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45 scofield


Rufus Basset

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Howdy

 

I do. Some brands may not allow you to thread them in far enough. I use a set of Hornady 45 Colt dies to load 45 Schofield. I actually keep one set of dies set up for 45 Colt and one set up for 45 Schofield, so I don't have to continually reset them. You will probably need a different shell holder or shell plate though. 45 Schofield has a wider rim and will not fit in many brands of 45 Colt shell holder or shell plate.

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I loaded Schofields for a friend, and found that regular 45 long colt would shave off a sliver of lead, gumming up the dies. I was bellowing correctly, but they just didn't fit the long Colt die well. I got a set of Lee Schofield dies, and the shaving lead disappeared. I would suggest not wearing out the Long Colt dies by forcing the Schofield brass into the wrong die. There is a very minute difference in diameter. Gracos Kid :rolleyes:

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I loaded Schofields for a friend, and found that regular 45 long colt would shave off a sliver of lead, gumming up the dies. I was bellowing correctly, but they just didn't fit the long Colt die well. I got a set of Lee Schofield dies, and the shaving lead disappeared. I would suggest not wearing out the Long Colt dies by forcing the Schofield brass into the wrong die. There is a very minute difference in diameter. Gracos Kid

 

Howdy Again

 

I have never measured any difference between 45 Colt and 45 Schofield brass. And I use the exact same diameter bullets for both. Besides, steel dies are much harder than brass. Carbide is even harder. You are not going to wear out the die by running either type of brass up it. As I said before, not all brands of 45 Colt dies can be screwed down into the press far enough to load the shorter 45 Schofield brass, or you may have to grind the bottom of a die to run the brass far enough up. But I have been loading 45 Schofield with an unaltered set of Hornady 45 Colt carbide dies for years.

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Howdy-

As I got my 45 Colt dies some time ago, and only started loading Schofield brass recently, I had to find an less expensive solution for the crimp than buying an EXPENSIVE set of Schofield dies. Found that RCBS has a 45 Colt/Schofield Cowboy die set, and the crimping die can be purchased by itself. Has proven more than satisfactory.

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Length is the only difference between 45LC and 45 S&W. Your 45LC dies will work fine with the exception of the crimp; that dies may be too long but not to fear, use a LEE factory crimp or get the taper crimp die for 45ACP from RCBS and that will work fine.

 

The rim diameter on 45S&W is just a bit bigger and some shellplates/holders may not work but I use Starline brass and have never had a problem except with my Dillon 650. Rim fits the shellplate just fine but with the alignment buttona all in place the larger 45S&W rims bind just a tiny bit so I take out the button for the unusued station and then things run smooth.

 

You're definitely not going to damage a steel die with brass cases. I would suggest the carbide so you can dispense with case lubing though with 45LC I've found the press runs much smoother if I spray a little one-shot in the die or lube every tenth case or so.

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