Colt .45 Peacemaker: recoil?

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Hey, all,

I'm working on a new story, set in 1966, in which the villain has as his regular gun a well-used Colt .45 "Peacemaker," the Single-Action Army revolver. It's not that he fires it; the question comes up when the heroine shoots him with it.

She is experienced with more modern (for 1966) guns like the Walther P-38, and is a good shot. She has the grip strength and control to fire the SAA and hit what she's aiming at (the villain's chest). But is the recoil going to be too savage for a woman used to the kick of a 9mm automatic? And after she fires the Colt twice, what is her wrist going to feel like? Numb, vibrating, sore the next day?

Any help/comments appreciated!
 
Actually, the recoil of the peacemaker is fairly mild. More like a shove than a slam.

If she's used to firing a P-38, the peacemaker will be no problem for her.
 
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Originally Posted By: Boomer
Comparable to a .38 special.


Are you shooting "Cowboy Action" load (light bullets)? I have to say my 7 1/2" 1873 Colt recoils a lot more than a .38 Special when I shoot standard 45 Colt loads with 250gr bullets. It is simple physics!

But nothing to harm any experienced shooter. The Peacemaker grip kind of 'rotates' in your hand and under the mass of the pistol to minimize the recoil somewhat.

Her wrist should be ok...but how come in print and even stage and screen the MUZZLE BLAST is never much of a bother to anyone? You guys ever fire a gun in a small room?...a car?
OUCH!!!!!!
 
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How loud were those cowboy loads, when they were "real" cowboy loads? Low pressure blackpowder rounds in what, an 8 inch gun? I have to wonder if they weren't as loud back then as we might expect today.
 
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Boomer said:
. . . Her wrist should be ok...but how come in print and even stage and screen the MUZZLE BLAST is never much of a bother to anyone? You guys ever fire a gun in a small room?...a car?
OUCH!!!!!!

I'm proud to say that I did indeed mention that "The muzzle blast was deafening in the small room"!
 
Colt.45 rounds are low-pressure and won't kick hard. At least mine doesn't plus I have a ported barrel that really tames things down. I love shooting the colt round! I would imagine due to the size of the casing you could load the [censored] out of these things... but you better have a gun that can handle those pressures.
 
The 45 LC was the most powerful revolver round in America (when loaded to its potential) till the 357 Mag came along. It was a proven manstopper.

Interesting you picked a P38 as the "modern" 9mm auto. I would think in the late 60's a more modern 9mm choice in the US would be something like a S&W 39 which was designed a few decades later than the P38 which is a 30's design.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
The 45 LC was the most powerful revolver round in America (when loaded to its potential) till the 357 Mag came along. It was a proven manstopper.

Interesting you picked a P38 as the "modern" 9mm auto. I would think in the late 60's a more modern 9mm choice in the US would be something like a S&W 39 which was designed a few decades later than the P38 which is a 30's design.

Well, it's relative . . . I think of the P-38 as more modern than a Colt .45 SAA! But my mention of the Walther is because of certain elements in the story.
 
Yeah it is relative. I have a commercial P38 made in 61. I love the little thing. Too bad it cracked the slide like many of the early post war guns do.
 
Recoil in the Peacemaker is mild with Winchester/Remington 250 grain LRN factory loads. You are lucky if you can break 700 fps with them as they are likely downloaded a great deal out of fear somebody is going to stuff one in a gun made specifically for blackpowder.

I use a classic load of 8.5 grain of Alliant Unique behind a 250 grain lead round nose Remington bullet with CCI 300 large pistol primer. In my Cimmaron Arms Peacemaker with 5.5 inch barrel, the gun definitely jumps when I touch one off. I chronoed the same load in a 7.5 inch Ruger at about 870fps. The load is about 1 full grain below listed maximum in the Speer #14 manual.
 
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