June 2007 No. 247 Rifle Magazine Presents - HANDLOADER $4.99US $5.99CAN 06 0 74808 01240 4 Printed in USA $4.99 U.S./$5.99 Canada Bob Campbell There are those, however, who took the path of improving the .45 ACP to the nth degree, giving us fter 30 years of using Old first the .45 +P and later the powerful .45 Super. I Ugly, I have to admit that recall reading of a police agency in California that was among the first to adopt the 1911 autoloader, my preference for the largely based upon Col. Jeff Cooper’s recommenda- A 1911 is not based com- tion. Cooper’s 1,100 fps, 200-grain semiwadcutter pletely upon performance. A sense (SWC) loading was perfectly adequate, but the offi- of history and emotional attachment cers loaded the .45 ACP case with 255-grain SWCs originally designed for the .45 Colt and used enough are equally as important. The pistol powder to nearly equal the original black-powder is downright exciting at times. load. Many of the Colts were battered to death. Re- .460.460 coil spring and buffer technology may be more de- veloped today, but I took that lesson to heart. The 1911’s attributes are appreciated by savvy handgunners. It sits low in the hand, limiting muz- zle flip, since there is little leverage for the muzzle to rise. The controls are well placed, the manual safety and grip safety are comfortable, and the trig- ger features a straight-to-the-rear compression that can be fine-tuned. The 1911 is a sharp contrast to the various overlarge, bulky magnum autoloaders. These handguns are not as handy as a big-bore re- volver, while the 1911 arguably is a more efficient package. The .45 Super is a good try at maximizing the 1911. It is really a heavy loading, not a separate cal- iber. With modifications the 1911 can safely handle With the Clark conversion installed, the High Stan- the Super, although the pistol exhibits increased re- dard G Man remains a remarkably handsome 1911 coil and the .45 Super is a standard .45 ACP in all with good features. dimensions. While the savvy handgunner will not 58 www.handloadermagazine.com Handloader 247 drop a Super load in a Llama or cartridge case is a premium, deep seat the bullet, the powder combat Tupperware, the chance strengthened case manufactured capacity comes out the same. exists. by Starline. The case is .963 inch Overall loaded length of either long, as opposed to .900 inch for Johnny Rowland of the Louisiana- cartridge is the same, 1.250 to the .45 ACP. This prevents the based “Shooting Show” took this 1.275 inches. My experience Rowland-designed cartridge from shows there is no room to play into account when envisioning a chambering in a standard .45 with this OAL. A bit deeper and 1911 pistol capable of delivering ACP. In order for the cartridge to pressure could skyrocket; seat .44 Magnum performance. My im- feed and function in a 1911 with the bullet out farther and it will pression is that while the .45 standard magazines, it is loaded not fit in the magazine. We are Super was designed primarily as to the same overall length as the not deep seating a .45 ACP, we a defensive/service cartridge, the .45 ACP. This takes some getting are using the proper seating de- .460 is intended as an outdoors- used to in handloading, as deep signed into the .460 Rowland. seating a bullet can lead to Deep seating the bullet is per- higher pressure in the .45 fectly safe as long as the correct ACP case. overall length is used with an ap- Put on your thinking propriate powder charge. cap when loading this The cartridge is in some ways cartridge. Even though similar to the late George C. the case is longer than Nonte’s special short .38 Super the .45 ACP, when we used in “chopped and channeled” ROWLANDROWLANDA Hot Rod .45 man’s cartridge. With the help of Jim Clark Jr. of Clark Custom Gunsmithing, the dream was re- alized. The .460 Rowland is quite a cartridge by any measure. A quality 1911 can be modified to handle a magnum-level cartridge simply by adding a drop-in bar- rel, full-length guide rod and ap- propriate springs. Do not attempt this conversion with a GI pistol or other economy handguns that may have been heat-treated in- differently. A good, tight, late- production Colt, Springfield or The .460 Rowland conversion Kimber is the best bet. (bottom) results in a considerably longer handgun than the standard First things first: the cartridge, Government model (top). There is then the conversion. The .460 no free lunch; the compensator is Rowland is a lengthened .45 Au- a necessary part of