Case Life Expectancy - .45 Colt vs. .44 Mag

[Thel]

Was reading an article a while back on the 'net that I have since lost track of. The discussion was about "Ruger only" .45 Colt loads vs. .44 Mag. The writer claimed that with Ruger only loads (which he limited to 21,000 psi) the .45 Colt cases such as WW lasted about 2 loadings before getting case mouth splits. The writer felt loading above that level was courting disaster and the loads should only be used in Blackhawks as that was what was mentioned in the manuals. He mentioned life was a bit better with Federal cases. He stated .44 mag case life was better due to thicker walled cases.

From all that I can discern ther Redhawk has a beefier cylinder in all dimensions compared to the Blackhawk. I am in the market for a 4" RH in either .44 mag or .45 Colt for insurance against large 4 footed predators. Would appreciate any comments on case life of the .45 Colt. Also, recall reading somewhere that due to a thin rim they have a greater tendency to slip past the extractor on ejection. Comments?

 

[Jim Puke]

I don't get good case life out of any 45colt brass...it has a shorter life than any cartridge I reload. I seem to have more problem with the rim than the mouth. The rims are too thin and get boogered up pretty easily...at least mine do.

 

[CraigC]

Sounds like BS to me. I've never had issues with .45Colt brass. I can't remember the last time I ruined a case and I've never boogered a rim. Of course, I only crank them out by the couple hundred on a Dillon, so maybe I don't use them enough.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I load and shoot both .45 Colt and .44 magnum A LOT and have had no issues with case life.
Most .45 Colt full length resizer dies over work the brass due to overly large chambers in many guns. This can be the cause of short case life, but not due to case or brass quality.
When I load Ruger only loads for my .45 Colt guns,I prefer Star Line cases.

I have lost exactly three cases due to splits when shooting CAS in the last 5 years. Of that batch of 500 cases,most have been fired at least 6 times in that length of time.

 

[Rclark]

I haven't seen any difference. My .45 Colt case rims do, over time, get a bit 'rough' and a bit harder to seat in the shell holder, but still reload just fine. I start seeing the occasional mouth splits by the time I hit 20 or so reloads and toss (I keep track as boxes aren't mixed, and every reload gets another 'mark' on the box). Seems 'plenty' of life for a case. Some seem to last even longer. Granted I don't push my brass to max ROL or true Magnum pressures either for general loads.

 

[Sagebrush Burns]

Running ammo through a lever action rifle tends to roughen up rims. Never enough to make them unusable but sometimes they're tight in the shell holder. Running standard pressure level 45 Colt loads I usually get at least 10 reloads and usually more before any start to split case mouths. Setting for minimum flare of the case mouth in reloading is important for prolonged case life.

 

[c.r.]

I have a batch of 100 pieces of mixed WW and RP .45 Colt brass with 20+ loads on it. of course not all the loads have been heavy, mostly 255gr bullet at 950 fps, but they have had their share of warm 270 and 310 gr bullets through them at one point earlier in their life. I don't believe i've lost any to splits, but the primer pockets have loosened on some of the RP's.

I have at least two batches of 100 44 mag WW brass that have 12 firings on them and everything that has been through them is 255 gr Keiths at >= 1300 fps, most closer to 1400 fps and up to 1450.

basically what i'm saying, is i haven't seen any difference in case life between the two cartridges.

 

[Bucks Owin]

I load and shoot both .45 Colt and .44 magnum A LOT and have had no issues with case life.
Most .45 Colt full length resizer dies over work the brass due to overly large chambers in many guns. This can be the cause of short case life, but not due to case or brass quality.
When I load Ruger only loads for my .45 Colt guns,I prefer Star Line cases.

I have lost exactly three cases due to splits when shooting CAS in the last 5 years. Of that batch of 500 cases,most have been fired at least 6 times in that length of time.

Spot on amigo. If Ruger tightened up their cylinders to .480" life would be grand. They should take a lesson from John Linebaugh on proper .45 Colt dimensions...

I limit my "hot loads" to five trips thru the size die and "neck size" for the most part...

 

[Thel]

Thanks for the replies. In the past I had heard about the oversize and/or out of round chambers but not so much about short case life. Also, I seem to recall someone came out with a .45 Colt case with a different case rim to alleviate problems with the rim, if any. Don't recall who or where though.

 

[WIL TERRY]

ACTUALLY, it depends almost entirely upon the I.D. of the chambers in the pistol. BUT...
In 1971 I bought a Ruger OMFT 4 5/8" 45/45 and 250 new W-W 45COLT cases. Of those those 250 cases I tossed one which was .025" short and all are still in use and I've not lost a single one. NONE were ever shot with wimpass 45COLT popgun loads neither. As for the chambers in this SA 45, you could toss your saddle through the chambers and not hit the sides. It did have short chambers with very tight throats, and still has for that matter. It is a tackdriver !!! With either cylinder !!
And so it goes...

 

[DeletedMember275]

Actually, modern .45 Colt brass is nearly identical in thickness to .44 Mag brass. I suggest you read 'The .45 Colt - Dissolving The Myth,' by John Linebaugh.

http://www.customsixguns.com/writings/dissolving_the_myth.htm

As stated above, Mr. Linebaugh blames the oversized dimensions of .45 Colt chambers for most problems associated with case life. That's not to say that some brands of brass don't last longer than others. Remington .45 Colt brass seems to fail before Starline brass, all other things being equal, in my personal experience. I truly wish that the factories would cut chambers to the same dimensions that Mr. Linebaugh does, but it'll never happen - unless by accident!

 

[375supermag]

Hi...

I shoot a lot of .45Colt and .44Mag rounds and can only remember losing one .45Colt case to a split.
It may have been reloaded quite a few times.
I tend to shoot more light to medium loads (8grs Unique under 255LSCVW in .45Colt and 10gr under 240gr LSWC in .44Mag) than maximum, so that may be why I can only recall one case split in 35+ years of reloading.

I do manage to shoot a few hundred full-power loads in each caliber every year in several different handguns.
Rims seem to be fine and I don't have any cases stretching according to my trusty dial calipers.

 

[TKLyden]

I have shot 9 grains of Unique out of my 2nd gen Colt for years a 255 grain SWC using Starline, Win, Fed brass and some have been loaded over 40 times.

 

[greenmtnguy]

Of all my 45 Colt brass - the ones that split at the mouth are more often the Winchester brass, which is generally thinner than the Remington and StarLine (I most often use Starline). I generally load Ruger only loads some of which are considerably more stout than others. Brass life isn't bad as long as you keep it clean and adjust your dies to not overly bell/flare the mouths and not overly crimp them.

I tend to watch the brass for potential head separation, but that is pretty rare even on my higher end loads.

Out of the past 300-400 brass that I've loaded 4-5 times, I've had to toss about 3 or 4 due to mouth splits or other potential issue.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Rossi rifles have extra heavy ejector springs and will cause more damage to brass than any other rifle I have used. My Rossi .32-20 would launch empty brass into orbit if the lever was operated briskly and chewed the brass pretty bad.
I replaced the ejector spring with a reduced power one from Steve`s Guns in Texas and the problem is gone.
I finished loading 800 .45 Colt rounds for CAS yesterday and out of those 800 none had split cases and only about 4 were difficult to fit into the shell holder due to tiny burrs on the rim. All were fired in either Ruger Vaqueros or Marlin 1894 Cowboy guns.