Talk:.45 Super

Thumbuster chronicle

While I recall Grennell improving the .45ACP, IIRC, as a long-time M1911 enthusiast, he also wanted to improve the performance of the ol' thumbuster. True? Also, does Lee Jurras' .45 J-Mag bear mentioning? Jurras got .45 Super perf in a factory Government in around 1978, iIRC. TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 16:38, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

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--JeffGBot (talk) 13:06, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Oral history

In 1975, Dean met at the Manhattan Beach Police Department indoor range with police officers R.L. Rowsell (BHPD) and C.D. Rowsell (CCPD). Dean brought his chronograph, his T/C Contender single shot, chambered for .45 ACP with 4X scope and a camera. The officers were working on a .45 ACP bullet and powder loading which would be more effective than the standard cartridges using hardball, semi wad cutter and hollow point (expanding) bullets. The state of the art hollow points were incapable of reliable performance across various conditions due to under 900 fps velocity and various design constraints . The meeting with Dean was to test the best bullet type (255 grain .453 diameter Long Colt semi wad cutter), most accurate powder/loading (Winchester 231, 680, Alliant Bullseye and 2400) and bullet velocities. Prior component testing had shown these components to be the best performing out of the multiple combinations tried. The testing this day found the Winchester 680 ball was the most accurate powder. This was the case regardless of the various grain loadings of 680. Winchester 680 was also the slowest burning powder of the four tested. Chronograph tests showed bullet velocity for all loadings in the range of 1150-1250 fps. The energy of the bullets according to Dean's calculations were "at .44 magnum energies". Problems noted with the larger powder loads are detailed below in Dean's efforts in 1988. The two most notable in 1975 were the large pistol primers would completely flatten and have metal flow. The unsupported portion of the case (barrel feed ramp area) would have swelling, especially with the heaviest loads. This would happen only in the unsupported area. Both primer and case issues are indications of over-pressure of the case. When the same loading was fired in the T/C Contender (a single shot pistol) the entire case was supported and no swelling was apparent. The primer issue was also less notable in the Contender. The T/C Contender was a new weapon for Dean at the time of this testing. He had drilled and tapped some "blind holes" in the barrel to mount a 4X scope. With the addition of a liberal application of an epoxy, Dean felt the scope would remain in place. Unfortunately, the small screws sheared off and the epoxy failed as well after approximately 20-25 rounds fired, putting a small "scope smile" in the top of the shooter's forehead. Some of the lessons learned included these types of loads required heavy duty barrels and 22 lb. recoil springs. (BarSto stainless and Colt Gold Cup stock barrels were used.) The weapon slide cycling time was visually and felt as being much quicker, yet the muzzle rise did not look or feel any greater. There was a definite increase in side torque or "twist" of the weapon in the shooters hand, which may have been from the heavy (and slightly oversized) bullet rotating in the barrel. Summary: Both Officers settled on the following loading as a duty load - 255 grain .453 diameter Long Colt bullet, 6.5 grains of Winchester 680 ball powder (no longer manufactured) with Winchester large pistol primers. The cases used were one time fired Federal nickel plated cases which were originally loaded with jacketed "hardball" bullets. As for Dean Grennell and his interest in bringing the .45 into the 21st Century, it was long before 1988.

/ref> C.D. Rowsell 2014/ref>

I moved this here from the article. It appears to be an unpublished oral history, posted by user:CD2U. If a proper source can be found then it's probably a useful addition, after some editing. But "C.D. Rowsell 2014" isn't a verifiable source. Rezin (talk) 21:48, 3 December 2014 (UTC)