1911 and black powder

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27 May 2005, 21:25

nelsonted1

1911 and black powder

I read a Paco article a long time ago in which he said his associates loaded black powder in a 45 ACP round and slid it into a buddy's mag during bullseye practice. He said the boom was astounding and his buddy threw the pistol twenty feet.

Is there a pressure problem in this practical joke? I know B.P. is very low pressure but is it as low as the 45 ACP?

Go on jump on me- I expect it.

It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance

27 May 2005, 22:03

Cheechako

nelsonted1

Sounds to me like the story has been embellished a little (or a lot). A 45 ACP loaded with black powder would be a very mild load, probably about like the old 44 S&W American and certainly not as much as the 45 S&W Schofield. The boom would not be "astounding" and why he would have thrown the pistol is anybody's guess.

Ray

28 May 2005, 02:19

fredj338

I doubt the pressure is any problem, I'll disagree w/ Chee though, I've shot enough BP rounds to know it does make a diff., louder report.

28 May 2005, 06:27

El Deguello

Well, you'd definitely get some noticeable muzzle flame and a lot of smoke, (not to mention a dirty bore!!). But the pressure would probably be less than 10K, and the MV would be only around 550-60 FPS or even less. The .45 ACP case just won't hold enough black to be useful!

28 May 2005, 06:44

DaMan

quote:
The .45 ACP case just won't hold enough black to be useful!

Just curious and not recommending it..... but wouldn't really fast black powders (like FFFg or FFFFg) provide useful velocities in a .45 ACP case?

Just a hypothetical question.

28 May 2005, 08:45

Cheechako

quote:
Just curious and not recommending it..... but wouldn't really fast black powders (like FFFg or FFFFg) provide useful velocities in a .45 ACP case

I believe all the old BP revolver cartridges were loaded with FFFG. 4F was basically a priming powder and not used in cartridges except possibly the very small ones. To equal the velocities of the 45 ACP with black powder the case would have to be the size of the 45 Colt. The sizes of the two cases is not a coincidence. One for black the other for smokeless.

Ray

28 May 2005, 13:09

Viking

I would not recomend it unless you have a very good understanding of black powder. It will be lower pressure at simular charge, but could get out of hand if you do not know what you are doing.