45 colt

[Neutron]

Picked up a 45 colt 10" octagon barrel from Ed.  It is just a straight 45 no .410 choke.   Shoots pretty good.  I have not chrono'ed the load but am shooting 250gr xtps somewhere around 1000fps or so.  Shot them out of my ruger bisley (5.5" barrel) and out of the G2.  The contender seemed to have a lot more oommph  (a highly technical term).  Must be going a couple of hundered fps faster I am guessing.  I will chrono out of both when I am feeling lucky and like maybe I won't shoot my chrono.  Anyone already done a comparison like that and figured out what to expect in velocity difference with jacketed bullets?  I am thinking that TC should be making a 14" in 45 colt with none of the choke/410 stuff.

[New Hampshire]

Boy you said it!  In New Hampshire we are only allowed to use certain handgun calibers in shotgun only hunting zones.  So Ive decided that down the line I will get a .454 casull bbl and shoot .45 Colts through it rather than diddle around with the .410 choked bbls.  I have no need, nor any desire, to use a .410 in a pistol.  Ive read a bit on the dual prupose bbls and the concensus seems to be a drop in velocity and accuracy than a dedicated .45 colt bbl.
Brian M.

[Lone Star]

I have the same barrel, an octagon .45LC.  The first thing I noticed was the greater recoil from the Contender - but it was not markedly faster than the same load fired in my revolver.  That octagonal barrel has very thin walls, and weighs almost nothing.  Attached to a frame with wood, the weight of the gun is about a pound lighter than my 10" bull .45LC with rubber.  

Example, a 250 Hornady over 14.5 grains of Lil'Gun gave 995 fps in the 4 5/8" revolver, and 1100 fps in the Contender.  But recoil was MUCH greater in the T/C.  Due to the extremely thin barrel walls, I believe that using full powered loads recommended for the Contender is complete folly, risking a damaged barrel or worse.  I use 250 SWC and 7.5 grains of WW231 in the octagonal barrel now - highly accurate with low recoil, and safe!

[old4x4]

Hey New Hampshire...that's the way to go.  I have the 12" 454 barrel and the 45 Colt shoots 1 1/2" groups thru it at 50 yds (if I do my part) and that's with the iron sights.  The bullet jump does not seem to affect accuracy.  I'm just glad the range is open again.  Got a lot of catching up to do....
     I just wonder what would happen if you get checked out hunting with a 454 barrel on your Encore.  The law doesn't include the 454 as a caliber.  I suppose you can just whip out a 45 Colt round and show the officer.

[EdK]

I don't know what would happen if a F&G officer caught you with a 454 barrel - even if you had a 45 Colt round. It sounds kind of sketchy. I would feel better if I had a ruling on it - maybe even in writing

The real reason for this post is actually something that I once thought of: we know of guys like Linebaugh and Bowen who make 5-shot 45 Colt revolvers on the Ruger platform that for all intents and purposes are 454 Casulls. If you got a Encore (not Contender) with a 45 Colt barrel you could practically handload it as a 454 and there's not much anyone would be able to say!