.45 Colt case sizing

thecollector

thecollector

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Bought a bueaty of a S&W M-25 in .45 LC this summer, and 'am finnaly going to load some ammo for it. Since the bullet diameter for the modern guns is .451 in. and the cases are dimensioned for for bullets up to about .456 in., one must size cases down to grip .451 bullets, and this will yield lots of chamber slop. I would like to get above average accuracy from this piece, so I am planning to size the cases to only the required depth to grip the .451 bullets, and leave the rest of the case down to the rim untouched by the sizing die for a better chamber fit. What do you other .45 Colt reloaders do? Comments please.
Thanks.
 
Usually, the resized cases are flared at the mouth to accept the bullet; the bullet will stretch the brass back to the normal diameter once inserted.
The resizing gives one better chance to grip the bullet tightly even before a strong roll-crimp is applied. You may dispense of it where there is no bullet.
If you want to resize only the front part of the brass where the shank of the bullet will be, first make sure the fired brass will fully seat into the cylinder easily.
Also make sure your cases are well centered in the sizer and that the resized zone is concentric with the brass' axis.
Good luck and report on your findings. :)
PP.
 
Depending on the pressure your loads generate, you may find that partial sizing will not allow you to easily seat cases after a few firings.

Keep in mind that accuracy in a revolver is more a function of the alignment with the forcing cone, and the transition from the cylinder throat to the forcing cone.

It would certainly help with brass life if the chamber was tight enough to avoid over working the case, but loose enough not to pose a problem with .451 vs .454 diameter bullets.

(Thanks, this makes me remember why I prefer pistols)
 
I will be starting with virgin brass, and normally mild loads of 8.9 gr of Unique and a 200 gr cast lead bullet. I will probably load some both ways to start, full length sized, and part way sized, and see what I get. Thats right about the cylinder throat to forcing cone alignment.
I do generous case mouth chamfering, and do not flare prior to, or crimp after bullet seating; this eliminates a complete step, and the odd time I may shave some lead when seating casts at worst, but no problems otherwise. This expidited method works the case mouth a lot less, and they last longer before they start to split from the mouth.
Thanks you guys.
 
If the splits are not long you can always shorten the cases and use load them as .45 Schofield rounds using load data for the latter.

Stay Safe
 
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I have been neck-sizing all my .45 Colt since I started shooting "Black" in major shoots 2 years ago and have had no problems at all. Average case life over 15 reloads. By the way, I was using 7.9 gr Unique under 270 gr LRNFP's until I tried Trail Boss last month, 5.4 gr is by far the most accurate load I've seen.
 
I have noticed that starline brass is thicker than winchester, so much so that it does not chamber in a certain 45colt gun once a bullet is in it, but it chambers nicely in my winchester and ruger :) And the other get winchester.
 
.45 Colt sizing

You may want to check first what is the chamber mouth diameter before making any decision on case sizing full partial or whatever.

S&W chamber mouth are usually on the large side and you could also check cylinder/barrel gap for instance as you could have also some gap here (easy to correct).

John Linebaugh has worked extensively on .45 Colt and there's numerous articles that you way want to read too.

.45 Colt has been my favorite revolver round for the last 25 years.
I had the opportunity to own and shoot and reload freedom Arms, S&W, Colt, Ruger and custom Ruger 5-shot revolver too. All of them have strengths and weaknessses.

Have fun with the .45
 
Boom-Boom

I am on the horns of a dilemma. I have a Beretta Stampeder and really like it. Would like to get another. Might get into Cowboy action shooting but have not made up my mind. Do I get the Ruger Blawkhawk with adjustable sights, the new Vaquero, which is smaller and probably would not take heavy loads as well, or go Italion again. In short I would like another revolver in .45LC in 5 1/2 " barrel. My Stampeder is 4 3/4 and it is a shooter.

Thoughts?
 
Canuck

Don't know much about CAS...

As far as adjustable sights are concerned, it is certainly recommended especially if you intend to reload and play with heavy bullets and various powders and bullet combinations.

The Bisley is more user friendly if you want to push the envelope a bit........:)
 
HOWDY; Neck sizing is OK but the no crimp on a hard recoiling 45 colt could have a bullet JUMP forward under recoil and bind up the gun. Also you will get better burnig loads with a crimp. Try a Lee factory crimp die . 452 bullets have been working well in the SW 25-5 I have shot.
 
HOWDY ; The cylinder throats in my 45 rugers single action are in the .4505 to .4515 , that is a bit small . The S+W 625-5 is .452 in the throat.
Yes most barrels are a .452 but the small throat kinda mess this up a bit. Brownell sells a reaming kit to size them up to .452 but cowboys are cheap. I will not tell what rude method I used to open them up. It relly did not do much at close and big CAS targets.
Some use softer bullets that will obstrate up in the barrel . I have also heard of useing .454 bullets to hold the bullet back a little longer so the powder gets a chance to burn in the big 45 case, There THEORY idea not mine!
 
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