Look at What Followed Me Home II

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 2, 2021

Hey everyone!
I acquired this shooters grade S&W M1937 Brazilian Contract (aka M1917) in .45 ACP/.45 Auto Rim!
From I’ve read, it can use regular .45 ACP, .45 ACP +P, .45 Super, and of course .45 Auto Rim!
I’ve read some other articles that say you can load the .45 Auto Rim to equal .45 Colt loads, and even more. Close to magnum strength loads.
If that’s the case, I need to find some .45 Auto Rim brass quickly, and try it out.
By the time this revolver came into production, S&W were already heat treating the revolvers the right way, because the hot new .357 Mag was being built on those same N frames.
She has some nasty plastic grips, so at some point I’m going to replace them with other grips.
But enough of me blabbering on! Here’s a couple pics for y’all!

Hawk

JD338 · Jun 3, 2021

Very nice Hawk. She is a beauty. One of the most impressive points about a .45 cal pistol/revolver is the size of the hole at the end of the muzzle!
Congratulations on the great find.

JD338

FOTIS · Jun 3, 2021

Sweet find for sure

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 3, 2021

JD338":9f1y7xpt said:
Very nice Hawk. She is a beauty. One of the most impressive points about a .45 cal pistol/revolver is the size of the hole at the end of the muzzle!
Congratulations on the great find.

JD338

Thank you!
Yeah, the .45 cal muzzle end is rather intimidating! LOL
That’s why I like it!

Hawk

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 3, 2021

FOTIS":2yb21ixn said:
Sweet find for sure

Thank you Fotis!

Hawk

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Joec7651 · Jun 3, 2021

That is a great find Hawk!

It looks like it may have been Duracoated. 45 Super would be a handful in that light revolver. A 45 ACP with a beefed up case in the web. Takes it close to 44 Magnum territory. I have a 1911 in 45 Super with a 6” barrel that I hog hunt with from time to time. It’s an accurate and powerful round. 45 ACP would be great fun in it. It would also make a nice carry weapon.

You can use 45 Rowland data to work up 45 Super loads if you carried it as backup when bear or hog hunting. With it being a revolver you have a fully supported chamber. A 230gr hp at 1100-1200 fps thumps pretty hard, and will take a hog off its feet.

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 3, 2021

Joec7651":38z91abx said:
That is a great find Hawk!

It looks like it may have been Duracoated. 45 Super would be a handful in that light revolver. A 45 ACP with a beefed up case in the web. Takes it close to 44 Magnum territory. I have a 1911 in 45 Super with a 6” barrel that I hog hunt with from time to time. It’s an accurate and powerful round. 45 ACP would be great fun in it. It would also make a nice carry weapon.

You can use 45 Rowland data to work up 45 Super loads if you carried it as backup when bear or hog hunting. With it being a revolver you have a fully supported chamber. A 230gr hp at 1100-1200 fps thumps pretty hard, and will take a hog off its feet.

Thank you!!

Now that’s what I’m talking about there!!
Upping the .45 ACP enough to clobber pesky wild hogs with one shot, lifting them off their feet, and rolling all at one time!
I see I can use 250 - 280 gr bullets as well with .45 Auto Rim brass, and step her power up a touch. It wouldn’t be such bad Bear defense medicine either, if I were inclined to be hunting in such areas.
Her single, and double actions are as smooth as a baby’s butt.
I’m going to use regular.45 ACP in her at first, and see what she likes.

Hawk

Joec7651 · Jun 4, 2021

My pleasure Hawk.

Starline makes great brass for the 45 Super. However if you wanted to see how it performs first, Underwood has a great Super load at 1200fps using 230gr Gold Dots. I get 1240 with if from a 6” nitrided barrel.

PJGunner · Jun 4, 2021

Just my personal opinion from having owned a few 1917 S&W .45 ACP revolvers. I think you can up the ante a little but trying for full grown balls to the wall loads are frankly in my not very humble opinion STUPIS AS HELL! Those guns aren't made anymore. If you want the power of a .44 Magnum then buy a .44 magnum. You want to hotrod a .45, get a Ruger Bisley super Blackhawk and have at it. But gambling on an older revolver that may have some minor historical or collector value is just plain stupid.

