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Thread: what to do with a short gylinder

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy mdevlin53's Avatar
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    what to do with a short gylinder

    So the other day i am in the local gun store and i spot an Uberti 45 colt Schofield revolver, I have long had my eye out for one and while i was looking at it my wife says is it a good price and i says yes then she says go ahead get it. Enough said it is now down in the gun room.

    So i have quite a bit loaded in this cal. for my Black hawk and i figured i could shoot the same in the Uberti, but no. Turns out that when i chamber the rounds that i had loaded up they are too long for the Uberti. Only a smidgen but enough that they won't allow free movement of the cylinder. The quick measurement puts the BH at 1.700 and the Uberti at 1.55 and yes it is stamped 45 Colt.

    So here is the question do you load all the the rounds for a specific caliber to fit the shortest OAl so that any round can be fired in any gun or do you load for specific guns and mark the ammo box as to which rounds fit which weapons.
    I also have this issue with a 32-20 rifle and pistol, the rifle likes them longer than the revolver will chamber.

    Third option is to buy some 45 S&W brass and dedicate them to this gun.
    Why Johnny Ringo you look like someone just walked over your grave.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master & Generous Contributor

    Down South's Avatar
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    I think if I were in your situation that I'd load for the gun.
    If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master Guesser's Avatar
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    I do it both ways. I load 2 different lengths for my 327 F.M. revolvers, the Ruger Single 7 has a short cylinder so I load specifically for it. The others will accept longer so I load longer.I have a Taurus Tracker in 41 Magnum and a Ruger NMBH same cartridge. The Tracker has a shorter cylinder so I load for both guns the same. Why???? I don't know, just because I can.......as long as I do it safely. You'll have to experiment and make your own decision. Oh, another one; I have a Contender in 45 Colt, it will accept a much longer cartridge than any of my revolvers, so I load for it and load different for the revolvers.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy mdevlin53's Avatar
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    I guess in a way it the same as having a Black Hawk and an original Colt SAA. You could have some full power loads made for the BH and black powder level loads for the SAA it just comes down to marking the boxes so you don't switch them up. I just wonder sometimes about after i am not in charge of the loading room ( us old fellas think about stuff like that) what might happen.
    Why Johnny Ringo you look like someone just walked over your grave.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master

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    This may be a good thing in a way. The black hawk is rated for higher pressures than the schofield is. SO if you load any "super loads" for the BH and load them to its length there is no chance of them being accidently fired in the schofield. The other way around isn't an issue. Personally I would load the best load for each and label them. Another way is to use one brass for one and another for the other. IE federal brass for the schofield and Winchester for the BH.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I have a couple of revolvers that the cylinder is too short to seat my favorite Keith type SWC and crimp in the crimp groove. I just seat them deep and crimp over the front band. This reduces the case capacity just a little so I reduce the powder charge a little.

  7. #7
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    load and segregate.
    even for the pistols I can load long for I still have a pressure window to work within.
    so you either down load to the lowest denominator or separate and label.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Separate loads for everything - multiple 300 Savage 99's some have 308 length magazine others the 2.6" all shoot a little different. Same with 308's and 243's. Multiple 45 Auto's - different bullet weights and power factors based on pistol weight and comfort, though I do use the same for 9mm Sar, XDM and Shield. 'Heavy' practice/fun guns get light loads, 'light' hunting rifles and carry guns get heavy loads.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    FYI SAAMI spec for 45 colt max OAL is 1.6"
    and max rim thickness is 0.060".

    The Uberti Schofield does not have recesses for the cartridge rims, thus
    1.6 - .06 = 1.540", therefore its 1.55" long cylinder will take any round that meets SAAMI spec.

    45 colt is on page 59
    http://www.saami.org/specifications_...wnload/205.pdf

  10. #10
    Boolit Master scattershot's Avatar
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    Would it be possible to change boolit styles for a shorter OAL?
    "Experience is a series of non-fatal mistakes"


    Disarming is a mistake free people only get to make once...

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy mdevlin53's Avatar
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    Some details: the bullet is a 452-228-1R from a lee 6 cavity mold. I bought it for use in my 1911 but it did not perform well. So having a bunch cast i decided to try it in the BH. I loaded it with 6 grains of Titegroup and seated it in the crimp groove this gave me an OAL of 1.6 and it was short enough to fully insert into the cylinder and rotate with no issues. Now there is no data for this bullet in either the cast handbook or my Lymans so i started with 5.8 and settled on 6 for a load on the low end (data for a LRNFP is listed at 5.8-6.5). It performs well in the BH so i put up several hundred.
    When these are gone i will probably seat them a bit deeper and not worry about them. As for the few boxes of heavy bullets i have loaded up i will print out some warning labels stating for use in Ruger/TC only
    Why Johnny Ringo you look like someone just walked over your grave.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy mdevlin53's Avatar
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    I have several 45 cal molds including 160g RFN, 230 TC 255 rfn, and a 300rfn. all these can be loaded such that they will chamber in either gun. i chose the longer loading in that it worked in the BH, lever rifle and an H&R classic carbine. now that i have the Uberti i have loaded a few shorter and if it ever warms up around here (-18 this morning) i will shoot all the colts and see how they perform. I like to keep it simple when i can.
    As for the 228 1R i just love the look of a big round nose lead bullet in the 45 Colt. It just seems right too me.
    Why Johnny Ringo you look like someone just walked over your grave.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master

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    One of my favorite cartridges is the .44 Magnum and I have 5 of them. I have at least 3 different loads and mebbe 4, to different guns. I shoot only lead in my Super Black Hawk and LRNFP in my Puma. My Contender gets jacketed bullets in upper loads. And my first 44 a 629 now gets lighter cast bullet loads. My Dan Wesson is accurate with 429421s over WC820. Same with 9mm to a lesser extent, 2 different barrel grove diameters.

    So, yep, I'll make handloads for specific guns of the same caliber...
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  14. #14
    Boolit Master




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    To a large extent it is personal preference. I like to be able to use a load in any of my guns of the same caliber, but I don't own any "low pressure" guns. In your case, I would work on the seating depth to fit the Uberti and see how they shoot in the Blackhawk. I did that for my 32/20's and they run fine in LA rifle and pistol. On the 45 Colt, my Uberti will chamber my Blackhawk loads fine using the RCBS 45-230CM bullet. YMMV
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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
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