Russian Silver -- First Shots

[PT7]

Just got back from the indoor range in KCKS. Left my "older" Russian Blue at home; took the "newer" Russian Silver out for the first time. What a very cool revolver.

Yup, Big Al. Working on collecting the CO .45LC brass!

More ammo more guns right PT?????

NCG, "those ARE big 45 cal holes in a target." Today, I was more than pleased where the big-hole-POIs landed!

Yes, excellent work on the pics. Now, get out and shoot those beauties. I'm dying, here, to see some of those big 45 cal holes in a target.

THE REVOLVER
The Russian Silver .45LC

NOOB_2777.JPG

THE RANGE STORY
~~~Yellow Target One (8.5" black circle; 3" orange; 5/8" yellow diamond at dead bull). First shots were three 5-round groups. What I'm always so glad to see is how the very first trigger pull lands. This time I got it in the yellow diamond bull. No doubt that I definitely think this revolver shoots as accurately as the other.

First Shots_10 yards_2788.JPG

~~~Black Splash Target Two (12" with a 2" red bull). At this longer distance, first POI is at upper, far left in the 7-ring. I got the remaining rounds somewhat settled down.

FIrst Shots_15 yards_2789.JPG

DA! I have my rabbit hunting revolver for this winter season!
Which one? At the moment, it's certainly a coin toss.
Both Russians are accurate and great to shoot! Will still get out for more range time; especially want to shoot again at the 4.5" reactive ground target I got, and hopefully have to chase it a lot around the forest trees!
PT7

[CT_Shooter]

DA! Congratulations, PT7. That's a beautiful gun and some fantastic targets. Thanks for another great range report. Rabbit hunting will be just that much more fun!

[Mags]

Impressive performance! Your excitement comes through is what you shared and how you shared it! So is the white Russian for white rabbits and the blue for (hm guess not blue rabbits) maybe brown rabbits?

[North Country Gal]

Loving it, PT, big 45 cal holes and all. Thank you. Very, very entertaining range report. You know, I've never even seen a range report with one of these interesting beauties, before. Whole new territory for me and I'm sure a lot of folks. So generous of you to share like this. Keep up the good work and, of course, good shooting. I think you and those Russians make a great combo.

[PT7]

Спасибо~~~Spasibo~~~Thanks to you both for your comments

Not only a "new territory for you," but for me also. Never had a .45LC revolver until this year, let alone a pair of them. One thing I've found out is how pleasantly different the .45LC caliber is to shoot.

Another really huge new thing for me was originally the biggest concern I had about buying the Russian. That was the size and configuration of the rear fixed sight. It's so small! I didn't get out my calipers, but used a regular ruler to measure after I cleaned the gun tonight. The height of each side post is 1/16"; the slot in between is 1/16" wide. The front blade fits like a sliver perfectly in between the rear posts, and puts me squarely on target. All very easily done; almost without thinking. Fortunately, Uberti has both guns built well with terrific accuracy using fixed iron sights.

These sights are the best I've had on any of my revolvers....go figure. It's a revolver with the longest barrel I've ever had at 6.5". Don't know if that factor makes an important difference or not. Honestly, I can't figure why this revolver with its tiny sights is so easy to shoot. Just glad it is.

I'm not by any means a marksman. This gun deserves a lot of the credit, I think, for the reasonable POIs I've had.

Loving it, PT, big 45 cal holes and all. Thank you. Very, very entertaining range report. You know, I've never even seen a range report with one of these interesting beauties, before. Whole new territory for me and I'm sure a lot of folks. So generous of you to share like this. Keep up the good work and, of course, good shooting. I think you and those Russians make a great combo.

Yup, it has been fun & exciting as I've acquired these new revolvers this year. My choices have turned out really good.

Interesting comments on the rabbit colors. First, I'm color-blind (primary red/green, but that crosses the line and mixes up basic colors, too). At the same time, I battle floaters in both eyes. That almost give a translucent color to what I aim at looking down the barrel of a gun.

To be honest, I wouldn't care if the rabbit was white, blue, silver, brown even with polka dots. All I would really like is to harvest some rabbits this hunting season. Even if I got only one, that would be the first time for me. I think it would be rewarding to put meat on the table. I got a very, very late start in firearms just as I retired. The several seasons I've been out deer hunting, that was what I did.....hunting only, and nary a harvest. Hoping more rabbits will hop around the woods and give me the chance to bring some harvest in this winter!

Impressive performance! Your excitement comes through is what you shared and how you shared it! So is the white Russian for white rabbits and the blue for (hm guess not blue rabbits) maybe brown rabbits?

[BigAl52]

Hey PT glad you got out and had a good time makin Big RR holes he will be proud to see those big cowboy pistol holes for sure. Was any of that ammo the new stuff?

[PT7]

Thanks, BigAl.

Yes, it was some of the "new stuff." I shot some 200gr Choice Ammo rounds today. I only have 35 rounds left of the off-the-shelf brands I've been using (HSM & Aguila), and shot mostly those. When they are gone, no Choice but Choice!!

