do so. I fired a lot of .45 ACP reloads from an old 1917 S&W revolver and never did crimp a round, sometimes I didn't even seat the bullet down to the crimp groove and never experienced any problem.

[BIG Dog454]

I've used 45 colt dies to reload 45 ACP, and used 45 acp dies to size 45 colt, also use 45 colt dies to reload .454 casull, seems to work with my guns; just give it a try.  It may work for you too.