45 Super Pistol - Some time ago I picked up a Springfield Custom Shop TRP operator with a monolithic rail. I love the full length rail and the gun is beautiful and built to last. I was at my local Johnson's Sporting Goods dealer in Adrian MI, they had a coin in a box, one came on consignment for $1000. It wasn't on the shelf yet, but it was on the website because my friend Gary, a gun enthusiast , saw it and happened to come in and asked to see it. I told him I'd stomp on his dead "f'n" body to get him if he had a monolithic rail when they brought him back. He threw up his hands and said it was useless. He had it and when he passed it on I bought a TRP operator with the intention of shooting a 45 Super out of it.
45 Super the Cartridge: Introduced in 1988, I wanted one bad at the time, but everyone thought it needed a $350 conversion to be sure. Being in my early 20s when the cassette was just taken off, I didn't have that kind of extra cash at the time. Now fast forward a few years, we now have the internet and half the shooters still seem to think you need an expensive conversion. I look at all sorts of older posts (2005-2010) and read things like "44 Magnum Power", NO, about 10mm power. You must have this expensive conversion process or you will die a horrible, bloody death. No, you need a spring. No polymer-framed gun will ever survive 45 Super: False... That's definitely way off base, now we know they can even hold up to 460 Rowland power. You will need a $9 Wolf 22lb spring with this TRP operator. End of conversion. You don't need an extractor, ejector, jewel barrel, firing pin stop...blah blah...you need a 22 pound spring and that's it. I've even read that dual recoil spring adjustments are needed up to 32lbs... 32lbs?? Holy shit, a lot of people need a special bracket for their chipper just to hang the slide!! My first and second set of 460 Rowland came with 20lb. Sources, if that tells us anything, but it's not compressed. Another example is my Grizzly 44, basically a scaled up 1911 shooting a full power 44 mag with a 27lb recoil spring.... This 45 Super cartridge was originally made as scrap with the pin pulled out and you have one finger on the spoon that is just not true. You get a solid 10mm performance levels at lower pressures and nothing more. I really don't understand the polymer frame not surviving things and how it all started when I saw the 10mm was already out. I shoot a lot of 460 Rowland out of a 5 inch XD and the 460 Rowland hits the 45 Super like a seal. Not only does it survive, but it does it with nothing but a barrel, comp and spring. Anyway, time has passed and we learn as we go, so 27 years after I first wanted it, I finally got around to it, this TRP operator and a 22lb Wolf spring.
45 Super Pistol
Gun: It has a barrel and a one-piece guide rod along its entire length. This makes it a huge PIA to take apart and put back together, especially with a 22lb recoil spring. This is something I plan to fix one day, it takes 3 hands to compress the spring to get it back together and return the clip to the hole. You will need a paper clip or the provided "removal tool" as I call it to take it apart. Other than that, and the grips are very aggressive, it's a really nice 1911. You can feel like you've been holding a belt sander on a longer range. I also feel the hammer spring is quite stiff compared to others I have, but if you shoot heavier loads like the Super I see that as an advantage. I actually have a sig that when I get around to buying a recoil spring I will probably be up a pound or two due to the weaker hammer spring in the sig. Anyway, we have a two inch safety and a sharp trigger, I would guess somewhere in the 3.5 to 4.5 lb range. She has a nice trimmed reservoir well, a full length light rail, plus fully adjustable nightstands, the girl is a beauty. Oh one last thing, I converted the barrel, holster, plug and guide rod from my Wilson Combat Colt and it fit right and shot well with the 45 acp. So...if you wanted to go so far as to upgrade to a 460 Rowland, you could do so with a standard 1911 kit, you wouldn't need a bull barrel kit. In fact, if there is one at all, I have never seen one.
Ben And Bawb's Blog: .45 Super; More Bear Medicine
I got 185 grains of HP at 1300 fps, 230 grains of HP at 1100 fps, and 255 grains of Hard Cast at 1075 fps. These loads generate about a solid 10mm of energy as I said. 185 at 694 pounds, 230 at 618 pounds, and 255 at 654 pounds. In comparison, my standard 10mm loads generate 676lbs with a 180 grain bullet and the 460 Rowlands crushes it right around 1000lbs with all 3 loads I shoot regularly.
185's: Well, somewhat surprising recoil, much less than I expected. I loaded them with Hornady Critical Defense 45acp every other round, although they were obviously stiffer than the 45acp, they were very easy to control from the TRP, follow up shots were a breeze. To me the recoil felt less than my Glock 20 with a similar fed load. The 45 fell 4 feet and slightly back and the supers fell 8 feet at 3:00.
255 HCFP is generally my best group load, but you can barely see it here.
My second magazine of Supers ever fired, I loaded 185, 230 and 255 to fire in that order. Felt armor increases with heavier bullets, but only slightly. They all shot out directly to my right in the 8 to 11 foot range. The distance they slide out along with the perfect looking burnished brass tells me all I need to know... the spring is all you need. I haven't done a night party with the supers so I can't speak to the flash yet, but according to their ad they use a low flash powder. The 255's are a hard cast flat tip and smoke as well as any other HC load I've fired from an Underwood. They are greased and the grease burns off in the fire.
Comanche Super Comanche 45 Lc/410 Gauge 10\
By the way, I used strictly factory mags from Springfield (7 rds) and Sig Sauer (8 rds) and both fed flawlessly even with a 22 lb spring, I didn't put heavier springs in either mag, they hold with the slide as is.
I have enjoyed several boxes of Super since that first day. I like the gun and ammo, but a super powerful one that's about to explode in the hand, it's not a devastating monster. It's actually quite tame for those of us who are used to a steady diet of 460 Rowlands, 454, and 500. If you're not used to these types of guns, I think this will be a very exciting upgrade. The pictures above are some pictures of groups shot at different ranges, velocities and loads. All good enough for me.
Usage?: Do you need usage? Not me... just the fun of playing with something different and learning something new was good enough for me. It would certainly make a formidable home weapon, I suppose forest protection though if your creatures aren't too gigantic. If I can't kill it with 10mm, I wouldn't even try with Super. I could see some short range, maybe medium game hunting, deer and what have you.
Summary: The gun is as sweet as the 45acp, the supers just add a little fun to it. For the sake of accountability, I won't say do it... I'll just say I dropped to a 22lb spring and enjoyed the more powerful 45 Super with no reason to believe my TRP or I were in danger. I wouldn't worry about doomsdayer saying you need a few hundred dollars worth of new parts, my TRP operator was fine. As always, thanks for reading and practicing often.
Colt 1911 Super Match From 1937
USMC Infantry / Combat Veteran / MUESOC / Sniper School - Honey retired LEO with 8 years on the job before my wounds caught up with me in Iraq.
Super bowl 45 ring, super mario 45, super 45, 45, earlex super sprayer 45, super 45 cantaloupe, super bowl 45 logo, super 45 cantaloupe seeds, super aero 45, dragon ball super 45, super tigre 45, super tigre 45 engine
0 Comments