Why isn't the .45 Colt more popular? With SASS it looks like it's starting a resurgence but why hasn't it been popular? You're basically looking at a round that's .44 special that's slightly larger. It would be an awesome self defense caliber IMO. Is it because the firearm is so large that it's not readily CCW or is S&W to blame with their magnums winning market share? Don't get me wrong, I love my 686 but if they had an N frame .45 Colt that ammo was readily availible for...everywhere...I would get one.

Just asking and I might just get a SA in it someday.

In the transformation from Black Powder to Smokless Powder pressures were kept low due to the Brass design and the Revolvers chambered for it. In the early 70's the Brass was redesigned which allowed the Modern Revolvers to use the 45 Colt at much higher pressures. The 45 Colt has a 4-5 Gr. case capacity advantage over the 44 Rem Mag and can pretty much match it in a six shot revolver at much lower pressure. The 45 Colt is at it's best in the 5 shot and 5 shot conversions built to take chamber pressures of 60,000,  in these revolvers the 45 Colt runs within a few fps of the 454 Casull, and will humiliate any 44 Rem Magnum load. The 45 Colt is one of the better handgun catridges, it's limits are established by the Revolver you put it in. I shoot a lot of 45 Colt through one of my 454 Casulls (I have three). I shoot a 335 Cast bullet at 1500 fps, with the same bullet and same powder the 454 Casull uses three Grs. more powder and the diff in recoil is pretty noticeable.

Because of so many older, some even black powder designed revolvers chambered in .45 Colt, factory ammo usually is loaded pretty weak.  Even so, it's still easily on par with a .45ACP from the factory. Other than not too many loads available for it, the rim of the case is very small, resulting in extraction problems from most DA revovlers.  The Single Actions, like the Colt or Ruger use a rod, so it's no big deal there, but on the older New Service and the S&W M25, the extractor star can pass the rim pretty easy.  When the Army was using the M1909 (Colt New Service in .45 Colt), they developed a case with a bigger rim, but commercial brass never used it because it didn't fit the loading gate, or the holes were too close in the SAA, or something like that.  

It's a great round otherwise though.

Ross

I shoot it in several single actions, and it is a great round, I load down because the pistols are weaker.

I have also shot it in soem of the kore modern pistols with hotter loads, they are more than respectable, adn I woudl be happy to carry it for protection against anythign including bear

what kind of loads could i work up for a colt cowboy?

im assuming that it would be strong enough (modern manufacture) to handle a small boost in cartridge performance...

david

Quoted: im assuming that it would be strong enough (modern manufacture) to handle a small boost in cartridge performance...

Don't assume!

If you want to go .45 Colt +P get a Ruger. The SAA clones still have thin chamber walls and bolt cuts directly over the chambers.

There's not much that a 255gr hard cast lead bullet with a wide metplat at 950-1050fps won't do.

25-5 45colt

I've always like the .45 Colt in my 25-5 S&W DA revolver

You can load it warm just not hot

265 gr SWC work well for me

the 200gr JHP Blazer is nice and economical for factory ammo

like stated before the case used to be ballooned at the bottom in the 70's

Factory ammo $25.00 for 50 rounds    --- $10.00 for 50 rounds of .45ACP

If you're using a Ruger, the 45 Colt is everything.  With a 5.5" Vaquero, I have light loads with 5.0 gr Bullseye that drive a 255 gr LSWC out at 802 FPS.  On the other end, I can drive a 250 gr Hornady XTP   to 1321 FPS with a max charge of Hodgedon Lil Gun .  I can get even more energy our of a 225 gr Speer mag but it gets to be a bit much to hang on to (uncomfortably rotates the square frame back into the web of my hand).    With a Winchester 94 16" trapper, I can get 2000 FPS out of the 225 gr. Speer, which is about equal to a 30-30 book energy out of a longer barrel.
And all loads shoot very accurately.
I also have a 45 colt  4" S&W model 25 Mountain Gun which is very handy to carry but S&W never admits it to being capable of anything but factory loads though they also say that the only difference between that and the 44 mag Mountain gun is the size of the hole.  (Which may be significant in that it means that the chamber walls are that much thinner.
I think what held back the 45 colt was with the mild factory loads that were made to be safe in the older guns and the fact that it was only chambered in large frame revolvers that are not handy for concealed carry.