45 Colt & Schofield Brass on the way

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sourdough44

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I ordered 100 of each for my new Blackhawk 45 colt & the buddies 'Judge'. I also got 500 Rainier plated 250 grn bullets. Some of the reviews on the Remington brass were not great. I think that was the only type in 45 colt that was in stock. The Schofield brass is Hornady. I ordered from Midway.

My thoughts are to load the shorter brass with Tightgroup powder & the full size cases with H Universal or win 231. Once I give things a test out I may load a few 'Ruger only' loads, but most will be within standard pressure limits. I told the partner I would provide some ammo for his judge, so I just had to pick up a 45 colt myself. I'll take home the 4 5/8" SS Blackhawk on Friday, after I cool off I guess.

Has anyone used Remington 45 colt brass lately? How about the Schofield brass & loads in the Blackhawk(fitting)?
 

J Miller

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I've used Remington .45 Colt brass for years. No problems with it at all.

The .45 S&W (Schofield) should fit your Blackhawk since it does not have rebated chambers.

The only things I can say about shooting the shorter Schofield rounds from the longer Colt chambers is to clean the fouling out thoroughly. It will build up and can cause problems when you chamber the longer Colt round.

Joe
 

Scott

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I'd be interested how the schofield rims fit in the blackhawk cylinder - can you load all six without the rims hitting each other? I've heard different stories on that.
 

sourdough44

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Yes, I do keep my guns clean. I of course will clean after the shorter rounds, just like with 38s in a 357 chamber.

When I get the gun & brass I will report on how they fit, unless someone else has 1st hand experience in the matter. I can always try them in the 'Judge' if I have Blackhawk issues.
 

Jayhawkhuntclub

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J Miller":32dto9a4 said:
The only things I can say about shooting the shorter Schofield rounds from the longer Colt chambers is to clean the fouling out thoroughly. It will build up and can cause problems when you chamber the longer Colt round.

Joe

Not to be argumentative, but is that really the case with Schofiled in a Ruger 45 Colt chamber? I keep hearing about how loose 45 Colt chambers tend to be. Just makes me think it might not be a problem except on a Freedom Arms.
 

J Miller

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Jayhawkhuntclub,

Well, perhaps you are right, I honestly cannot say. I'm basing my comments on shooting 38s from 357s, all guns including Rugers, and shooting 45 Schofields from my Uberti .45 Colt. In every case the build up of fouling from shooting the shorter cartridges did cause problems.

My OM BH has the rebated chambers so the Schofield cases will not chamber. I have read from several folks their Vaqueros and Blackhawks with the non rebated chambers will allow the Schofields in all six chambers.
My Uberti will with ease, but it's a horse of a different color.

Joe
 

sourdough44

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I took the 45 Colt Blackhawk home today. The reloading cases came too. For anybody interested the 45 Schofield cases fit like a charm in the Blackhawk cylinder. There is even a touch of room to spare around the case rims. Now it's full speed ahead on the reloading efforts then a field test.
 

Scott

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That's good to hear - I'd like to try some in my new Blackhawk. I don't reload (yet) - isn't there some reasoning behind using the Schofield cartridges for lighter loads, and save the .45Colt for hunting loads due to the shorter case, therefore less powder?
 

sourdough44

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Yes Scott, that's what I'm up to. You cut down on alot of the 'open space' in the case, like the 38/357 relationship. I know I could of just done some down loading of the 45 colt case but wanted to go this route. I plan to set up the partner with his "Judge" so it would be difficult to be to light. I did load them near the top of the Schofield charge range. The reasoning is because it is a very old low pressure cartridge AND they will be fired in a 45 colt chambered gun. I'd compare that to a 38 +p in a 357 mag(somewhat).

Anyway I loaded 12 & will test with the chronograph before I load more. If you don't reload you could buy some 45 Schofield to try out if you wanted. Another thing I like is you can easily differentiate the lower Schofield loads from the regular 45 colt rounds by size.
 

Driftwood Johnson

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Howdy

I load 45 Schofield all the time, except usually with Black Powder. With a full sized Blackhawk you will have no issues with the rims hitting each other, there is plenty of room. However you may have a tiny bit of interference with a rim hitting the round base of the ratchet teeth at the center of the cylinder. I have such a problem with a couple of my 'original model' Vaqueros, which have cylinders the same size as a Blackhawk. It is no big deal and 2 strokes of a file would probably take care of it if I really wanted to deal with it.

This photo tells the story. The stainless cylinder in the center is an 'original model' Vaquero and it is the same size as a Blackhawk cylinder. The cylinder on the right is a Colt cylinder. Notice how the ratchet teeth are scalloped out on the Colt cylinder. Notice how they are not on the Ruger cylinder. That is where there is sometimes interference with the Ruger cylinder and Schofield rims. I have two Vaqueros and they are each a little bit reluctant to seat Schofield brass on one chamber. Like I say, a couple of strokes with a file would take care of it.

cylinders03.jpg


I always load 45 Schofield with Starline brass.

Yes, the Schofield round is a good one to use if you want to save powder. However, don't go poking around in the dark. Whenever rounds with less case capacity than another are used, pressure will go up if all other things remain equal. So you cannot use straight 45 Colt data for loading 45 Schofield. For what it's worth, I have not seen any data for 45 Schofield other than for relatively mild Cowboy loads.

Of course I just stuff the case with around 28 grains of FFg powder and jam a 200 grain bullet on top.
 

sourdough44

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That's a great picture Driftwood. I have a BUNCH of reloading manuals & some of the best are the Hodgdon 'Annual Reloading Guides'. I don't have the years right here but several have some good data & one an extended article on reloading the 45 Colt & 45 Scholfield. I could add the years the next time I get the info. My plan is to stay within the data for each cartridge.

The H Annual I was referring to is the 2004 one. This year has the article by Mike Venturino about the 45 Colt & Schofield with a few of his favorite loads. Then the listings also include 45 Colt & Schofield loads with Hodgdon powders. Just FYI

Update: I chony-ed my loads today. The 45 Schofield cases with 5.1 grns of Titegroup & the 250 grn Rainier plated bullet averaged 725 fps from my 4 5/8" Blackhawk. They were very enjoyable & mild to shoot, as expected. I plan to load my 100 cases up next.
 
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