Loadin' Ammo, Singin' Along, and OOOPS!!!!

[Griff]

Did you guys know that a .45 Colt die set will just as readily load .38-40... as a .45 Colt!!!! I glance outta one eye at each case comin' off the Dillon and noticed this one looked a little "FUNNY"! Looked at the head mark and read: ".38-40"! Oh well... hope it feeds thru the rifle! This was about case # 310 outta 400 so I can't look. Came off the range with my .45Colt cases... went thru the wet dip, then dry and tumbled along with the others... Surprised it didn't get its case mouth stuck in the mouth of a .45... .38s seem to bury themselves knee deep and are hob to get out!

[Don McDowell]

I was loading some 7 mags for a friend using brass he had saved from the previous falls expeditions, when all of a sudden one was really tough to get in and out of the sizer. Thought I might not of got enough lube on it. Turned out we just reformed one of his buddys 300 win mags.

[Jaguarundi]

be careful !

[Lefty Dude]

A 45lc case sure locks up a progressive press when you are loading 44-40's. They stop dead in the sizer die.

44-40's will also glide thru 45lc dies.

Some 45LC shooters, reload and use 38-40 & 44-40 brass for there lever guns. The thin necks seal the breach of the barrel for reduced loads, like CAS/SASS uses. Reduces black specks & blow back in your face.

[J Miller]

I was just zinging along once decapping cases when got out of sequence and decapped my thumb. That got my attention.

Some 45LC shooters, reload and use 38-40 & 44-40 brass for there lever guns. The thin necks seal the breach of the barrel for reduced loads, like CAS/SASS uses. Reduces black specks & blow back in your face.

Seems to me that's a waste of a somewhat hard to get brass. Remington .45 Colt brass is about the thinnest and works well for sealing the chambers.
I also wonder how they are getting by the fact that the rim on the 38-40 and 44-40 are larger than the .45 Colt. Have they modified their guns, or is it just one of those quirks where it just works?

Use proper pressure loads and that won't be a problem. I've shot lots of .45 Colt ammo through my leverguns in the last 20+ years and have never had any trouble with blow back when using normal pressure ammo. It's only the silly cas squib loads that cause the trouble.

Joe

[Mike D.]

I had a friend that was doin' the same thing, not paying attention after cleaning and disassembling his 1st Generation SAs. He put a 45 Colt cylinder into a .44 WCF gun, loaded some ammo, and went out to bang away. His first BANG was the last for that old shooter. .45 ammo won't proceed down the bore of a .44. It lifted the top strap off the gun and blew out the cylinder. He was unhurt, but deafened for a short time. The gun was rebuilt into a target gun, with heavy top strap and King sights.