Black Powder In a 1911 45 ACP

[gipperdog]

Is it not only possible but workable to load black powder in the 45 ACP & make a 1911 function? (Yes, it may not be practical but that's not the question here.)
I know if possible it'll be MUCH dirtier than regular smokeless powders, but I am curious if this is possible & a workable idea? Say for a 200 gr cast bullet....or any cast bullets.

 

[CMcDermott]

Possible - definitely. For how many shots I'm not certain, I wouldn't plan on needing a new magazine before I had to clean the gun. Black Powder leaves MUCH more ash & residue behind, which will eventually prevent the slide from cycling properly and the pistol will jam. Just don't know if it will jam on the second shot, or go until the seventh.

 

[Snapping Twig]

As I recall, ACP started out as a BP round and quickly switched to smokeless.

I'm certain you could do it. I'd like to ask you to post some pics of the results if you do. I've heard the legends of the binding crud, it would be interesting to see it.

 

[RON in PA]

Bear this in mind, the 45 ACP was developed in the 1908-1910 time-frame to take advantage of the then relatively new smokeless powder technology. You could design a smaller cartridge using less smokeless powder than the old black powder cartridge and have the same ballistics. The 45 ACP is basically the 45 Colt in a smaller package. I haven't addressed the fact that the 45 ACP was designed for a semi because I don't think it's really relevant to this discussion.

You might try using black powder in a 45 ACP, but your ballistics would be so poor that you might get the bullet stuck in the barrel. The only way to know for sure would be to try it.

It would be interesting to know just how much black powder you could cram under a bullet in a 45 ACP case.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Interesting Ron. So you're saying that it was smokeless from the start. Makes sense in a semi auto. My apologies, I had misremembered my history.

 

[Grump]

Snapping Twig:

You're remembering the .38 Special. Modern solid head-solid web cases hold a bit less powder than the originals, so BP in them doesn't quite match the original power level. I just don't know the specific numbers.

I tried BP under 125-gr bullets and the speeds were quite low--750 fps IIRC, maybe less. Suspect that heavier bullets would NOT go much slower. It would be an inertia thing, helping the burn a bit.

 

[mavracer]

yes it was smokeless when developed.but Ron your a little off on your dates it was introduced in 1905.If you used a 150-155 LSWC and a real light recoil spring it might work,but it would be anemic.

 

[Jim Watson]

I read an article about it some time ago, by Ray Ordorica, maybe.
He found that a case full of black would function the gun but foul it out pretty rapidly. A lube wad under the bullet kept down the fouling but took up so much of the limited powder space that it would not function.

I think if you really did the research on bullet lube and powder choice, maybe bullet design, it could be done.

 

[stubbicatt]

Why this? The corrosive properties of BP are well known. Why wreck your handgun?

 

[grendelbane]

I have never tried black powder in a .45ACP, but a lot of the old black powder cartridges did not have much case capacity, so I don't see why it would not work for a magazine. I have read a reference to loading .38 ACP with black powder, this was in a 1930s American Rifleman magazine article.

I did load black powder in .44 SPL, and shoot a cylinder through my Bulldog. The results were pretty good, but by the 5th shot the cylinder was already starting to bind. Do you know how long it takes to clean a Bulldog which has been fired with black powder? It shows up real well against stainless steel.

Experiments like this prove that some people simply have too much time on their hands.

 

[Jim Watson]

BP fouling is not nearly as corrosive as the Nazi and Communist chlorate primed crap the milsurpers shoot all the time. And you can take a 1911 apart and get it clean.

 

[Slamfire]

BP fouling is not nearly as corrosive as the Nazi and Communist chlorate primed crap the milsurpers shoot all the time. And you can take a 1911 apart and get it clean

.

Maybe be true. When I clean my Blackpowder revolvers, I take all parts out, wash them in hot soapy water, blow dry or oven dry at lowest setting, and then spray with WD-40. Then reassemble the thing. Yes you can take a M1911 apart, but getting it all back together will be just as much a pain.

Shooting BP in a M1911 would be something to do once. It would be fun the first time. Second time it would be work.