BTW, I liked shooting them. Recoil is negligible as you thought it would be. I'll be shooting more of both the 200gr and 250gr before the rabbit season is in full swing. I'm thinking there won't be that much of a difference. Shall see.
PT7

Hey PT glad you got out and had a good time makin Big RR holes he will be proud to see those big cowboy pistol holes for sure. Was any of that ammo the new stuff?

[Mags]

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I know zero about hunting rabbits. What does a .45LC do to a rabbit? I mean is there anything left after a .45 hits it?

... Hoping more rabbits will hop around the woods and give me the chance to bring some harvest in this winter!

[RanchRoper]

Great shootin' PT7. Yup sure do admire them big craters. Wabbitts beware...

[Mistered]

I mean is there anything left after a .45 hits it?

Standard RN .45s at in the lower velocity range won't tear 'em up too bad.
Bullet speed and design are what influence how much damage they will do. I have shot 100s of jackrabbits with everything from .22 up to centerfire rifle with the most probably with .38 Special SWC ammo. Start getting up to .357s with jacketed wadcuctters or hollowpoints and thats where 'explosiveness' begins to happen! (especially out of a rifle) Centerfire HV rifle (.223 - .243) turns them into a red spray.
My new PCC is going to be an interesting rabbit gun this winter - and possibly some coyotes in there also.

[PT7]

I don't know the answer to your question; never have shot a rabbit with a .45LC round. I've had some chats with NCG, as she has hunted with handguns. She told me the light .45 caliber loads are ideal for rabbits because rabbits "are thin-skinned." In searching the web, haven't found a lot about using a .45 Colt to hunt rabbits. But did find an archived discussion on the castboolits.gunloads.com web site that practically says the same thing, which NCG said. Basically, the OP on that thread asked what you asked, as well as what loads could/should be used. Here are comments from some of those folk about their rabbit hunting experience using a .45LC round:

~~~I have actually shot a couple of rabbits with a .45 in a Blackhawk.... just punches through the ribs with hardly any damage, but knocks them right over. Rabbits are so fragile they offer no resistance to the bullet.

~~~Big round nose slow bullet will just poke a hole through them without too much damage. ...... They just fell down.

~~~It will do without a lot of meat damage oddly enough, if you stick to the old .45 Colt small flat tip round nose. It's an in one side and out the other.

~~~I've taken quite a bit of small game with a 45 colt. Mostly grouse but some rabbits. My favorite boolit is the lee 452-255RF. I run it about 970 and it shoots exactly to the sights. Pretty much just cuts a 45 cal hole thru meat. ... The 200 gr version would work just as good as would considerably lower velocity. My gun has fixed sights and since a small game gun has to be accurate above all else I just use what the gun likes best.


I was glad to read the last person's comment about the gun being accurate. These Russians definitely fit that requirement!

And I'm practicing with two light .45 ammo rounds now. My initial shooting results have been good so far with these, out to 15 yards. They are hand-loaded rounds from Choice Ammo in MT, with these stats:

250gr RNFPL
VELOCITY: Muzzle FPS =820; 50 yds FPS = 784
<and>
200gr RNFPL
VELOCITY: Muzzle FPS = 950; 100 yds FPS = 544

A third round I have and am considering is Aguila .45 Colt 200gr LFN. It's specs are VELOCITY: Muzzle FPS = 600; 100 yds FPS = 544. All three are "light loads." Should be okay based on what I've read about what to use for rabbit hunting.

If I can harvest rabbit(s) this winter, I'll definitely then be able to answer the Q more definitively!
PT7

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I know zero about hunting rabbits. What does a .45LC do to a rabbit? I mean is there anything left after a .45 hits it?

[ESquared]

Great shooting and a fine looking revolver! Thanks for sharing the new acquisition!

[North Country Gal]

Thanks for bringing up our discussion on using a 45 Colt, 38 Special and so on for hunting small game, guys. Not a lot of folks know about using centerfire revolvers such as these for small game hunting, even though it's been a way to hunt small game for a very long time. A lot of people just assume, and reasonably so, that these cartridges destroy a lot of meat, when just the opposite is true. Just a matter of using the right bullet and load. Makes a grand old cartridge like the 45 Colt even more versatile. Might get some of our Henry folk, here, to give it a try.

[Mags]

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Give it try? No rabbits and no colt. If I got a colt it would lead to escalating accessorizing big trouble....
http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 732#p69949

Thanks for bringing up our discussion on using a 45 Colt, 38 Special and so on for hunting small game, guys. Not a lot of folks know about using centerfire revolvers such as these for small game hunting, even though it's been a way to hunt small game for a very long time. A lot of people just assume, and reasonably so, that these cartridges destroy a lot of meat, when just the opposite is true. Just a matter of using the right bullet and load. Makes a grand old cartridge like the 45 Colt even more versatile. Might get some of our Henry folk, here, to give it a try.

[TNman]

Beautiful pistol and great shooting PT7!