.45 ACP Walker Conversion

[Shotgun Franklin]

A guy on FaceBook is looking for one. I didn't think they made one, anyone know for sure?

[Abilene]

45 Colt, yes.  ACP, no.

[Pettifogger]

Would serve no useful purpose so I have never seen one and the pressure of a .45 ACP is probably more than an open top can tolerate.  If the guy wants to shoot short ammo for some reason, he can get a .45 Colt conversion and then shoot the .45 Cowboy Special out of it.

[FlyingZebra]

...or just shoot colt ammunition.  bigger case with same bullet at same velicity equals lower pressure than with smaller case...

[Graveyard Jack]

No way, too much pressure. Although it would be pretty cool!

[Mike]

Tell him to get a ACP pistol.

[rbertalotto]

I thought Kirst had cylinders for 1860 and 1858 in 45APC. In fact I know they do because I had two of them.

[Blair]

Just my opinion...

I have trouble understanding why people want to buy a big 45 caliber handgun, and then down size the ammo to match or equale a 38 caliber?
Why not just start with a 38 caliber?
My best,
Blair

[rbertalotto]

Because if you want to shoot Black Powder or reduced loads for Cowboy Action Shooting, the 45LC or any other cartridge that size is a real handful.

You can download smokeless powder for less recoil, but then the pressure is so low the brass case doesn't seal the chamber and blowback and powder residue getting into the action is a concern.

You can't effectively download Black Powder in a revolver.  You should never have an airgap in the case and large wads in a revolver could cause issue in the forcing cone.

And a 45LC with case full of BP is just not competitive because of recoil in the hands of most CAS shooters.

A much better option than 45ACP in a revolver is the 45 Cowboy Special brass. A short version of the 45LC.

PERFECT for black powder in larger period correct revolvers. Plenty of smoke and boom, but much less recoil and cost of reloading.

And you simply use 45ACP dies to load for it. Simple!

[Coffinmaker]

I have to agree with rbertalotto.  Just switch to Cowboy 45 Special brass.  Playing the CAS game, with as many rounds fired in a match, fully stoked .45 Colt ammunition can be pretty abusive.  Some folks like to shoot guns with big holes in the barrel, but are basically recoil wimps (me) and don't want to mess with fillers (me) and find the .45 Special with light bullets and BP to be SWEET.
Don't get me wrong here, I own a pile of .38 caliber guns.  I just take perverse pleasure in shooting .45s that are competitive with .38s.  It's a hoot.
I do also compete with conversions in .38, it just gives me a little snicker to shoot .45s

Coffinmaker

PS:  Had to come back to add that none of the makers of conversions/cylinders are manufacturing a cylinder in 45 ACP for very good reasons.  We bashed the ACP issue to death on another thread.

[Blair]

I care not about 45acp in a revolver. The Government does, but it is after our historical time period.
Why is this an issue now?
Are people so "limp wristed" in there shooting today that a full house loaded .45 Colt with black powder can't be dealt with?
If this is the case... then don't buy a .45 Colt revolver! Buy a .38 caliber.
My best,
Blair

[Shotgun Franklin]

This guy was already reloading for .45 ACP and just wanted to keep the same round.
I was right, no .45 ACP Walker.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

This guy was already reloading for .45 ACP and just wanted to keep the same round.
I was right, no .45 ACP Walker.

All he needs for Cowboy Special is a .45Long Colt shell holder and cases.  A LEE .45LC shell holder is really cheap.

[Shotgun Franklin]

I have no clue about his equipment and can't contact him anyway.

[FriscoCounty]

FYI, to summarize all the advise.
The process is to get a Walker Colt  or Dragoon reproduction. Then get a conversion cylinder.  Either the Howell/Uberti, which doesn't require any machining, or the Kirst conversion cylinder, which does.  You now have a pistol capable of chambering .45 Long Colt, .45 Schofield, or .45 Cowboy.  The .45 Cowboy is basically a .45 ACP case with a .45 Colt rim.  So you can use your .45 ACP dies with a .45LC shell holder.

http://www.kirstkonverter.com/colt-walker-dragoons.html
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/126824/howell-old-west-conversions-conversion-cylinder-44-caliber-uberti-walker-steel-frame-black-powder-revolver-45-colt-long-colt-6-round-blue
http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/action-parts/cylinder-parts/cylinders/uberti-walker-conversion-cylinder-44-to-45lc-sku633000005-9488-125654.aspx

[Graveyard Jack]

I care not about 45acp in a revolver. The Government does, but it is after our historical time period.
Why is this an issue now?
Are people so "limp wristed" in there shooting today that a full house loaded .45 Colt with black powder can't be dealt with?
If this is the case... then don't buy a .45 Colt revolver! Buy a .38 caliber.
My best,
Blair

The ACP is a great revolver cartridge! It's way more efficient than the .45Colt with smokeless powder and is especially well suited to short barreled single actions with their shorter ejectors.

[FriscoCounty]

The ACP is a great revolver cartridge! It's way more efficient than the .45Colt with smokeless powder and is especially well suited to short barreled single actions with their shorter ejectors.

The .45 ACP was designed by Browning to the the smokeless replacement for the .45 Colt/Schofield.

[FlyingZebra]

This is important to note:
With the small ACP (and Cowboy Special) case, the pressure is higher, about 50% higher.
'Efficiency' comes at a price.

45acp 230gr @ 850-900fps about 21,000psi
45colt 250gr @ 925-950fps about 14,000psi

Scale up or down, the rate of pressure difference is similar.
Just keep in mind with the small case comes a drastic rise in pressure for similar performance.