My son-in-law wants to try handgunning for deer , so am thinking about a Ruger in the old .45 as a gun that can be an effective deer killer with medium powered loads that are easier for a beginner to get used to . Howvever , I am aware of the problems Ruger has had over the years witrh the throat dimentions in this caliber .

So , wondering if Ruger has ever gotten their act together on chamber dimentions in the .45 ?

[ 10-11-2003, 20:13: Message edited by: sdgunslinger ]

Yes they have. In the new revolvers, the throats are commonly .450-.452. With the older revolvers, they were in the neighborhood of .456 give or take an RCH. My new Bisley had .4505 throats and just polished it out to .452.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 LC and i havent had any problems yet, except for accuracy

NH_Hunter

nhhunter, thats why you don't get accuracy. The Ruger .45 is capable of one inch groups at 50 yds when the throats are the right size. You should be able to push a bullet through the throat with your thumb. The best size is right at bore size to .0005" over. A bullet sized down in too tight of a throat WILL NOT EXPAND IN THE BORE and just kind of skips through any way it wants to.

Brownells sells a 45colt throat reamer. The way I polished mine out was to put an empty case in the chamber, then use an abrasive compound on a patch spun in a drill. The empty case keeps you from harming the chamber. Or maybe you could just send the chamber off to a smith to get it done right? may be cheaper to get the reamer from brownells and do it yourself, then sell used here for someone else. We could all have a turn for $5-10 plus shipping.

I was planning on buying the reamer shortly. I have two Rugers both are undersized (which is better than oversized I guess - no sleaving req'd). Will post, if and when I get it.

I have an older model Blackhawk 45LC/45ACP with 0.452 throats that will shoot well. My Vaquero 45LC had 0.450 throats which I reamed to 0.452. Besides the obvious improvement in accuracy, the pressure levels and recoil was also reduced.
I also have 2 Ruger Vaquero's in 44/40 which came from Ruger with 0.424 throats. These also were reamed to 0.430 to suit the 0.429 bore of the Ruger barrels.
Ganerally all my revolvers are checked to have throat diameters 0.001 over bore size.

I have always heard this about 45's and so I checked the throat on a 1st Gen Colt made in 1901. The throats were between .449 and .450 with a plug gauge. The gun shoots well but I haven't really "rung it out". My eyes are not up to that anymore. I just thought it was an example of the "old time craftsmanship" we hear about.

I guess I'll contradict most............new Rugers are UNDER sized. Most will mike .449 ish. A fellow by the handle of XTARHEEL has several engineering degrees and is a machinist. He is doing the throats for around $32. Wether you feel this is warranted after spending $400 is up to you. My throats were doctored to .4525".

I am trying to work up a good load with several cast bullets from 274 grain Keith style Leadheads to a 310 LFN Leadhead. I've reached game killing accuracy, but no one inch 25 yard groups yet.

[ 10-19-2003, 19:55: Message edited by: Jesse Jaymes ]

I picked up a Stainless Redhawk in 45colt a couple of years ago. The throats were so tight that I couldn't chamber a load with 300XTPs. After I got my Raging Bull, I traded it off.

I've been doing them for folks about three years now myself. Now doing .32, .40 , .44 as well as .45 www.cylindersmith.com

Never heard a complaint about Mr. McLeod (Throat Dr.) work though.

Mine were a little undersized for cast and I had them honed to .4525. I load with cast bullets from Lee's 300 grain WFN mould and was getting flat primers around 19 grain of H110 before honing the cylinders. Pressure and recoil are both down as well as the gun being more accurate.

I have a new Ruger Blackhawk in 45 LC and the throats mike at .450. I also have a Redhawk in 44 Mag. I would choose the 44 over the 45 for deer because of its consistency and accuracy. If you keep the bbl up at 7.5 inches there are plenty of handloads that you son can shoot very comfortaby that will drop deer out to 50 yards with the 44.

If you really love 45 Cal., just get the Ruger SR in 454 casull and shoot Colt loads out of it.

I had read that reaming the cylinders was necessary on the rugers, and took a Vaquero to a 'smith in the area. This guy is VERY reliable, and he miked the cylinders, which were .452 to .4525. He advised me that reaming wasn't needed.

A 5.5" Bisley I've got has similar dimensions.

While a lot of these cylinders are too tight, don't just assume you need to get this this done.

45throatdoctor.com 25$+7$ shipping quick turn around, Jim...

I'm a long time member of this forum, and I've reamed around 150 Ruger .45 cylinders to a uniform .4525. They do run tight from the factory and they tend to vary in diameter within the same cylinder which tends to throw fliers. I always ask for feedback and I've never had anyone say there wasn't improvement to some degree or another. CAS, another member, and myself do the job for much less than you can buy the tooling and do it yourself. Regardless of who does it it is well worth having done.

www.45throatdoctor.com

My 2003 Bisley has cylinder throats of .453
My 2000 Vaquero has cylinder throats of .452
My 197? Blackhawk has Cylinder throats of .452

Never knew Ruger 45 throats had a problem!

David

David--

With that kind of luck, turn your computer off and head for the nearest casino! :-)

My 2000 vintage BisHawk in 45 Colt has the infernal .449" throats and .452" groove diameter. With gas check boolits is does all right, but plain bases get poetic. I need to get the throating job done--it is listed among the "to do" things on the loading bench.

Regarding the guys doing this work--can the throats be taken out to .453"? I like "funneling" boolits--sized at .454", through .453" throats, and into .452" tube.

Deputy Al,
I think I will stay away from the casinos. While my guns may have proper throats the rest has not been perfect.
My 45 blackhawk has a front sight that is too short, and I have been grinding on the trigger for what seems like years with no noticeable results. Trigger still has a mile of creep in it. But I guess these minor flaws are fixed easier than oversized or undersized throats.

My Bisley grips are too slim from the factory, too. They will soon be replaced.

Even with these faults the ruger single action is one great gun!
God bless Bill Ruger!!

David

I read where some of you have perfect Ruger throats and some have tight ones. Yes this is the problem. That is why I say to see if your bullet will push through the throat. Some Rugers are fine, but the tight ones need reamed or lapped.
This is nothing compared to my friends Italian Remington cap and ball. TALK ABOUT BAD! It took hours to fix this one.