Reloading the 45 Schofield

[Driftwood Dan SASS #62738L]

So here is the question :  Can 45 Colt dies reload 45 Schofield well?   I have seen RCBS dies labeled for both.  From Lee & Hornady 45 Schofield specific dies  are listed?   I Thank you  in advance for your replies.   Driftwood Dan

[Renegade Ripley]

I used the lee 45colt dies to load both with no issues.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

1 hour ago, Driftwood Dan SASS #62738L said:

So here is the question :  Can 45 Colt dies reload 45 Schofield well?   I have seen RCBS dies labeled for both.  From Lee & Hornady 45 Schofield specific dies  are listed?   I Thank you  in advance for your replies.   Driftwood Dan

My .45 Colt Hornady dies work great for Schofield and C45S. My .45 RCBS wouldn’t  go low enough to crimp the shorter cases. 
 

I don’t have a clue about Lee. 
 

Depending on your press, you may need a different shell plate or holder as the Scofield rim is larger than the Colt. I had to get a specific plate for my Hornady LNL. 
 

["Big Boston"]

A lot depends on the tolerances on shell holders as well. A 44-40 shell holder fits a 45 Schofield better than a 45 (Long) Colt one does. LEE shell holders aren't held to very tight tolerances, Lyman and RCBS are a bit tighter on tolerance, Redding, pretty much the best, (IMNSHO). I use my LEE shell holders for decapping brass and seating primers. RCBS for the more precise work, and Redding when it matters.

 

Sizing die: I don't think these would have any issues doing either. (45 LC or 45 S&W Schofield)

Neck expanding die: these usually has adequate travel/range.

Seating die, depending on the bullet, it may not have enough travel, and if the seating die also crimps, that may be an issue as well.

 

I've run into issues using 38 Special dies to load 38 LC. Sometimes it takes a bit of bushcraft ingenuity to sort things out. (that and about 40 sets of dies from various manufactures in various calibers. Just a few weeks ago I used a 30-06 neck sizing die to size 45 Auto brass. when my die set arrived I compared, within less than 0.0005". 

 

I've said this before, it's not what the die is labeled, it's the job it does that counts.

 

BTW, I have to call Dillon, their 38 special die will not crimp a 38 LC, in fact it does a pretty poor job of crimping a 38 Special. Not dirting Dillon, it's just that I've come to appreciate the LEE FCD, it's been my experience that this is a good die to use. 

 

BB

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

23 minutes ago, "Big Boston" said:

 

Seating die, depending on the bullet, it may not have enough travel, and if the seating die also crimps, that may be an issue as well.

 

 

Always can use a 45 acp die to seat and crimp.

45 Colt shell holder on the Dillon 550 worked without any modifications

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

ACP puts a taper crimp on the cartridge.  You really have to crank it down for cowboy cartridges. I’m not fond of doing that especially for BP loads.  My personal prejudice. YMMV. 

[El Hombre Sin Nombre]

I really don’t like having to adjust things more than once if I can help it. So I bought a set of 45 rcbs cowboys dies for 45 colt and another set of the same dies for 45 schofield. I have separate crimping dies as well. I think lee factory crimp die if I recall correctly. They work well for both cartridges after I got them setup properly. 

[Three Foot Johnson]

If the dies were made specific for the .45 Colt, the sizer and expander/bell die will work, but the shorter Schofield case won't go far enough into the crimp die to crimp.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

11 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

If the dies were made specific for the .45 Colt, the sizer and expander/bell die will work, but the shorter Schofield case won't go far enough into the crimp die to crimp.

Not so with Hornady. 

[Three Foot Johnson]

Just now, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Not so with Hornady. 

Then they're not specific to the .45  Colt. Some manufacturers have always cut the seater/crimp die short so it will work with the Schofield too.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Mine says only “45 Colt” on the box and the dies. 

