Schofield in .45 colt cases?

[Seeker]

I've been acquiring 45 colt brass for a number of yrs. now and have more than enough. A lot I have traded for, and in some of these batches of 45 colt I have found quite a few Hornady cases that are short. I have used a few for shot shell loads and they work fine but I still have 100 or so of the short ones. I see no reason why I couldn't trim these on down and use them with 45 Schofield data. Has anyone here done this?

[onelight]

Unless you are going to use them in a schofield chamber why trim ? Work up from from Schofield data to what you want .

[Drm50]

I got 4 boxes of Blackhills Schofield ammo with some Winchester Cowboy 45Colt with a Vaquero I bought few years back. Guy had been into Cowboy stuff and shot the Schofield in the Ruger. I shot it in my 25-5s. And have loaded the brass in 45Colt dies with 230gr 45acp cast bullets. Mild 45Colt load. They have been loaded several times, no problem. I would say other than length they are the same as 45Colt. I saved one box factory in case a Schofield comes down the road.

[Outpost75]

Shooting the short Schofield rounds in the longer .45 Colt cases produces the dreaded "crud ring" in the front of the chambers, similar to shooting .38 Special wadcutters in a .357 Magnum. Accuracy is also degraded unless bullets are seated out long to reduce the jump in the longer chamber.

When loading Starline Schofield brass and crimping Saeco #954 bullets in the normal crimp groove, at 1.40” OAL, sizing bullets to cylinder throat diameter to fit the Ruger cylinder was of no benefit. But when seating bullets out long in Schofield brass, and crimping instead in the lubricating groove, at 1.55” overall length, grouping improved when bullets were properly sized to fit the cylinder throats. Best accuracy was obtained in the Ruger revolver when bullets were resized from their as-cast diameter of .455 down to .452” in a Lee push-through sizing die. While sizing as much as 0.003” is not ideal, test results clearly illustrate the importance of sizing bullets to fit the cylinder throats, rather than to barrel groove diameter (which was .4505” in the Ruger). Further improvement may be possible in Rugers using bullets from a mold which casts smaller in diameter.

It is best that molds drop bullets at correct diameter, so as to not require sizing at all. Sizing bullets to .454” to attempt a compromise diameter fit for use in both revolvers was of no benefit, compared to firing loading bullets as-cast and unsized. Cylinder leading severe enough to cause resistance to chambering .45 Colt ammunition was noted after firing more than 100 Schofield loads. Seating bullets out in Schofield brass to an overall cartridge length of 1.55” improved accuracy, but did not mitigate the chamber leading! Removal of these lead deposits required VIGOROUS scrubbing with Kano Kroil on a .410 shotgun brush.

The Schofield cartridge with bullets seated to the normal crimp groove at 1.40" OAL was less accurate than .45 Colt ammunition assembled with the same bullet, at all velocity levels tested. Bullseye powder gives acceptable ballistic uniformity and accuracy in .45 Colt brass, even with reduced Cowboy charges down to 700 fps using 5 grains of Bullseye with 230-grain bullets. The only advantages of Schofield brass are in being able to visually identify low-recoil plinking loads, and for nostalgia.

Schofield loads provide adequate accuracy for close range plinking targets, but are best reserved for that purpose. The .45 Colt is still best for any serious use where power and accuracy are important.

Tests of Short vs. Long OAL and Sized Vs. Unisized Bullets In .45 Schofield Brass - Ruger Vaquero with cylinder throats .452".

Starline cases, 1.109”, Winchester Large Pistol Primers, Alliant Bullseye

Saeco #954 230-gr. LFN, 12 BHN, wheelweights, as-cast UNSIZED .455,” Lee Liquid Alox, OAL 1.40”

LDRotor BEgrs.___Ruger 4-5/8” Avg. five 5-shot groups
#9_____5.0_____802, 13 Sd __2.39” Ruger at 25 yds.

Same as above but SEATED OUT to 1.55” OAL
LDRotor BEGrs. Ruger4-5/8”_Avg. five 5-shot groups
#9_____5.0___698, 13 Sd__2.53” Ruger at 25 yds.

Saeco #954 230-gr. FN, 12 BHN, as-cast .455” RESIZED to .452”, LLA, OAL 1.40”

LDRotor BEGrs. Ruger4-5/8”_ Avg. five 5-shot groups
#8_____4.5___756, 7Sd____2.36” Ruger 25 yds.
#9_____5.0___794, 13Sd___2.42” Ruger at 25 yds.

Saeco #954 230-gr. FN, as-cast .455” RESIZED to .452”, LLA, SEATED OUT to 1.55” OAL

LDRotor BEgrs__Ruger4-5/8" Avg.5x5@25yds
#9_____5.0____702, 25 Sd _2.17” Ruger 25yd. - BEST Schofield load in Ruger

[Walks]

Just like any other short case in a longer chamber.
I have an old S&W cleaning rod in a plastic bag with .38cal, .44cal & .45cal chamber brushes Permanetly in my range box. Any time I finish shooting, I brush out the chambers with a dry brush.
Been doing it 60yrs plus, works for me.

[onelight]

There you go a different view from each post :)
Like a lot of reloading many ways to do things that work . Do what lights your candle :coffee:

[rintinglen]

In my limited CAS experience, there is no practical difference in shooting Schofield loads from you 45 Colt revolvers. On the comparatively large, close-in targets that extra half inch of group size means nothing, and the smaller combustion chamber allows less powder to do more. You get comparable velocities at about a 10% reduction in powder use. If you shoot a lot--and some SASS shooters burn up a couple thousand rounds a month--that pound or two of powder means something.

Provided you clean your guns, the much cussed, and discussed crud ring is irrelevant. If you don't, shame on you. Staff Sergeant Miller wouldn't like it.

[Wayne Smith]

In other words, unless you have a Schofield there is no point in cutting your brass back.

[Harter66]

I have been trying to talk anybody in to sending me some of the short Horn cases for this very use . Everyone is cranky about the short cases but nobody wants to re-home any of them ......

Like others , if you don't have a Schofield chamber there's no point in trimming other than crimp which you won't be able to do with the Colts die anyway .

Lee offers the , at the time I was looking , only available 45 S&W dies , or maybe they were the only ones under $60 for a 3 die set.