Pennsylvania Game News - February 2013 - 63

until 1950. S&W continued the .45 ACP chambering in their Model 22, as well as the target version Model 25 and 26 (these were also called the Model 1950 Target Model) with a target hammer and trigger, adjustable sights and heavier barrel. Smith & Wesson now makes the Model 625. For those who are fond of single action revolvers, the Ruger Black Hawk model that is chambered for the .45 Long Colt also includes an extra cylinder chambered in the .45 ACP. The Ruger does not need the moon clips for support or ejection, because the cases are ejected by the ejector rod, as with any traditional rimmed cartridge. I have owned a couple of these, and even though there is a greater jump through the chamber into the barrel than with the.45 Long Colt cartridge, the accuracy isn’t bad. For those who didn’t like the hassle of ﬁlling and removing brass from the half moon clips (it is a real pain to get them out) the .45 Auto Rim cartridge was developed that was identical to the .45 ACP but with a rim that would allow the extractor to eject them without the aid of the clip. Today you can get full moon, 1/3 moon and half moon clips if you don’t want to bother with trying to ﬁnd .45 Auto Rim cases/ammo, which is not as popular as it once was. The Colt 1911 served our military up until 1985, when the Beretta M92 in 9mm took over, but there are still special military units that use an updated version of the M1911. To say the least, the Model 1911 has been one of the most inﬂuential auto pistols ever made. The military grade M1911 with ﬁxed sights was built for reliability; Fun Game answers: rodents, world, New York, Oregon, Canada, vision, semi-aquatic, submerged, herbivores, ﬁsh, kits; OTTER.
FEBRUARY 2013

accuracy was not target grade. But once armories and civilian gunsmiths began to work on tightening the slide, using a barrel bushing that ﬁts tighter, a polished and widened barrel feed ramp, a well-ﬁtting link and pin, an improved trigger and adjustable sights (among other improvements), it has became a top notch competitor that is still running strong today. The 1911 has become so popular that it is hard to ﬁnd a handgun manufacturer that does not carry a copy of it in their lineup. The .45 ACP has also found a home with the generation of double action semiautos, such as the CZ, H&K, SIG , Smith & Wesson, Ruger, as well as the newer type of polymer striker type of semi-auto pistols, such as the Glock, Springﬁeld XD, Smith & Wesson M&P and a host of others. As far as the factory loads go, a wealth of different loads is available from every ammo manufacturer out there. That variety runs from 165, 185, 200, 225 and 230 grains in lead and jacketed round nose, semi wadcutter or hollow point, along with the glazer safety type bullets, which can serve for target, defense and close range hunting. The most popular of these being 185, 200 and 230 grains for all around purposes. As far as reloading goes, the same weights and conﬁgurations of bullets are used along with suitable powders such as Unique, Titegroup, Bullseye, HS-6, and a few others. My favorite load for my Colt Commander (ﬁxed sights) that shoots to point of aim is a 200-grain truncated ﬂat nose or hollow point with 6.3 grains of Unique that ﬂies close to 1,000 fps. I no longer have that old S&W 1917, but it was fond of 230-grain slugs with six grains of Unique for point of aim, and 185-grain semi wadcutters that shot a bit high, but accurate with seven grains of Unique. That load was deadly on jackrabbits and coyotes out to 50 yards. Today with the .45 ACP more than 107 years old, it’s still a versatile cartridge that can be had in revolver or semi-auto handguns and can be mastered by anyone with a little practice.
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Pennsylvania Game News - February 2013

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