C45 History
The first patent for a pump-action rifle – aka “trombones” or “slide actions” – dates back to 1850s Britain. But it was America that really brought them to life at the end of the 19th century, with the first being the 1882-patented Spencer-Roper pump rifle.
There were a handful of designs floating around in the last days of Wild West, such as the Winchester Model 1890. After digging around a bit, it became clear the C45 shares its lineage with the Colt Lightning Slide Action (1887). More specifically, it resembles the large-frame version that was made in a small batch of only 6,496 rifles. That “Lightning Slide Action” origin explains the use of the name "Thunderbolt."
Originally designed by Dr. William H. Elliot, a dentist by profession, the Lightning’s design caught the eye of Colt. Recognizing an opportunity to challenge Winchester, he promptly bought it.
While the gun never really challenged the levers of the day, America’s pump actions were destined for much more. Their popularity picked up considerably in the 20th century, especially in plinking and hunting platforms like the old Winchester Model 1906 (1906-1932), Remington Model 14 (1913-1950), and the current production Henry Pump-Action Octagon and Remington Model 7600.
Related: Top Picks in Pump-Action Rifles From Classic to Modern
As for the C45, Taurus revived the Lightning design in 2005. The guns came with hardwood stocks and a plastic forearm pump. Chamberings included .45 Colt and .357 Mag/.38 Spl. The metalwork came in three flavors: highly polished stainless, blued, or a color-case-hardened affair.
Sadly, production ceased in 2010, but these guns still pop up from time to time on the used market and in cowboy-action shooting.
Function
If you’ve spent time with pump-action shotguns, the operation of the C45 will seem very familiar. Moving the pump to the rear unlocks the breech, raises the loading elevator, and moves the bolt to the rear to cock the hammer.
At the same time, the rearward pumping action positions a cartridge from the 14-round magazine tube onto the loading elevator and near the chamber. Reloading the magazine tube is only done through the loading gate on the right side when the forearm pump is to the rear.
Moving the pump forward chambers the round and lowers the elevator. It also slides the bolt forward and locks the action, so you cannot operate the pump again until the gun is fired or the hammer is manually lowered. Shooting the gun unlocks the action, and spent casings eject positively out the top when you move the forearm pump to the rear again.
There is no manual safety that most of us are familiar with today. Instead, there is a hammer-intercept notch that acts as a half cock. There is, however, a small button on the hammer that can be used to functionally “de-cock” the rifle so you can lower the hammer without striking the firing pin. This function can be used to unload the rifle one round at a time.
Finally, there’s a keylock on the C45’s hammer to lock the gun's action.
Specs
The C45 hosts classic buckhorn iron sights with a sight radius of 23 inches. These are adjustable at the rear for elevation, and the front blade is dovetailed and can be drifted for windage.
At the rear, there’s a hardwood stock with a deeply curved metal butt plate. It’s so curved you have to be somewhat careful not to jam the points into your shoulder before shooting. Length of pull comes in at 13.5 inches, which felt somewhat short to me, but that’s only half an inch shorter than something like the lever-action Henry Golden Boy.
While the forearm pump is plastic, I didn’t notice any wear or dings to the texturing on the sides. That texturing is fairly light but proved positive enough on the range, and the stainless steel is nearly mirror-polished even on this used gun I pulled from the Guns.com Vault.
I’ve added some general specs below:
Total Length: 43 inches
Barrel Length: 26 inches
Sight Radius: 23 inches
Length of Pull: 13.5 inches
Weight: 6.89 pounds
Capacity: 14+1
Width (Widest Point): 1.5 inches
Chambering: .45 Colt
Trigger Pull: 5.375 pounds
This gun is quite slim. The widest point is the forearm pump, which comes in at just 1.5 inches wide. The barrel tapers from 0.9 inches at the breech to 0.7 inches at the end. In the hand, it feels remarkably nimble and balances to the rear of the forearm pump.
The trigger basically starts at the wall. It feels a bit sluggish as it breaks, but it was easy to cleanly break shots at the range. I’m not going to comment on any “reset” for this trigger, because holding it down and working the action would continuously drop the hammer.
Perhaps my biggest gripe is the loading process. My somewhat large fingers did struggle from time to time to push rounds into the loading gate. The unloading process is also slow and requires you to carefully lower the hammer using the “de-cocker” button to remove one round at a time. Frankly, I would rather shoot them all off and enjoy it.
Range Time
This gun was a breath of fresh air. I don’t get to spend much time with cowboy-style rifles at the range, so the C45 was a great break from modern tactical designs. Pumping the action was plain fun, and I chuckled at having spent casings fly one by one out the top with smoke curling around inside the action.
I also liked the fact that the trigger started at the wall with a 5.375-pound break, and I really liked the feel of the action while working my way through the generous 14-round magazine tube. Reliability also proved to be solid with no issues over the 150 various .45 Colt rounds that I tested.
My accuracy was decent, but I’m not very practiced with this style of rifle. Around half of my shots fell within the black 5-inch ring at the center of my target from the standing position at 50 yards, but I definitely had some strays flying wider into the 10-inch ring and occasionally well beyond.
I credit that to my inexperience with buckhorn sights and shooting from the standing. It can certainly do better. In fact, I know the C45 occasionally makes appearances at events for cowboy-action shooting.
Frankly, I wouldn’t make this my hunting or go-to rifle anyway, mostly because of the chambering and the short length of pull. That LOP had me feeling tight in my shooting position. No, this is a fun gun, and it was indeed fun.
There wasn’t really any snap to the gun when firing. Instead, the recoil was more of a slight push, thanks to the .45 Colt chambering. That’s another positive to me. While .45 Colt isn’t that cheap anymore, it’s a really fun round to shoot, and there aren’t many pump-action rifles to shoot it in these days.
I even found the weight and balance made the gun seem nimble. It felt, well, like a cowboy gun. My only real dislike was loading rounds through the side gate with my meaty fingers. That's a common issue on guns with side gates, and I imagine it would get easier with time and practice.
Pros & Cons
Here’s my short list of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Unique, but with classic cowboy looks
- Reliable
- Fun .45 Colt chambering
- Low recoil
- Long sight radius
- Lightweight
- Enjoyable to shoot
- 14+1 capacity
Cons:
- Very curved rear butt plate
- Only light texturing on forearm
- Somewhat hard to load with bigger hands
- Slow to unload
-
No longer produced
Final Thoughts
The C45 is a taste of the Wild West but with a twist. Since its roots go back to the end of that era, it has the looks – but not the function – of the traditional lever guns. I could see this as a light but capable ranch gun, plinker, small game hunter, or performance shooter.
It certainly fits the bill for those interested in the cowboy mystique. It would also be a comfortable gun for younger or small-framed shooters. The real trick is finding one. If you really want to add it to your collection, it’s worth remembering they don’t make them anymore. So, prices will likely only go up as availability goes down.
