A .45 Colt Day at the Range

[JimT]

I took the Cimarron .45 Colt and the Shootists Anniversary Marlin Trapper .45 Colt to the Range today.

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I ran several different loads through each gun. The Keith SWC #454424 with 8.5 gr. Unique. (Powder Coated) A 225 gr. cast FP (Powder Coated) with 8.5 gr Unique. And the SSK 270 gr bullet with 8.0 gr. Unique. Keith SWC #454424 with 18.0 gr. 2400

In the Cimarron the 225 gr. 45 ACP bullet shot pretty well and was VERY pleasant to shoot.

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So far the most accurate bullet in the Marlin is the SSK 270 gr. bullet.

25 YARD TARGET

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The Marlin is a fun little gun to run. I have not messed with it yet. We are planning on running 500 to 800 rounds and then seeing what needs to smoothed up ... if anything.

50 YARD TARGET

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You can follow the ejected empty in these screen grabs

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The 2400 load with the Keith bullet in the Cimarron does recoil a bit ..

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[Scott Tschirhart]

Glad you are having fun with it. Mine has taken up permanent residence in the truck.

[JimT]

After I got home I looked through the bore of the rifle and it was shiny clean! Pulled the cylinder out of the sixgun and checked it and the bore was shiny clean. I am happy. Those loads are pleasant to shoot .. don't beat you ... and don't foul the bore. Even the heavy load of 2400. That makes it nice.

[Bill in Oregon]

2400? I think I heard of that once, a long time ago in a galaxy far away ....

[Scott Tschirhart]

My little carbine must have a very smooth barrel. It doesn’t seem to lead with any loads.

[junkbug]

Thanks for the report Jim. Is your Cimarron a Pietta or Uberti? I believe Cimarron has sold both over the years.

Those are some pretty serious loads.

[JimT]

Thanks for the report Jim. Is your Cimarron a Pietta or Uberti? I believe Cimarron has sold both over the years.

Those are some pretty serious loads.

It is a Pietta. Nicely finished inside and out.

[junkbug]

Thanks!

[Glenn]

Jim, what size bullets are you shooting in the Shootist's Marlin?
Glenn

[JimT]

Jim, what size bullets are you shooting in the Shootist's Marlin?
Glenn

Diameter = .452" for most .... the ACP bullets are .451"

Weight = 225 gr. ... 255 gr. .... 260 gr. .... 270 gr. .. and 300 gr.

So far the 270's have given me the best accuracy ... but I have not shot enough to really know what it's like. We've only run 300 - 400 rounds through it.

[Glenn]

Great, thanks. Slugged it and found it had an odd number of grooves

[JimT]

Great, thanks. Slugged it and found it had an odd number of grooves

? .. what did you find?

[Scott Tschirhart]

Great, thanks. Slugged it and found it had an odd number of grooves

? .. what did you find?

I’m curious as well.

[Glenn]

Sorry to leave you guys hanging. It's a 5-groove barrel. A .443" pin gauge slips in the muzzle, and slugging and measuring across a land and the opposite groove I get .448". That would make the groove depth .005", and groove diameter about .453". But there's plenty of room for "fudge factor" in these readings. I only have .001" pin gauges, so the bore could be at least .4435", which would put the groove diameter closer to .452". Since Jim got a clean bore with .452" lead bullets, it's likely close to .452".
Glenn

[JimT]

Thank you Glenn. I have not tried to measure this one. I may shove a .457" ball through the bore and see what I get. When I'm feeling adventurous.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I had mine out today and I’ve got a little over 500 rounds through the carbine now. I took it apart for a thorough cleaning and everything looks normal.

The action is slicking up from several thousand cycles.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thank you Glenn. I have not tried to measure this one. I may shove a .457" ball through the bore and see what I get. When I'm feeling adventurous.

I can’t force a .452 soft bullet into the muzzle by hand. I would need a hammer.

[Glenn]

I used a .457" round ball and drove it into the muzzle with a plastic mallet. Dropped a couple 44 cal. cast bullets into the chamber and shook the rifle up & down, muzzle down. The lead bullets knocked the round ball out. (Too lazy to pull the lever and bolt to run a cleaning rod down the bore.)
Glenn

[JimT]

I used a .457" round ball and drove it into the muzzle with a plastic mallet. Dropped a couple 44 cal. cast bullets into the chamber and shook the rifle up & down, muzzle down. The lead bullets knocked the round ball out. (Too lazy to pull the lever and bolt to run a cleaning rod down the bore.)
Glenn

That'll work!