I t the pictures of the gun in question and it looks as if someone coated it with something, Cerakote maybe to help hide a lot of rust pitting. Hint, they failed. That alone would make me question the feasibility of shooting anything more powerful than factory level loads in that gun.

I have an S&W M28 .357 Mag. that I bought second hand. It too has some kind of coating. Whether is'd Parkerizing or Cerakote matters not. It was used to cover up spot on the gun where blood spatter got on it. Looks like three or four drops and is hardly noticeably unless you look for it. Whatever the cause, it's lost to history.

My point is the OP's gun is a nice find. I think it still has the older S&W long action which I prefer. It should be a nice shooter provided one does not try to make it into some kind of magnum.
Paul B.

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 4, 2021

PJGunner":108reerl said:
Just my personal opinion from having owned a few 1917 S&W .45 ACP revolvers. I think you can up the ante a little but trying for full grown balls to the wall loads are frankly in my not very humble opinion STUPIS AS HELL! Those guns aren't made anymore. If you want the power of a .44 Magnum then buy a .44 magnum. You want to hotrod a .45, get a Ruger Bisley super Blackhawk and have at it. But gambling on an older revolver that may have some minor historical or collector value is just plain stupid.

I t the pictures of the gun in question and it looks as if someone coated it with something, Cerakote maybe to help hide a lot of rust pitting. Hint, they failed. That alone would make me question the feasibility of shooting anything more powerful than factory level loads in that gun.

I have an S&W M28 .357 Mag. that I bought second hand. It too has some kind of coating. Whether is'd Parkerizing or Cerakote matters not. It was used to cover up spot on the gun where blood spatter got on it. Looks like three or four drops and is hardly noticeably unless you look for it. Whatever the cause, it's lost to history.

My point is the OP's gun is a nice find. I think it still has the older S&W long action which I prefer. It should be a nice shooter provided one does not try to make it into some kind of magnum.
Paul B.

Hey Paul!

Thank you for your concern, it’s appreciated.
As of yet, I’m not going to hot rod any ammo.
If anything, I want to equal .45 Colt loads.
I don’t think I’ll be getting it towards magnum velocities right now.
From visual inspection, there isn’t any pitting under the paint job, thankfully. It’s that someone isn’t proficient at using Rustoleum, and some spots are rougher than usual. That is one thing I looked at before acquiring it. I didn’t want to commit to something that was in horrible condition.

Hawk

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Joec7651 · Jun 5, 2021

I don’t think a steady diet of 45 Super would be a lot of fun to shoot with the small grip and light barrel. For the occasional backup for hogs or the like you’d be fine.

45 Colt performance ranges from 45 ACP levels at 900 fps up to 1300fps depending on ammunition manufacturer. 45 ACP+P tops out at around 1100 fps, and 45 Super runs up to a top end of around 1250 fps, so it’s a fair bit shy of 41 or 44 Magnum velocities but still very potent. You have many options that will suit any reasonable need you would have for the revolver from ACP levels up to more “sporty” loads. If the action is loose keep it at 45 ACP levels, if it’s tight shoot what your heart desires.

HAWKEYESATX · Jun 5, 2021

Joec7651":jpp4swcz said:
I don’t think a steady diet of 45 Super would be a lot of fun to shoot with the small grip and light barrel. For the occasional backup for hogs or the like you’d be fine.

45 Colt performance ranges from 45 ACP levels at 900 fps up to 1300fps depending on ammunition manufacturer. 45 ACP+P tops out at around 1100 fps, and 45 Super runs up to a top end of around 1250 fps, so it’s a fair bit shy of 41 or 44 Magnum velocities but still very potent. You have many options that will suit any reasonable need you would have for the revolver from ACP levels up to more “sporty” loads. If the action is loose keep it at 45 ACP levels, if it’s tight shoot what your heart desires.

Thank you Joec7651!

The gap to cylinder and barrel is excellent! The cylinder itself is rock solid, especially when locked. No rattles, or shimmy, thankfully. The cylinder stays in place almost like it was brand new.
Even when I open the cylinder, it’s still tight.
No corrosion, or soot in it whatsoever.
So….
I think I’m good to go with her!

Hawk

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