.45 ACP AR

v8stang289

Twelve Pointer
I've wanted to do a 45acp AR for some time, finally got around to it a couple months ago.

20200229_172501.jpg

New Frontier lower
Moriarti 8" upper with last round bolt hold
Strike industries charging handle and bolt catch
PSA parts kit with EPT trigger
KAW Valley trigger spring
10oz buffer with carbine spring
MOE grip
SBA3 brace
SIG Romeo5 red dot
Magpul mbus

It uses Glock 21 mags. Works great with factory glock 13 rd mags but I can't get the aftermarket 26rd ones to feed correctly. Wish glock or magpul would make some.

I did have to polish the chamber and put a light chamfer on the lower feed ramp (or lack of in this case)
Chamber had a lot of tool marks and you could tell on the fired brass.
Also had to lightly polish the lower front of tbe bolt face.
The case heads would slightly catch the lower bolt face when being stripped from the mag, and hit nose first on the sharp chamber edge causing a stoppage.
These appear to be fairly common issues on 45 uppers. There arent as many as 9mm and all the kinks arent worked out for most manufacturers.

Once i got those areas fixed, it has ran great for the last few hundred rounds. ( as long as i use glock mags)
It's pretty accurate, and fun to shoot. Though recoil is more stout than I would have thought, just because of all the reciprocating mass.
I did add a brass catcher as this thing really slings casings.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Really like it.
What you think about the Sig Romeo 5 been looking at them.
Went to pick up a Vortex Sparc but they still did not show up to the shop.

Be nice if they made one like the colt pattern 9mm but in 45 that used Thompson mags.
I would be set, have a bunch of the.. But I guess it is hard to find a 45 that runs as good as the Thompson.
 
Last edited:

Buffet Trout

Twelve Pointer
Beautiful

How reliable is it? Assuming it doesn’t have a delayed blowback

I’ve been looking at a Banshee in 45
 

v8stang289

Twelve Pointer
Really like it.
What you think about the Sig Romeo 5 been looking at them.
Went to pick up a Vortex Sparc but they still did not show up to the shop.

Be nice if they made one like the colt pattern 9mm but in 45 that used Thompson mags.
I would be set, have a bunch of the.. But I guess it is hard to find a 45 that runs as good as the Thompson.
I like the Romeo, way clearer than the bushnell trs25 on my other AR pistol. The dot is clear and precise, and I like that the brightness adjusts by pushing a button instead of turning a stiff dial.

I initially wanted one that used grease gun or thompson mags, but everything is more proprietary with those manufacturers. At least the glock lowers have some standardization.

I wish I could afford a real Thompson, that would have been the ideal solution haha
 

v8stang289

Twelve Pointer
Beautiful

How reliable is it? Assuming it doesn’t have a delayed blowback

I’ve been looking at a Banshee in 45
Yeah it's straight blowback, I think CMMG makes a radial delayed blowback.
It wasn't reliable when I first put it together as cartridges were nosing into the feed ramp and stopping. The But a few minutes polishing and ramping has made it 100% with the glock mags.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
That is sweet looking! Years ago I had a Marlin Camp Carbine in .45acp, which is a lot harder to find then the 9mm version. Some gun forum "experts" told me the longer barrel would not significantly increase the ACP performance, so I decided to test it and chrono about a dozen factory loads, and one reload.

The improvement was significant with velocities from high 800's to over 1100 fps. Don't have the actual stats with me now, but I was impressed and it proved the "experts" wrong. Lighter bullets (185, 200, etc.) seemed to improve the most. Baseline for comparison was same loads from a S&W 4" 625.

Edited to add: In about a week I'll be back home and have access to the actual numbers, will try to remember to post them here. If I forget and if anybody is interested, feel free to remind me.
 
Last edited:

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I've wanted to do a 45acp AR for some time...
Sorry it took me so long, but here are the chrono stats I promised from the .45acp carbine tests:

Rem 230 HP 836, 914, +77
Rem 230 Hardball 798, 872, +74
PMC 230 Hardball 872, 950, +78
Magtech 230 Hardball 850, 1022, +172
Win ST 185 917, 1139, +222
Fed 230 Hardball 834, 956, +122
Win 230 Clean 845, 1036, +191
RP 200 960, 1154, +194
Win 230 WB Hardball 821, 960, +139
Reload 6.8 Unique 225 grain lead 892, 1143, +251

WB is White Box, Clean is a Win offering for indoor ranges, HP is hollow point, ST is Silvertip. First number is average velocity from 4" S&W Model 625, second number is average from the Marlin Camp Carbine, third number is the fps increase.

Edited to add: number after the manufacturer is bullet weight.
 
Last edited:
Top