20nickels Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Dave, "I keep hearing talk about machining a .45 Colt cylinder to shoot .45 ACP in moonclips, but has anybody actually done this and experienced any success? I tried this some years ago with a 25-7 and it was a disaster. A sloppy .45 Colt chamber is a very unsanitary environment for a .45 ACP cartridge!" Hi, Dave. I believe that it would be strongly dependant on how that chargeholes mic out. If they are undersized from the factory that may even be beneficial to the conversion. If I had the coin I would try it my self, but that is currently not an option . I'm also interested in what it likes to eat, lead vs. jacketed/plated. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I'm really not sure accuracy is necessarily dependent on throat size. Take a look at DougCarden's "starter pistol on steroids," his 627 with shortened cylinder--or my Nowlin custom 25-2 with shortened cylinder--both of those guns shoot, and neither has any throats at all. I think the forcing cone and barrel itself, and the alignment of the chambers with the barrel, might be much more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kframe_mike Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Ha!One more puzzle piece!I was wondering what those shortened cylinders were all about.I kind have always figured that the throats didn't matter much either if you were shooting jacketed bullets.Unless the throats are grossly undersize I suppose.How do those no throat bad boys handle lead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Ha!One more puzzle piece!I was wondering what those shortened cylinders were all about.I kind have always figured that the throats didn't matter much either if you were shooting jacketed bullets.Unless the throats are grossly undersize I suppose.How do those no throat bad boys handle lead? My Nowlin 25-2 with the short wheel does just fine with lead.....somewhere downstairs I have a bunch of targets shot off the bench by its former owner, Barney Niner, with 200-grain LSWC that prove so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I'm really not sure accuracy is necessarily dependent on throat size. Throats that are too small are a problem but that's not the case here. 25-2 throats measure consistently huge, that's why I was wondering how the 625s that have had 25-2 barrels installed shoot. Are the 25-2 throats the issue or the barrels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I'm really not sure accuracy is necessarily dependent on throat size. Throats that are too small are a problem but that's not the case here. 25-2 throats measure consistently huge, that's why I was wondering how the 625s that have had 25-2 barrels installed shoot. Are the 25-2 throats the issue or the barrels? My experience may answer that somewhat round about, but I bought a 25-5 w/ an 8" barrel and sent it to Randy for a make over to 45 ACP with a Ti cyl. The gun was supposedly only factory fired when I bought it and it looked it. I shot one box of 45 Colt thru it before shipping it. I could keep 6 rounds on a piece of notebook paper at 15 yds, but it looked more like a buckshot pattern than a group. I was a little worried. Anyway, in ACP garb it shoots as well as my 625. The odd thing is that the Colt cyl measured OK (not oversize). Lots of variables involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 My experience may answer that somewhat round about, but I bought a 25-5 w/ an 8" barrel and sent it to Randy for a make over to 45 ACP with a Ti cyl. The gun was supposedly only factory fired when I bought it and it looked it. I shot one box of 45 Colt thru it before shipping it. I could keep 6 rounds on a piece of notebook paper at 15 yds, but it looked more like a buckshot pattern than a group. I was a little worried. Anyway, in ACP garb it shoots as well as my 625. The odd thing is that the Colt cyl measured OK (not oversize). Lots of variables involved. Yes, variables. Did the chambers measure good or the throats? Have the cylinder to measure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I did not have a very good 'ruler' so I had a smith measure it before I sold it and he said it was one of the "good" cylinders. The Colt ammo I shot was just factory cowboy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round_Gun_Shooter Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 ...plus, these days you just can't call up and order a 6" or 6.5" 25-2 barrel. If you scour around long enough, you might find one, but it might take you a long time. I bought 2 in the last 10 days. Putting them away for retirement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherryriver Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 One thing that would enthuse me about the new 25 would be a hammer-mounted firing pin just like the old days. I don't know every in and out of the situation, but my frame-mounted-pin N-frames were all light-strikers to varying degrees, and none of my old hammer-mounted pin guns were (and went bang each and every time). Anybody know if the new ones are frame- or hammer-mount? Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I'll let you know just as soon as mine arrives. I had to spring for some bling: a 6-1/2" nickeled .45 Colt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 One thing that would enthuse me about the new 25 would be a hammer-mounted firing pin just like the old days. I don't know every in and out of the situation, but my frame-mounted-pin N-frames were all light-strikers to varying degrees, and none of my old hammer-mounted pin guns were (and went bang each and every time). Bill, I think we're done seeing hammer noses for good. And actually, that's just fine with me. If they get the firing pins the correct length, the newer guns with the frame-mounted pins can actually be tuned a bit lighter and remain 100% reliable than the older guns with the hammer-mounted pins. I have noticed this in my own gun work, and I know that Randy Lee has had the same experience. Unfortunately, some recent-production S&W revolvers have left the factory with significantly shorter firing pins that have created light-strike problems. However, I have found the factory Ti .495+" pins to work really well. Randy is also marketing his own firing pin/spring--I have not yet tested them out, but have every confidence they will work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 My Nowlin 25-2 with the short wheel does just fine Happen to know how much your Nowlin 25-2 weighs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 (edited) Tom, the Nowlin gun weighs 3 lb. 5.25 oz with the smaller underlug installed. My regular 5" 625 weighs 2 lb. 10.75 oz. Edited March 22, 2008 by Carmoney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Tom, the Nowlin gun weighs 3 lb. 5.25 oz with the smaller underlug installed. 53 oz, that should makes major loads feel minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Tom, the Nowlin gun weighs 3 lb. 5.25 oz with the smaller underlug installed. My regular 5" 625 weighs 2 lb. 10.75 oz. My 8" model 25 w/ a Ti cylinder weighs 44.8 oz (2lbs. 12.8 oz.). Not much different from the 5" full lug. I have not shot it in a match yet but we'll see what happens next month. Major loads seem a lot softer than in my 4" gun and I can even back off .1 gr of powder from the 4" and still make major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I'm glad we changed the rules to allow stuff like 8" barrels, bull barrels, whatever, in USPSA. So far I'm fairly convinced the 5" underlug barrel is just about optimum for USPSA use, but I think it's great to have plenty of options available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now