[Three Foot Johnson]

If they were specific to the .45 Colt, they wouldn't crimp the shorter Schofield, so obviously, they aren't specific to the longer Colt case. That's pretty self-explanatory - if they will crimp the Schofield case, they're not specific to the Colt case.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Who cares? Your point is moot to the OP. They work.

 

Take it up with Hornady if you don’t like the labeling. 

[Three Foot Johnson]

It's very relevant to the OP's question - some .45 Colt crimp dies will work to crimp the Schofield case, and some won't, regardless of what the label might say. If the labeling/roll marks say both, you're likely good to go, but if it just says ".45 Colt", it's a crap shoot. Your Hornadys apparently will work with both. My '78 vintage RCBS .45 Colt dies also only say ".45 Colt" on the box & dies, but the crimp die won't crimp the shorter Schofield case. Same with my '78 vintage .44 mag RCBS dies - they are cut specific to the magnum case, and won't crimp a .44 spl case, however my Lee .44 Russian dies will work with all three. The sizer die is marked ".44 spl/mag", the expander/bell die is marked ".44 Russian", and the crimp die is marked ".44 spl/mag", but there is a note in the instructions indicating they will also crimp .44 Russians. It was cheaper to put a note in the box and cut previously roll-marked die blanks to .44 Russian.

Some manufacturers used to, and maybe still do, put a 1/10" thick spacer in the "dual caliber" die sets, so all you had to do was put the spacer under the lock ring, and you were good to go with the longer case. My RCBS .44 spl dies have this spacer ring in the box.

If the die is cut specific to the longer case, it absolutely cannot crimp the shorter Schofield case, as the die will hit the shell holder before the case is far enough into the die to hit the crimp ledge. Some manufacturers box labels and roll marks reflect this and some don't - you can't tell by the labeling. To be sure, take a 1/4" or 3/8" x 6" steel machinists rule, calipers, or even a 1/4" tape measure, to the store with you and physically measure where the crimp step in the die is.

 

Looks like I've got a lot of calls to make Monday morning. 

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I've been using 45 ACP dies for years to load 45 Schofield. 

[Driftwood Dan SASS #62738L]

I thank all for the input.   I  don’t like having to adjust things , so I have decided and ordered a set of the "Lee 45 Schofield"  &  "Lee 45 Schofield FCD"  dies.  I also ordered  the  Dillon 550 quick change kit.   So I am set.  I cannot wait to receive the dies and start reloading.  I told My bride of 41 years that this is my birthday, Christmas and Anniversary presents to justify the purchase.   The reply "OK lets go with that, your cowboy shooting makes for quite a lot of yearly birthday's"  Thanks again to all.   Driftwood Dan

[Baltimore Ed]

Buying separate dies always keeps it simpler. You don’t destroy the first case you load when you haven’t reloaded x-caliber in months and forgot what you last used those dies for.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

I load 45 Schofield with a set of Hornady dies that say 45 Long Colt on the label. Yeah, we know there is no such thing as 45 Long Colt, but that is what the box says. I load 45 Colt with an old RCBS die set. I did not have to alter the Hornady set to load 45 Schofield with it, I was able to screw them into my press far enough to crimp on my Hornady Lock and Load AP. I do keep the '45 Colt' and '45 Schofield' sets set up so I don't have to change the settings on either. I always load the same bullets, so I don't have to change anything. I use a shell plate specific to 45 Schofield on my press when loading that cartridge.

 

I load 44 Russian with an RCBS 44 Mag/44 Special die set. I did have to grind the dickens out of the bottom of the crimp die in that set in order to be able to crimp the brass. The 44 Sp/44 Mag die set is set for 44 Specials. I do not load 44 Mag.

 

[VICIOUS, SASS#8014]

Howdy; Lyman dies work BUT had to cut off the bottom of the seating crimp die to get it to crimp. Used 44/40 shell holder for Scofield cases as some will not fit a 45 colt shell holder.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

I use the Lee 45 Schofield dies on a Lee Turret.  I use the FCD on most calibers but have not needed it on this caliber.

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

45 ACP seater works fine.