1917 to .45LC?

[xtos]

maybe you will think this is a stupid question but here I go anyway...... what is involved with making a 1917 .45 acp revolver shoot .45LC? can you just replace the cylinder? or what? please understand Im a novice so I ask here for some expert advice.. thanks ....xtos

[Darne]

It will require a 45 Colt cylinder complete with ratchet. It might drop in and fit, but almost certainly it won't. Fitting a cylinder to a Colt is a major undertaking. There a very few gunsmith's capable of this.

It's doable, but it ain't cheap. You could buy a New Service 45 Colt for what it will cost. The Kuhnhausen manual vol 1 for double action colts describes the process.

Dan

[Oyeboten]

As I understand it, the early Colt Model 1917 Revolvers had bored straight through Cylinders with no 'step', and, these can chamber and fire .45 Colt just fine, even though there is what some may regard as being a generous Headspace for the .45 Colt Cartridge to enjoy in that situation.

The .45 Colt Cartridge when within usual Loadings, is not going to care if it has some 'generous' Headspace, and, the worst which might happen is that the Primer might not get as smart a strike ( for the Cartridge moving forward a teeny bit when struck) as it would have if the Headspace were within usual limits.


Those Model 1917 Colt Revolvers which have steppod Cylinder Bores, will of course not chamber the .45 Colt Cartridge, and, one would either have to have the Cylinder Bore modified to move the Step further down a little, or, to replace the Cylinder with a proper .45 Colt Cylinder, as has been described already in previous Posts.

Or, one can just use .45 AutoRim Cartridges, which is definietly a nice option to consider.


If you have an intact, original, good integrity Model 1917 Colt Revolver, really you would be best to leave it be, and not fuss with it, and, to find an additional New Service in .45 Colt...thus having the best of both Worlds.



Anyway, what I did ( which was fun, and fairly easy to do, ) was for my Model 1917 Colt, which has the bored straight through Cylinder...I took .45 Colt Cartridge Cases, put them on the Lathe, and, cut a small annular ring relief just inside the Rim, so they would be about the same in that regard as the .45 ACP Cartridge, and, these .45 Colt Cartridge Cases then fit on to conventional Moon Clips, and, thus eliminates the 'generous' Head Space issue as well as looking really interesting to have Six .45 Colt Cartridges on a Full Moon Clip...and makes for a fast re-charging of the Cylinder, too.


Of course, with Cylinder Bores which are bored straight through, I still get some blow by which is not ideal, but, oh well...it's a Snubby anyway, so, I am not worried about a little lost Gas there with that.

[xtos]

thanks to both of you gentlemen for replying to my question, I learned something

[Darne]

xtos,

I'm curious about your motivation. The difference between a 45 Colt and 45 ACP is pretty small. John Browning designed the cartridge as a replacement for the Army. I have one of each and I can't tell much difference.

Dan

[Daddyojoe1]

I use full moon clips in mine with NP. Get some here: Moon Clips, These are the full moon clips sold by The Revolver Supply Company

[Daddyojoe1]

Plus, if you get teh 15.00 unloader tool you will save yourself a lot of grief. Moon Clips, These are the full moon clips sold by The Revolver Supply Company

[Oyeboten]

Converting a Colt Model of 1911 to .45 Colt is a lot more difficult.

[rhmc24]

I disqualify myself up front as an expert but I'm in the process of installing a 1909 .45 Colt cyl in a 1917 frame (see in 'Lounge' above). Its true that it can become complicated. Even the cranes don't quite interchange - not a problem in this job but I checked a lot of pieces for possible interchange.

I think without question the simplest and cheapest conversion from a stepped 1917 cylinder to shoot .45 Colt is to ream the step to .45 Colt case depth. I haven't done it on a 1917 but I did it to shoot .44 Special in my .44 Russian S&W DA topbreak.

I turned a piece of 1/2" drill rod to the desired diameter with a shoulder to the right depth, filed some random cutter teeth on it, hardened it and it was all over in couple hours. It turned out accurate enough that it takes careful study to see evidence of the reaming.