.450 SMC

Phather · Jun 8, 2015

So last week my wife and I ran into a teenage black bear in the Northern Cascades which got me wondering about the wisdom in my carrying a 3" 9mm into the woods. I couldn't convince her to let me buy a suitable woods gun, so I ended up buying some of these from Double Tap ammo:

.450SMC is a cut down .308 case with a .45ACP bullet inserted. They can be used in any .45ACP capable of firing +P ammo and they put out .357mag numbers. These 255gr loads will scream out of my 1911 at a little over 1000fps and they are 10% heavier than standard ball ammo. The only modification recommended is to get a strong recoil spring. I just got these in and have yet to test them out. Does anybody have any experience with these?

blackadder · Jun 8, 2015

Crazy, makes me wish I still had my 1911. Never used those, but they look cool.

Kotto69 · Jun 19, 2017

OK, so I know this is a 2 year old thread. I have been trying to research this for a while now. I am taking my family to NW Montana this summer and we will be staying in a cabin somewhat off the beaten path. I was hoping someone out there might have some experience with this cartridge. It'll be for a Ruger SR1911 Cmdr. We'll have our bear spray, but I want a little backup too "just-in-case". I'm seeing some conflicting views out there and want to pose the question to people that are really in the know. Do I really need to swap the recoil spring? Mainspring? Flat firing pin stop? Any input from a qualified gunsmith would be appreciated. This will only be test fired then carried and used if absolutely necessary. I am not a big boom junky, I'm just looking to make my pistol a little more effective in this senerio

Hang-Man · Jun 19, 2017

Go with the recommended changes, THEN, do more than just test fire it, Make SURE that it is going to run for you in the event you need it, personally I would take a different gun if you expect bear encounters. Met one man who survived a brown bear attack after shooting it with a .45 acp, because his buddy shot it with a .458 win mag several times.

Alexx1401 · Jun 19, 2017

Kotto69 said:
OK, so I know this is a 2 year old thread. I have been trying to research this for a while now. I am taking my family to NW Montana this summer and we will be staying in a cabin somewhat off the beaten path. I was hoping someone out there might have some experience with this cartridge. It'll be for a Ruger SR1911 Cmdr. We'll have our bear spray, but I want a little backup too "just-in-case". I'm seeing some conflicting views out there and want to pose the question to people that are really in the know. Do I really need to swap the recoil spring? Mainspring? Flat firing pin stop? Any input from a qualified gunsmith would be appreciated. This will only be test fired then carried and used if absolutely necessary. I am not a big boom junky, I'm just looking to make my pistol a little more effective in this senerio

Stuff still made by Doubletap. They say the same, should be using a recoil spring made to use +P ammo. Not like you're going to be using a lot of it so not too much worry there. Of the offered for Bear I would use the 230 ball. They recommend this for what you're after. Since if a Bear comes at you your likely going to be aiming for the head. You need to make sure the bullet will get through the scull. To me this would be better than noting. It would be far better to carry a short 12GA if you can. One with a sling would be easy to carry.