Good day, I recently started purchasing some reloading supplies piece by piece to reload some .41LC for my antique Colt 1889 New Navy. The first shell holder that arrived was an R12 shell holder which I was told would fit .41LC, unfortunately it did not. The second shell holder I ordered separate was a No1 shell holder from Lee which according to their charts will also hold the .41LC, to my dismay it also does not want to hold the shells. Ive tried both Bertram shells and Starline shells and neither of them fit either holders. Any advice on what shell holder I need?
Having issues with .41LC Shell holders
- Thread starter Rosomak
- Start date
Rosomak: Are the rims of your .41 colt brass too wide to fit into your current(#1, #12) shell holders? If so, measure the rim diameter of your brass. What do they measure? Likewise, measure the web area of the cases, just above the rim.
Will have a better understanding of the solution, once you have that figure. It may be that a Lee #2 shell holder will be a better fit.
Al
Will have a better understanding of the solution, once you have that figure. It may be that a Lee #2 shell holder will be a better fit.
Al
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poourquoi: The shell holder(Lee #1), the OP currently has is for the .38 Special. Which should also fit .41 Colt. Apparently, the brass will not fit. Have heard of this problem occurring, before. Waiting to see what the rims/case body actually measure, before making any recommendations.
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- Location
- Western Manitoba
Not for handgun cartridges, but I have seen for some centre fire rifle - the rim was too thick for the shell holder - shell holder was correct diameter - but rim was too thick - so two things to measure - diameter and rim thickness. Is fuzzy, but if I recall it was specifically the angle that the shell holder was cut to along the top - versus the angle of the actual brass that I was using. Did not fit, although as per charts, etc., it should have.
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
Redding makes one that I can confirm fits the 41LC, can’t remember off by heart
Rosamok: The likely culprit is the case body. Too large to fit either the #1 or #12 shell holder. Rim diameter may be okay, though. Will have a better idea, once you have the chance to take measurements.
Have made up .41 Colt brass in the past. But...this was reformed .38 Special. Any expansion of the case body was above the solid web, which didn't affect the shell holder, at all. I suspect that your cases will reflect the larger overall case body of the Colt cartridge. Which will measure more like .405" +/-.
MosinMan13: Did a quick check of the Redding shell holder chart. You are right. The #1 shell holder fits .41 Colt. The Lee#2 shell holder should work also. Though there's not much meat to hold the rim. Cases would have to be well back in the shell holder, to keep them from pulling out.
Al
Have made up .41 Colt brass in the past. But...this was reformed .38 Special. Any expansion of the case body was above the solid web, which didn't affect the shell holder, at all. I suspect that your cases will reflect the larger overall case body of the Colt cartridge. Which will measure more like .405" +/-.
MosinMan13: Did a quick check of the Redding shell holder chart. You are right. The #1 shell holder fits .41 Colt. The Lee#2 shell holder should work also. Though there's not much meat to hold the rim. Cases would have to be well back in the shell holder, to keep them from pulling out.
Al
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Lee #1 is for 38 Special/357 Mag. Lee #2 is for 45 ACP & similar head size cases. #1 should work although the OP says it doesn't. I don't have anything in 41 LC but as I understand it the 41 LC case is semi-rimmed i.e. the rim diameter is the same as 38 Special but the shell body may be bigger than 38 Special so it may be the diameter of the case body rather than the rim that is preventing the case from going into the shellholder.
ted_dent: That's my opinion, too. The case body is getting in the way.
Case body diameter of the .41 Colt cartridge runs approx .405". There isn't enough room in the .38 Special shell holder to accommodate the fatter Colt's case body. As you accurately describe.
So, I expect that either a Lee #2 shell holder(or similar Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, etc.), should provide that extra clearance. A Redding #1 shell holder was also recommended (MosinMan13) in a previous post. Which Redding specifically recommends for the .41 Colt.
It bears mentioning that the Redding #1 shell holder also works with cartridges that fit a #2 shell holder. So, some other possible options are available....if a Redding #1 is not available.
In the meantime. My recommendation for the OP: Purchase the Redding #1 shell holder. Ends all doubt.
Al
Case body diameter of the .41 Colt cartridge runs approx .405". There isn't enough room in the .38 Special shell holder to accommodate the fatter Colt's case body. As you accurately describe.
So, I expect that either a Lee #2 shell holder(or similar Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, etc.), should provide that extra clearance. A Redding #1 shell holder was also recommended (MosinMan13) in a previous post. Which Redding specifically recommends for the .41 Colt.
It bears mentioning that the Redding #1 shell holder also works with cartridges that fit a #2 shell holder. So, some other possible options are available....if a Redding #1 is not available.
In the meantime. My recommendation for the OP: Purchase the Redding #1 shell holder. Ends all doubt.
Al
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fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Its been years since i tried loading .41 colt but do remember having difficulty finding shell holder back then that worked. I was also told to use .38 sp by all the books. I finally resorted to taking a Dremel tool and custom grinding the top "case webb holding" opening to accommodate the case. It took a long bit of grinding as those shell holders are very hard & very specialized cutters would be needed for a machinist to do the job (or anneal the holder).
fingers284: Been some years since I loaded .41 Colt, too. Cases re-formed from .38 Special*, so no problem with case body fitment. I have known folks who opened the shell holder up, just like you describe. A careful process.
Still....despite the sometimes difficult process of putting these old guns back into service, it does seem well worth the effort. At least to me.
Al
* Which I believe is at the root of the problem. Properly sized .41 Colt cases not being available for so long, most folks simply reformed them from .38 Special. Without giving much thought to actual case body dimensions. Now that properly dimensioned Colt brass is available, sizing problems were bound to arise.
Still....despite the sometimes difficult process of putting these old guns back into service, it does seem well worth the effort. At least to me.
Al
* Which I believe is at the root of the problem. Properly sized .41 Colt cases not being available for so long, most folks simply reformed them from .38 Special. Without giving much thought to actual case body dimensions. Now that properly dimensioned Colt brass is available, sizing problems were bound to arise.
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