Reloading the .455 Webley/Colt

hunter64

hunter64

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Picked up a .455 revolver and was wondering if I could use my .45 ACP dies to reload the cases, other than the shell holder? The dimentions are almost the same and do I need to buy .455 dies?
 
I would say no. The bullet, hence the case is .455 in., not .450 in. My guess it you'd have cases stuck in your .45acp sizing die. Just guessing though, I never tried it.
I ordered the dies from WWS. They happened to have them in stock, but if not, call up Lee and they'll send them to you.
 
I used .45 ACP dies to load .455 before. I can't recall exactly what procedure I used but they worked. I will be in the same predicament shortly as I have just purchased another .455 S&W hand ejector. The only difference now is that Hornady is loading for it. I will watch to see what happens here. Dave
 
lister said:
So my theory was wrong?
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I believe the 45ACP seating die worked because it's larger to accomodate the large flares that can be put on a .45 ACP case before starting to seatbullets -quite a bit larger than .455. It's been several years since I last reloaded the caliber so I don't remember if there was anything unusual about the seating or crimping process..
 
JohnC said:
I believe the 45ACP seating die worked because it's larger to accomodate the large flares that can be put on a .45 ACP case before starting to seatbullets -quite a bit larger than .455. It's been several years since I last reloaded the caliber so I don't remember if there was anything unusual about the seating or crimping process..
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I figured the bullet seater would work, but with the slightly larger case I thought the sizer would cause problems.
 
The 45 ACP has a smaller case diameter and will size the brass excessively. Lee makes a reasonably priced 455 set.
 
In a pinch it sounds like the .45 acp dies will work but the price and scarcity of the .455 brass is it really worth it. I will just buy the correct dies and be done with it.
 
OK Guys-I need some help. I've finally gotten around to loading some .455s and I can't find data for anything but the 0.760 inch case.
I have a bunch of 265gr. hollow base lead bullets and the majority (the ones I plan to load) of my cases are 0.887 inches, +/- a thou.(MK1 case?)
I have a decent selection of powders, so fire away.
Thanks in advance.:)
 
lister said:
OK Guys-I need some help. I've finally gotten around to loading some .455s and I can't find data for anything but the 0.760 inch case.
I have a bunch of 265gr. hollow base lead bullets and the majority (the ones I plan to load) of my cases are 0.887 inches, +/- a thou.(MK1 case?)
I have a decent selection of powders, so fire away.
Thanks in advance.:)
Click to expand...

There isn't that much difference, the original Mk1 cases IIRC were for BP,
Mk2 was for cordite smokeless.
My #43 Lyman manual says use 4gr Bullseye with 260 gr lead for 700FPS, and 6gr Unique for 710FPS, YMMV. KD
I'd be very careful with the 6gr Unique load, it seems too hot for this cartridge.
 
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In my experience, I used .45 ACP dies as there were no Lee dies available at the time. They work fine, although the brass is worked a bit more than with proper .455 dies. But, you can get started loading. Not a theory, actual experience.
 
Al-Sway said:
In my experience, I used .45 ACP dies as there were no Lee dies available at the time. They work fine, although the brass is worked a bit more than with proper .455 dies. But, you can get started loading. Not a theory, actual experience.
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The 45ACP sizer will work, 45 Colt will work better.
The 45 ACP is a straight walled .476 diameter case, the 45 colt has a slight taper with .476 at the neck and .480 at the base.
The .455 is tapered with .473 at the neck and .478 at the base.
Lee does use the 45 Colt sizing die in their .455 webley set. KD
 
dixda said:
There isn't that much difference, the original Mk1 cases IIRC were for BP,
Mk2 was for cordite smokeless.
My #43 Lyman manual says use 4gr Bullseye with 260 gr lead for 700FPS, and 6gr Unique for 710FPS, YMMV. KD
Click to expand...

With the difference in case length there must be a pressure difference if the same load is used in both. Are those loads for the longer case?(I don't know what your abreviations (IIRC, YMMV) mean)

Also, I have .455 dies, so the use of other 45 dies is moot for me.
 
Do you really need to resize revolver brass? I don't think so. If you have 45acp dies and they seat the bullets properly, just knock out the primers, reprime, and seat bullets.
 
^^^^^^
Yup, like I said, the dies aren't an issue. I need loads for the longer 455 case with 265gr bullets.
 
After reading around a bit it seems that some manuals say to drop one full grain of powder when going from the long .87inch case(MK1) to the shorter (MKII) case. So it makes sense that if I have load data for the shorter case I can add one grain to the range given and load the longer case.
Make sense?

Dixda-I'd like to know if the info you gave was for the short or long case. Thanks
 
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