Shooting the .45----JACKETED BULLETS BARE---No Sabots!

I have always had a love affair with the .45. It really did not matter if it was a .45 auto, .45 long colt or a .458 Winchester magnum; as long as it began with.45 it caught my eye. I have to confess my real true weakness has been and continues to be the .45 Sharps the .45/70, .45/110, .45/120; have a place of affection in my nostalgic heart that just does not go away.
When the .45 cal black powder weapon first caught my attention it was basically a round ball gun. A few folks were shooting conicals and that in standard twist rifles. Desiring more, and motivated by the Sharps, I built a .45 cal side lock using a fine Douglas octagon barrel with a 1/18 twist. Hoch Custom Moulds provided a superior .45 cal adjustable that ranged form 300—to—525 grs; thus began an enjoyable journey. The rifle was a shooter, liking the long 475-525 gr bullets best. When I built the Hydra Con into the bullet, it became capable of any North American Game.
The introduction of the .45 cal incline caused no small stir in my already active excitement pond. The rifle shot well, but bullet selection was not as strong as you would like and bit by bit the .45 began to fade; now there is only shadows and silence.
The legitimate place for the .45 now is in the Custom Rifle Arena. Great bullets are available fantastic rifles are being built; accuracy and power are past imagination. In spite of these advancements, I was unable to get away from my interest in the regular .45 cal inline. I kept on saying to myself, “why can’t I shoot the inline with bare bullets like the Custom .45s?” Being a bullet designer and manufacture has its advantages; I have a good supply of product with which to pursue a possibility----even if some say “why bother”. The answer—“just because I want to and I can.”
The first attempts to shoot the .45 inline rifle with bare bullets were not very encouraging. There is something about bullets going through the target sideways that takes the edge off your enthusiasm!! I shelved the project, acquired a Custom Smokeless .45 which shot fantastically. After working with the projectiles for smokeless rifle I was left with the question—why can’t I apply the same principles to the inclines? I did, SUCCESS CAME IMMEDIATELY. I discovered I needed three things: the right rifle (my T.C will not shoot bare bullets), proper bullet fit and the right powder. I switched to my Knights and Traditions rifles, sized our .450 Ballistic Extreme jacketed 250 gr to a.452.5, there was a strong recommendation for Blackhorn 209---it worked like a charm!
The results—for me the .45 had new life, as you can see from the pictorial walk through the choice of projectiles are several and the application is from varmint to whatever. The 250 gr Ballistic Extreme @ 1993 fps and 1”-11/4” @ 100 yards is not bad either. If you have a .45 sitting around and you think you might like this game----come on out and play---THE SUN IS SHINING. Bob Parker 209 596 8430.

RIFLES---Knight @ Traditions
POWDER---Blackhorn 209,110grs
PRIMERS---CCI 209 M & Federal 209A
BULLET----Parker 250 gr Ballistic Extreme