45 Cowboy brass

[CWLONGSHOT]

Has any one made or know of a jig?

I have been sprting brass and realized I have a goodly supply of "off" brands.

I have been wanting to try Cowboy brass to see if there is anything to it.

I have manual power assisted ads well as full
Powdered trimmers. Then my RCBS BOSS prep machine.

CW

 

[KeithB]

So you plan on taking .45 Colt brass and cutting it back to .45AR length? Will you have to ream the inside? How far does the web run up into the body of the case?

 

[RBHarter]

I don't know of a jig but it's just ACP length with a Colts rim .

If it were me , I've offered dozens of time to take that short Hornady brass off folks hands , I'd just trim to 1.10 and make S&W Schofield brass so it would still work in the 45 Colts Carbine too . That would eliminate the the web worry and get it all .128 shorter use ACP data for it and it's like a S&W +P at a romping stomping 16-18kpsi and about Colts start loads for MV .

 

[Winelover]

I have shortened 44 Mag brass (variety of headstamps) to 44 Special length with my RCBS Power trimmer. No jig needed, just set the length and lock it in. Have done the same with 44 Special, turning it into 44 Russian. Objective was to salvage brass when neck splits are starting. Never had problem with thickening brass and I regularly use cast bullets that I size to a minimum of .431 diameter.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

So you plan on taking .45 Colt brass and cutting it back to .45AR length? Will you have to ream the inside? How far does the web run up into the body of the case?

Yes.

I do not know. Its a test.

I know its been done and brass is offered (currently unavailable)

Not talking thousands or even hundreds here. Just a box or two to test.

CW

 

[JustJim]

I've shortened W-W brass to acp length using a Lee case trimmer chucked up in a drill press. No problems with the web when seating bullets/chambering cases. Thinking about it though, that cylinder didn't have particularly tight chambers.

 

[Brad]

Soft jaws bored for the case on a lathe would be quick and easy. If you have a lathe.

 

[Ian]

Soft jaws bored for the case on a lathe would be quick and easy. If you have a lathe.

We tell 'em and tell 'em, but we can't make 'em believe. I paid only slightly more for a hobby bench top lathe than a power case trimmer setup and it paid for itself in handloading tooling alone in short order.

 

[Winelover]

Thread needs pictures..................



The 44 family............. Russian, Special and 44 Magnum. All loaded with Lyman 240 RNFP (429667)

Russian was shortened from neck split 44 Special brass. The 44 Special, from cut down neck split, 44 Magnum brass.



To identify the different cases I used Birchwood Casey's Brass Black on the headstamp of the altered Russian and a Dremel to obliterate the Mag on the Magnum FC brass ,for the newly altered 44 Special cases.



The Russian chambering, I shoot in the CA Bulldog when I want a mild load.

 

[Ian]

Great photos, John, thanks!

 

[Winelover]

Thanks. I took em, not Cindy!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I tried cutting some this am. Its slow need to chop
First.



Video later this afternoon.

CW

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

 

[PED1945]

I have shortened 44 Mag brass (variety of headstamps) to 44 Special length with my RCBS Power trimmer. No jig needed, just set the length and lock it in. Have done the same with 44 Special, turning it into 44 Russian. Objective was to salvage brass when neck splits are starting. Never had problem with thickening brass and I regularly use cast bullets that I size to a minimum of .431 diameter.

When I first began loading 44 Magnum I used to trim split neck cases back to 44 Special length. Then I learned to anneal my 44 Magnum brass and the splits quit happenng.

 

[PED1945]

We tell 'em and tell 'em, but we can't make 'em believe. I paid only slightly more for a hobby bench top lathe than a power case trimmer setup and it paid for itself in handloading tooling alone in short order.

Agree. I got a Mini Lathe 25 years ago for a son to use for a model rocket motor project for a high school physics class. Not only did I get a handy lathe to use for reloading projects, but son became a talented machinist.

 

[Snakeoil]

I thought cowboy brass was the same as Schofield in length. But I just looked it up and sure 'nuff, it is basically .45 auto rimmed.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I thought cowboy brass was the same as Schofield in length. What you are making is .45ACP rimmed if I am not mistaken.

Actually your partially correct.

Actual 45 Cowboy Special Brass is .780 The ACP is 898.

But the Schofield brass is longer still @ 1.1"

When I cut to 780 is made seating more difficult with inside case taper. Probably from brand I choose to chop.

CW

 

[Snakeoil]

I can't find the site that had the specs, but this is what Starline says on their website.

The Cowboy .45 Special is a case that is optimized for use with light loads in .45 Colt caliber revolvers for Cowboy Action Shooting. Light loads with excessive airspace are a recipe for case splits and erratic function. By using the Cowboy .45 Special case, with its .45 Colt rim and .45 Auto length, the problem no longer exists. While many claim that .45 Auto load data can be used in this caliber, it is important to realize the limitations of the firearm it is chambered in and only use loads that fall within the pressure range of that firearm. Generally these can be loaded using .45 Colt dies and a modified (shortened) crimp die, or .45 Auto Rim roll crimp die.

I looked harder. This is from the SASS forum.

45 Cowboy Special (Large Pistol primer)​

Cowboy 45 Special, 45 SPL, C45S
0.892 - 0.896 O.A.L.

Where did you find that .780 number?

 

[richhodg66]

Interesting.

Not the same, but a lack of LPP got me to get some .454 Casull brass and cut it down to .45 Colt length and it works well. I got a file type trim die so that I could do the rough work with a hack saw. It took a while to do the 100 cases I bought.