Anyone have experience with a .451 ?

[mike in tenn.]

Morning ! Does anyone have any knowledge with or experience with a .451 Detonics Mag ? I have heard that this "old" round was similar to the .460 Roland round and it was a drop in bbl. change with a .45 Detonics Pistol and you were "good to go" with this change.

Thanks for any input.

[tracyballard]

what a coincidence, I just read about that round in an old issue of Guns Digest that gave a history of Detonics. sorry, I have nothing of substance to contribute...

[4x401]

Yes, the .451 Detonics magnum was a "drop in" barrel caliber change for any standard 1911 platform. Detonics also built a full size 1911 platform for it along with a conversion for their Combat Master. In kit form it was required that the recoil spring system be enhanced to keep the slide from beating the crap out of the frame, and shooter. The .451 is comparable to the .460 Rowland. It was made slightly longer to avoid chambering in a standard .45 ACP barrel. There was limited factory brass and loaded cartridges available at the time. To remedy that problem, .308 brass was shortened and inside reamed to accomadate a .451 bullet. Much cheaper to do than buying factory ammo or brass. I had a barrel conversion for my Combat Master and a friend had a full size Detonics gun. The full size wasn`t to bad to shoot, but my compact was a bitch to hold onto. Overall the power gains weren`t enough to offset the added recoil and muzzle blast. I miss my Combat Master. :(

[MAINER]

A shooting buddy had a Detonics .451 compact a long while back. It was definately a handfull. :eek:

He tired of the blast and lack of factory brass and traded it in on a Coonan .357.

If you're looking for a hot .45 Auto, check out the .45 Super. Brass is available and requires only a heavy recoil and firing pin spring.