the conversion. tomatic Colt Pistol cartridge. The June-July 2007 www.handloadermagazine.com 59 .460 ROWLAND 9mm Smith & Wesson pistols. Load data is scant on the .460 Rowland, which is why I began this project. To convert an existing 1911 to .460 Rowland, all that is required is the Clark Custom Guns change- over. This consists of a barrel, barrel bushing, two-piece full- length guide rod, a heavy 24- pound W.C. Wolff gun spring, bushing and Allen wrenches. The barrel comes complete with a link, link pin and features a com- The Springfield (top) is compared to a 4-inch barreled .44 Magnum. pensator. The addition of the The 1911 is lighter, flatter and holds two more rounds. compensator changed my per- sonal 1911 from an 8.75 inch long or narrow (.375-inch) barrel field 1911A1, I was able to drop hood. The hood clears a relief in the conversion into another The .460 Rowland the slide, and you must consult Springfield and a High Standard is a lengthened Clark for the proper specifica- G Man without difficulty. tions. For installation, I first used .45 Automatic Colt At this point I should admit to one of the pistols on the ap- some trepidation in approaching Pistol cartridges. proved list, a Springfield 1911A1. the .460 Rowland. Simply by The conversion is straightfor- glancing at the ballistics and con- package to 10.3 inches. It will not ward, but a daunting part is sidering the weight of the pistol, fit most holsters, although a long pressing the heavy recoil spring recoil would be in .44 Magnum fabric type or a belt slide still into the action. My first conver- territory. A 40-ounce pistol sim- works fine. sion was accomplished by Jim ply has to recoil greater than a There are two sizes on the con- Dunbar, a credible gunsmith well 50-ounce pistol when the lighter version, depending on whether familiar with the 1911. After the gun is jolting a heavy bullet to you have a standard (.445-inch) initial break-in using a Spring- greater velocity. I was concerned The Clark conversion is seen above a Sarco Roto barrel. The .460 con- The full-length guide rod must version is well made of good materials and gives fine accuracy. be tightened when installed for proper function. An Allen wrench is supplied. 60 www.handloadermagazine.com Handloader 247 There are two sizes on the conversion. with wear and even damage. pistols, with less than 2,000 Pressure is one thing but momen- rounds fired to date. tum is what shears lugs and bat- As it turned out, my fears con- ters frames. Jim Clark warns that cerning heavy recoil were ground- wear is certain to be increased, less. My metacarpals are fine. but he has taken the steps neces- When I touched off the first .460 sary to prevent damage and ex- Rowland, it was the Georgia cess wear to the handgun. Arms personal defense 185-grain, Few of us will fire thousands of 1,400-fps load. I was so surprised rounds of .460 Rowland. Know- I double-checked the chrono- graph to be certain I was getting my money’s worth in velocity. I had a little extra. Recoil is in the .45 hardball range. The full- Top, a great addition to the G power, 185-grain load is in the .45 Man is Wilson Combat night +P recoil range, and the 230s sights. The sight picture avoids kick less than a .45 Super. Recoil trapping shadows, letting plenty is far less objectionable than a .44 of light in and does not snag on Magnum or even the much her- clothing. Below, the clear, precise alded .41 Magnum. How? There is sight picture of the Wilson Com- a reciprocating slide that absorbs bat sights fitted to Bob’s G Man The well-machined some recoil, aided by an ultra- gave excellent results in both Clark compensator speed and benchrest shooting. proved a formidable heavy recoil spring. But the main tool in taming the .460 component of the recoil reduc- Rowland cartridge. tion system is the compensator. High-pressure numbers such as the .38 Super can use a compen- The compensator works by sator to an advantage. The .460 redirecting gas. This retards muz- Rowland also produces tremen- ing the 1911 as I do, the pistol zle jump and to an extent rear- dous pressure, so the compen- should take many more full- ward motion, but compensators sator works well. power cartridges without ill ef- are not very effective with stan- fects than would be possible with dard calibers such as the .45 ACP. Without the compensator, recoil a magnum revolver. The recipro- cating slide absorbs some of the momentum, the compensator more.
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