45 Colt in 454 and 460

[goodconcretecolor]

As 44 special can be fired in 44 magnum, can 45 colt be fired in 454 or 460? I have heard both yes and no. Looking at drawings of 45 LC and 454, the 454 cartridge is .002" smaller in OD per SAAMI specs. The 45 would be tight and may not release the bullet on firing in a 454 chamber as it should, possbly causing high pressure.

[kynardsj]

The answer to your question is yes. All can be fired thru a 460 S&W Mag. Sometimes not accurately as the bullet has to make a jump to the rifling. I had a 460 Encore barrel that shot 45 LC's great. Then I also had a S&W 460 XVR that slung 45 LC's everywhere.

[Catfish]

One of the big selling point of the 454 was that you could shoot 45 Long Colt ammo in it. They all shoot the same dia. bullets, kinda like the old 22`s marked for Shorts, Longs and Long Rifles. The max. chamber presures of the 454 and 460 are a lot higher than that of the old 45 Colt round so it is safe in eather. You probly would not want to rechamber most of the 45 Colt gun to chamber the 454 or 460 due to there much higher chamber presure.

[Graybeard]

Make that a qualified yes.

Due to the tight tolerances in their guns Freedom Arms specifically states you should NOT fire shorter rounds in their guns. Most other brands with looser tolerances say it's OK.

It can be a real pain in the butt tho if you do a lot of shooting of the shorter rounds before cleaning out the chamber areas as crud will build up at the end of the case and especially in FA guns can prevent chambering the longer round.

I've done it with S&W .357 Magnums for a lot of years but don't do it in my FA guns.

[irold]

Seems like you have your answer.....yes, on most counts...tho there's an exception.    My Super Redhawk , 454, is marked on the cylinder : 45 Colt , 454 casull .....as GB said , Freedom Arms does not recommend it in their revolvers.
 
regards , irold

[tacklebury]

Freedom arms does offer to make you a second cylinder to shoot .45 colts in, for a price of course.  They simply don't agree with shooting the shorter ones in the long cylinders. 

[KAYR1]

My buddy adn I fired some of my heavy "Ruger Only" .45 Colt loads out of his .460. In that big revolver, they were like shooting wadcutters out of a N Frame .357, maybe softer! Point is, in the S&W revolver, it is a great selling point. Imagine the 454 Casull being the "midrange" load! I want one.....