.45 Colt Rifles.

[charleym3]

Can some one tell me if the Lever action rifles in .45Colt are stong enough to stand up the the loads that are listed as Ruger/TC only? I'm talking about the loads that are too much for the Colt and S&W designs.

I really want one, but I don't want to have to baby it.

Thanks.

 

[six 4 sure]

I would guess the Puma 1892's would, since it is now chambered for 454 Casul. I've heard it's not best to shoot the really hot loads in a Winchester 94.

Six

 

[treeprof]

I think the Marlins are built on the same 1894 action as their .44's, so anything in that pressure range is prob ok. Buffalo Bore lists their "heavy" .45's as safe in Marlin and Winchesters. One problem you run into with some of the the pistol loads in lever guns w/heavy bullets is that OAL is too long to cycle reliably.

 

[Desert Dog]

Like a previous poster said the Puma 1892 454 is chambered for 454 Casull which is higher presure than any .45 Colt handload.

I have one and I love it... It matches up with my 5.5" Blackhawk perfectly.

Mike

 

[charleym3]

Do the Puma rifles still have that funky plastic safety in the bolt? I hate that.

 

[Desert Dog]

Its not plastic, but yes it is there... The wonderful redundant safety.

I am trying to work up a design of a piece that will fit in that hole for a receiver sight.

The Marlin 1894's and 94 Winchesters can handle as stiff a load as a Ruger Blackhawk.

The 1892 cloned action of the Rossi will handle a lot more...

Mike

 

[charleym3]

I've got a 24inch stainless .357. I've been thinking that if it can be removed completely from the bolt, the hole can be tapped and filled with a drop of loctite and a machine screw of the proper size staked in place ground off flush and polished. I really like the rifle but I really dislike the "green wing".

 

[LIProgun]

About a year ago, I posed essentially the same question to USRAC by letter. I asked if handloading data for Ruger/TC loads was safe for use in a new Trapper carbine in .45 Colt. I also asked if the "Heavy" .45 Colt loads from Buffalo Bore, CorBon, and others were safe for use. A rep from USRAC left me a phone message indicating these were safe for use.

I have since loaded and fired Ruger/TC handloads in the Trapper, with no apparent adverse affects or signs of excess pressure.

 

[iamkris]

Charley / Desert Dog

Steve Young at stevesgunz.com will replace that safety with a plug for $40. He specializes in 'smithing Rossi's.

 

[MrAcheson]

You can buy Rossi 92s without the ugly safety from emf (www.emf-company.com) and navyarms (www.navyarms.com). From a design perspective I would bet that the 92 action is probably safer to run hot loads through than the 94. In fact I have seen some peoples .45 colt magnum loads advertized as Ruger and winchester 92 only loads.

 

[Nightcrawler]

The downside to the trappers is their awful triggers. Not just a typical levergun trigger; the spring-loaded slack that makes you pull the trigger back a good deal before the hammer drops. Am I the only one that's seen this? Both of the trappers I've owned have had this...

 

[iamkris]

Charley / Desert Dog

Steve Young at stevesgunz.com will replace that safety with a plug for $40. He specializes in 'smithing Rossi's.

 

[Baron Holbach]

Does anyone have the factory-load ballistics for the .45LC, .44 magnum, and .357 magnum through a 20-inch barrel?

 

[LIProgun]

Not exactly what you asked for (and certainly not complete), but possibly still helpful:

Here is my chrono data for .45 Colt factory loads from a 16" Winchester 94 Trapper. All data are averages of 10 shot strings, at 65 deg. F [Avg vel (fps) / ME (ft/lbs) / Extreme Spread (fps) / standard deviation]:

CCI Blazer 200 gr. JHP: 1179 / 617 / 37 / 11.4

Federal Classic 225 gr. LSWC-HP: 1031 / 530 / 50 / 14.9

Remington 225 gr. LSWC: 1084 / 587 / 29 / 9.5

Remington 250 gr. LRN: 1002 / 557 / 40 / 11.0

Winchester 255 gr. LRN: 924 / 482 / 46 / 15.6


And FWIW, here's some handload data from the same Trapper:

255 gr. Cast LSWC, 8.5 gr. Unique, Win WLP: 1084 / 664 / 64 / 24

260 gr. Speer JHP, 20.0 gr. Win 296, CCI 350: 1303 / 980 / 104 / 32

300 gr. Sierra JSP, 20.0 gr. Win 296, CCI 350: 1338 / 1192 / 46 / 16