.45 ACP cylinder hunt?

[peasent]

Hi, I threw a quick intro up in the intro thread, but I'm peasent,

I have a ruger blackhawk with the 4 and 5/8 inch barrel in .45LC, but I would like to put a .45 acp cylinder in it because I am able to reload and fire it for less money and am already set up to do so.

Then save the .45lc ammo for just when I feel the need / want.

Anyway, do any of ya'll fine folk know if I could order a .45ACP cylinder from someplace and it just drop in like with the 45lc 45 acp convertable blackhawks or would I have to fit it?

Any sources to obtain the cylinder, or should I just consider trading this one for a new convertable?

I would like to find the lowest cost option at this moment.

To be honest I would like to have unfluted cylinders in both but I will take what I can get affordable and reasonably easy.

Thanks for any info.

Peasent.

[Old Grump]

No cylinder, you just need a pocket full of half moon clips. They will hold the 45 acp cartridges in place and allow you to eject them all at once.

Look for them at your local gunshop or find them on line.

[peasent]

I use full moon clips in my S&W model 25, but how do I use the half moon clips in a ruger blackhawk single action?

I know they sold/sell convertible cylinders for the blackhawk

45LC & .45 ACP also .357/.38special & 9mm

What I have is a blackhawk with just the .45LC cylinder and I am hoping that


1. I can buy a separate .45acp cylinder for it and it will just swap out like the "convertible" ones you can buy.

2. Source for said .45 ACP cylinder.

If there is a trick to using the half moons, that would be cool also but I just can't seem to figure it?]

It's probably my poor ability to communicate that is the confusion, Sorry about that.

Peasent

[IA_farmboy]

I did some reading on this a few years ago. I have a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible in .45 caliber and I'm glad I spent the extra money to do that. For some reason .45 Colt is real hard to find around here but .45 ACP is not.

Anyway, here's a few things I learned. Ruger will not, as a policy, fit a Blackhawk that was not sold as a convertible with a cylinder for .45 ACP. They have the ability to do so since people have sent in their .45 convertibles to get fitted for a replacement cylinder for one that was lost or damaged. The frames are identical except for the words stamped on the side but Ruger will not fit a new .45 ACP cylinder unless the frame was originally sold with one.

There is a bit of a market for Blackhawk cylinders, most likely as a result of Ruger's policy. The cylinders will sometimes get separated from the frame it was made for and they will end up on tables in gun shows and advertised in online trading sites. I've heard that people did get lucky by buying one and having it fit their frame. It might take a few trades to find one that fits but it's been known to work for some people. Those that do this are much braver than I and if you intend to go this route then I'd suggest finding someone that knows what they are doing to check it out before you load the cylinder with any live cartridges.

I doubt you are going to find anyone willing to create a new .45 ACP cylinder to fit your frame. I'm certain it can be done but I suspect the legal liability would be too high for anyone to be willing to try.

I doubt that getting a .45 ACP cylinder for the frame you have now is going to be an economical option.

[BigBlock]

I doubt you are going to find anyone willing to create a new .45 ACP cylinder to fit your frame. I'm certain it can be done but I suspect the legal liability would be too high for anyone to be willing to try.

Sure you can. It's been a while since I looked but I almost bought a custom caliber Blackhhawk myself. You can get one in just about any caliber you can think of, it's just a matter of cash. It will cost you more than the gun did.

[BigBlock]

Here's what you need...have a gun smith bore out the chambers and fit the cylinder.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/232...l-in-the-white

Probably would be much more economical to sell it and buy a convertible.

[Sheik Yerbouti]

To heck with a new cylinder. Get yourself some 45 Auto Rim brass and use your 45LC shell holder for your reloading setup. There is no sense in making this harder than it has to be. The only drawback is that you cannot use the ammo in your 1911.

[Old Grump]

I use full moon clips in my S&W model 25, but how do I use the half moon clips in a ruger blackhawk single action?

Oops. you are right. I had a brain dead moment there, sorry.

Bob

[JellyJar]

A couple of years ago I did my level best to find a 45 acp cylinder for my BHG Vaquero. No joy. What I did find is this...

Sometimes someone who has a Blackhawk 45 convertible will sell the 45 acp cylinder separately because he doesn't shoot 45 acp. Check Ebay now that they are back to selling gun parts.

Some police jurisdictions will cut the frames of handguns they confiscate and sell the parts. I don't know of any company that handles these "gun parts" but I have seen them at gun shows. Try searching for those. Perhaps they may have a cylinder.

It is possible to get a 357 mag cylinder and have it bored out for 45 acp but I don't know who could do it.

Last, I found a company in Florida that would make a brand new cylinder from scratch for $500. I can't remember who but I did find them on the net. For that much money I would rather just buy a new gun.

Keep looking and perhaps you will luck out.

JJ

[peasent]

Looks like I will be putting the .45 lc into the hands of one of my sons and just go shopping for a convertable.

the main reason for the .45acp in the blackhawk is that I have a few thousand rounds of it laying around, and it can be purchased in large quantities a lot cheaper than .45 lc.

That way I can shoot a lot more, then swap in the .45lc for when I want to use my big bore rounds.

But looks like a new cylinder for the weapon is cost prohibitive.

Also I could just carry the one ammo and wear both my 1911 on the belt and the single action on the shoulder rig and have common ammo for when I want both with me.

Thanks for sharing, and all.

I love .45 LC and may just go buy a couple thousand empty brass and then load em up and have done with it.

I have been thinking of going with the vaquero with both cylinders because the new tooling (for the smaller frame one) uses a single bore to cut each cylinder so no discrepancy between each cylinder bore as with the 6 at once boring they did / do with the others.

Oh well it is all for fun.

Serious work is the 1911 / long guns job.

I might even look for a 44/40 and try some black powder cartridge shooting since the bottle neck seals better and stops a lot of blowback into the guts of the weapon.

peasent

[Bart Noir]

Contrary to some advice above, you cannot just use .45 Auto Rim cartridges in a .45 Colt revolver.

The .45 AR round has a thicker rim. It is essentially twice as thick as a normal rim. So it will not allow the cylinder to turn.

Look at the S&W Model 25 which shoots .45 Auto (either ACP with clips or Auto Rim, it is the same gun). Look at a Webley Mark VI which has been converted to fire those same rounds.

There is a larger-than-normal gap between the back of the cylinder and the recoil shield part of the frame. This is so the cylinder can turn with the thicker .45 AR rims.

Bart Noir

[BigBlock]

Check Ebay now that they are back to selling gun parts

I had no idea ebay was selling gun stuff again. It's definately a good place to look, here's a .45ACP cylinder that went for $99.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ruger-Blackh...item46043aa1a4

[theotherwaldo]

I just went ahead and got a Vaquero in .45 acp. Got it cheap 'cause the owner had lost the long Colt cylinder.

Like I needed to set up reloading gear for yet another caliber.

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Contrary to some advice above, you cannot just use .45 Auto Rim cartridges in a .45 Colt revolver.

The .45 AR round has a thicker rim. It is essentially twice as thick as a normal rim. So it will not allow the cylinder to turn.

Actually, it is just half again thicker. I went and looked it up. The 45LC rim is 0.060 inches, and the 45AR rim is 0.090 inches.

Thanks for pointing this out. I was clueless.

[Chuck Dye]

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/part...cylinders.html

Like yachts, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford to buy.