.45 acp bullet diameter ?

[dave338]

Hi all
I was reading an old thread somewhere on here about the lead and jacketed bullets having different diameters .451 for jacket , .452" for lead , i was looking through some bullet catalogs and found some jacket .452" ,i think hornaday specs them for 45 colt ?
so had a look at the saami guide , it says .452" jacket and .453"lead for the acp ? confused!
what do you all think , hornaday correct or saami or me reading the diagram wrong ?
any opinons ?

 

[Beef82]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

.451 jacketed and .452 lead works quite well in the 45ACP. I don't believe I've shot .452 jacketed .453 lead, but I don't think I'd sweat it.

 

[dave338]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

I know its not a massive difference but would like to know if the saami spec is right at .452" for jacket ?

 

[ksthomas]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

Dave,

Both SAAMI and CIP will post both a maximum and minimum for a given bullet diameter relating to a particular cartridge. In the 45 ACP, most domestic manufacturers run with .451" as the nominal spec for jacketed bullets. Some, like Sierra, specify .4515" on their boxes, though the actual diameter may vary anywhere from around .4510" to .4515" in production. As a general rule, cast or swagged lead bullets usually run an extra .001" larger than the jacketed bullets intended for the same bore. As a result, you're seeing the .452" (and thereabouts) dimension for lead bullets. In some guns, there have been faily substantial changes in bore dimensions over time, with the 45 Long Colt being a prime example. Early examples were nominally around .454", while many newer production guns are in line with the standard .451" measurement found in the .45 ACPs. Same thing with the 44/40, with bore dimensions running anywhere from .425" on older original firearms, to .430" on more recent production guns. This is one of the more compelling arguments for not only handloading, but bullet casting when dealing with the older guns; it allows you to tailor your ammunition to the particular gun you're dealing with.

 

[dave338]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

saami diagram says jacket -.452-.003
so it should be perfectly safe to use the hornaday jacket .452"
any one running this size jacket in acp?

 

[ksthomas]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

Yes, it's perfectly safe. What SAAMI is indicating is that anything between .4490" and .4520" is perfectly within specs. They run a pretty broad spectrum on these things, and most component manufacturers hold tolerances that are far, far tighter than what SAAMI actually calls for. As a matter of round-up, the Sierra .4515" bullet I mentioned earlier would be properly called a .452" as well.

 

[dave338]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

is the jacket saami range not .449- .455 hence the notation on the diagram ?

 

[ksthomas]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

No, that's just how you're reading it. Spelled out more plainly, it would be .452" minus .003". That is, .452 at the Maximum, to minus .003" (or .449") Minimum. Fairly wide spread, as far as production tolerances go. The normal dimension for this is usually rounded to .451" in common usage.

 

[dave338]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

kevin

you must be in the trade?
anyway ive looked all over the saami site and cant find confermation that the .003" variance is negative only , not both + & - the way i read .
always like to back up internet info with black and white info , not been rude , if you can point me in any other direction for info would appreciate
cheers

 

[former naval person]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

Nice answers, Kevin.

 

[pshell]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

This actually has become a small problem for me. I have a S&W NG 625, and you have to push, once the are almost seated, the lead rounds into the cylinder. With jacketed stuff, the loaded rounds just drop into the cylinder. I didn't think it would matter, shooting lead in the 625. Unfortunately, I have to only use the lead bullets in my 1911, they seem to like it.

 

[pcschwenke]

Re: .45 acp bullet diameter ?

Kevin has done a good job of explaining above.

45 ACP - the standard is jacketed 0.451", lead 0.452". Yes there are others but, this is what's common.

pshell, most likely you are not crimping the lead far enough. Many 1911's have much larger chambers and will take out of tolerance ammo. Get a case gauge and check your ammo. I shoot 0.452" lead in my S&W 625 all the time without issues.