Got a blister on my blister (The .45 Super Project)..

[Slick]

I *fianally* got my car-problems and the home-maintenance issues that I need to fix taken care of.. That left me time to get my "match-grade" .308 ammo loaded up for the Savage 10 FP that I've been dying to get out and shoot.

Now that I've gotten things caught up, ammo loaded, and my current medical appointments behind me and am ready to go shoot - the weather takes a rotten dive into wind & rain!!! :banghead:

The "good" news is that I have 1000-rounds of brand-spanking-new .45 Super brass from Starline and needed to get it ready to load. In three days time (a couple hours a day) I’ve expanded the necks, reamed the flash holes, and primed ALL 1000 of them! Reaming 1000 flash holes over 3-days earns you a nice blister to remind you that you’ve gotten something done.. Now all that left is to get some loaded and ready for testing.

I’ll be using both 185gr and 230gr Remington Golden Sabers. I plan to load 50 rounds of each bullet weight into 5 different power loads (10-shots each). The plan is to start at the bottom and work up in small increments until I’ve reached ~65% of the maximum load for .45 Super as that should be good enough to start out with. If the heaviest loads are still manageable & accurate, I will continue testing by working up the loads a little more until I feel that I’ve reached a practical limit and balance of power, manageability, and accuracy without sacrificing the durability of the pistol.

I’m looking forward to finally getting to try out some of these gun projects that I’ve been (concurrently) working on for so long. They’ve all kind of come together at the same time – so it’s a bit difficult to choose which ones that I want to get out and test with first. These are the kind of decisions / problems I can happily deal with.. :bounce:

Anyways, here's a couple pix of the .45-Super project->

http://www.drinkfromthefirehose.com/images/longslide1.jpg

http://www.drinkfromthefirehose.com/images/longslide2.jpg

For anyone that not familiar with what .45 Super is, here's a link to info + load data->

http://www.realguns.com/archives/020.htm

[OldCooT]

Slick,.

Take a look at this.. .460 Roland conversion for the 1911


http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=5003&title=1911%20AUTO%20.460%20ROLAND%20CONVERSION%20K IT

Ballistic info

http://www.realguns.com/loads/460Rowland.htm

[Slick]

I've read a bit on the .460 Rowland and have chatted with a fellow that owns one. I actually prefer beong able to go back to shooting regular .45acp without having to change the barrel (as only the recoil spring needs to be changed), plus the conversion to .45 super is less expensive. This is also the exact reason some people don't like the .45 super - as it could inadvertantly be loaded into an un-modified .45acp with disasterous results! :shock:

[OldCooT]

I think the 460 is a little longer on the brass.. so the slide won't lock

but is is a interesting development in the life of the 1911

Someone used to make a 5 in one conversion for the 1911 too,. included .30 mauser rnd,

[Slick]

You're right on the .460 being a tad longer. The GOOD part is that it's reloaded on standard .45acp dies. The truth is that I don't want a semi-permanent "conversion" and like the idea of just switching spring to go back to standard fare. The fellow that has the .460 Rowland does say that it beats the hell out of the frame and that the gun won't last as long as a .45 Super. The truth is that I'll probably stop well short of "full-house" .45 Super loads - as I'm in a quest for accuracy out to 100 yards. I mostly want to keep the rounds faster than the speed of sound out to 100 yards as the traverse through the sound barrier creates turbulance that impacts accuracy. So I'll probably stop loading up a hundred or two FPS short of full power, so the gun will last longer.

[OldCooT]

looks like the 460 and 45 super use common springs at 24-28 lbs,,, so there is some commonality

[Slick]

Right now I've got the 24# and 26# along with the titanium firing pin. The firing pin needs to be titanium or (if steel) use a heavier firing pin spring (to prevent a slam-fire). So far the only mod I haven't done it to use stiffer springs in the magazine (to advance the next shell) when the gun cycles. I held off on that since I hate "too stiff" magazine springs + I'm thinking that the additional mass of the longslide will permit the regular magazine to feed OK.

I have a total of 10 different loads (5 at 185gr) and (5 at 230gr). I plan to chonograph the loads and pay particular attention to accuracy.

Back in the 1980's I built up an AMT 7-inch longslide and it could print groups the size of a tennis ball at 75 yards. The AMT was a rather poor quality gun to start out with and I replaced lots of parts to make it perform. I regret selling it - but had to as I was married at the time and wanted to buy another gun and needed money...

[franks71vw]

slick dont mean to be rude or anything but why didnt you sell the wife.... lol :beer:

[Slick]

slick dont mean to be rude or anything but why didnt you sell the wife.... lol :beer:

I already did... back in 1990, and bought a 76' Shovelhead Harley with the proceeds.. :mrgreen: Life was great until I fell and ruined my back. :cussing: I guess we can't have everything..