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Is it possible to load a Spencer with 10 rounds of .45 Cowboy Special in the tube?


Blu Nos Dav

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In other words, will a Spencer cycle shorter cartridges, like the .45 Cowboy Special in a gun that is "chambered" in .45 (long) Colt?

 

A Spencer carbine normally holds seven rounds of .45 LC, so, 7 X 1.6" = 11.2 inches of ammo in the tube.  Therefore if the AOL of the .45 Cowboy Special cartridges can be held down to 1.12" per cartridge, then 10 rounds should fit in the same length of tube.

 

One of you Spencer owners might even know if the tube actually has a little more room than exactly 11.2 inches?  Perhaps, you've tried to load eight rounds of .45 LC and that 8th rounds went in part way, etc.  Which would allow a little more OAL for the .45 Cowboy Special cartridges.

 

Or are there other caliber/cartridge combinations that would accomplish the same thing of fitting 10 rounds in the tube?

 

Thanx, Dave

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I'm not a Spencer owner, but I know the reason they stopped makining the 45 Schofield and 44 Russian models that they started with is because they don't work as well with the shorter cartridges.  

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It is highly unlikely that you could modify the breech block to feed a C45S length cartridge.  Spencer's are OAL sensitive and the shorter cartridges will jam up the action. 

 

You might be able to find a smith that could make a new breech block that would feed a really short cartridge but it would be cost prohibitive.

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2 hours ago, Rafe Conager SASS #56958 said:

Taylor's has a 45 Schofield spencer, might try to run 10 Schofield dummies through it.

Rafe

Chiappa doesn't make it in Schofield any more.  Just 45 Colt, 44-40, and 56-50.  Taylors carries all those.  I think the Schofield model only held 8, anyway.

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Math says 7*40.6mm = 284.2mm in 45 Colt, so to get 10 in would mean using 45 GAP......

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I think they all held 7, except for the .44 Russian model, which held 9. The C45S isn't going to feed in a .45 Colt Spencer.

Even if one could be modified to hold 10, why? It's the slowest Cowboy Action rifle you can get, and part of the fun of a Spencer is living with that. Go with .56-50, fill 'em with black, and smoke 'em up! If you break 80 seconds, YEE HA! :)

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7 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

It's the slowest Cowboy Action rifle you can get, and part of the fun of a Spencer is living with that. Go with .56-50, fill 'em with black, and smoke 'em up! If you break 80 seconds, YEE HA! 

 

^^THIS^^

 

I shoot a Spencer for style points. Love the feel of a 330 grain .50 cal projectile over the top of a full case of FFFg. Makes me smile just thinking about it. :):)

I have a Taylor's Carbine and Rifle in 56-50. Some day I'll find an original in 56-50 that I can afford to complete my collection.

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1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

^^THIS^^

 

I shoot a Spencer for style points. Love the feel of a 330 grain .50 cal projectile over the top of a full case of FFFg. Makes me smile just thinking about it. :):)

I have a Taylor's Carbine and Rifle in 56-50. Some day I'll find an original in 56-50 that I can afford to complete my collection.

 

Real Spencers are cool.   When I put in the centerfire conversion block and finally fired it for the first time who knows how many decades, I huge grin spread across my face.  It was very nice to hear that old warrior speak once again.

Wish there was a readily available CF conversion bolt for original Henry/66's   In fact, there are a lot more of those out there than Spencers...

 

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12 minutes ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Simple solution - just fabricate a longer buttstock/magazine tube/spring to hold as many rounds as you wish!

 

Might be a bit ungainly.:rolleyes:

you beat me to it!

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15 minutes ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Simple solution - just fabricate a longer buttstock/magazine tube/spring to hold as many rounds as you wish!

 

Might be a bit ungainly.:rolleyes:

 

BTW - I have a Spencer in 44 Russian which will hold nine rounds. It works fine with the proper levering technique.

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I have one of the early .45 Schofield guns, and it would hold 8, but I usually only load 7 for better reliability. I reload on the clock with small copper tube that holds 3 rounds like a miniature Blakeslee tube. As mentioned earlier, Spencers are very OAL dependent. One of the nice things about the .45 Schofield Spencers was for reenacting, you could load very cheap blanks using .44 magnum brass.

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Thanx everyone!  I’ll probably just look around for a .56-.50 model and plan to load rounds 8 through 10 on the clock.


Steve - Is your 3-round reloading tube faster than loading individual rounds straight into the chamber one at a time (a la Winchester M1897 shotguns)?

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1 hour ago, Blu Nos Dav said:

Thanx everyone!  I’ll probably just look around for a .56-.50 model and plan to load rounds 8 through 10 on the clock.


Steve - Is your 3-round reloading tube faster than loading individual rounds straight into the chamber one at a time (a la Winchester M1897 shotguns)?

 

Local clubs may allow them but the last word I had was that loading tubes for an on the clock loading of a Spencer was not SASS legal.

 

If you are going to buy a Spencer 56-50 is the best chambering as it has fewer extraction issues than other calibers.

 

A good reference for everything you ever wanted or needed to know about Spencers can be found here.  Spencer Shooting Society

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59 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

What Sedalia Dave said, loading tubes after the beep are not allowed.

Maybe they should make an exception for the Spencer.  It's not like they will suddenly start beating people.  But it might speed up the posse just slightly. :)

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5 hours ago, Blu Nos Dav said:

 


Steve - Is your 3-round reloading tube faster than loading individual rounds straight into the chamber one at a time (a la Winchester M1897 shotguns)?

Yes, you only have handle one extra object rather then digging out three loose rounds. Keep in mind you must handle the carbine/rifle and magazine spring with one hand while loading with the other. I carry the reload tube in a repro Dyer pouch.

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5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Local clubs may allow them but the last word I had was that loading tubes for an on the clock loading of a Spencer was not SASS legal.

The clubs I shoot at allow me to use one.

 

4 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

What Sedalia Dave said, loading tubes after the beep are not allowed.

Unless allowed locally.

 

3 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

Maybe they should make an exception for the Spencer.  It's not like they will suddenly start beating people.  But it might speed up the posse just slightly. :)

Agreed.

 

1 hour ago, Steel-eye Steve SASS #40674 said:

Yes, you only have handle one extra object rather then digging out three loose rounds. Keep in mind you must handle the carbine/rifle and magazine spring with one hand while loading with the other. I carry the reload tube in a repro Dyer pouch.

This is mine. I made it  to hold five rounds and just put it in my S/G belt.

image.thumb.png.767224098888874be8310e6e1305584a.pngimage.thumb.png.b6915bac414dd74a0373cb47334c648b.png

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5 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

What Sedalia Dave said, loading tubes after the beep are not allowed.

Never had a problem with this, though mainly shot local matches. Someone shooting a Spencer in any form is hardly a threat of being a “gamer”.

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"Unless allowed locally"... c'mon, it's against the rules, period.


"Lever action rifles only, unless a Marlin Camp 45 is allowed locally." "Single action revolvers of .32 to .45 caliber, unless an IWI .50 AE Desert Eagle is allowed locally" "SxS, 1897, 1887 or single shot shotguns, unless a Benelli Super Black Eagle is allowed locally" "Period clothing, unless Danner Gor-tex hiking boots, t-shirts, and shorts are allowed locally" "Leather rigs, unless Kydex and nylon web belts are allowed locally"

If it's allowed, but outside the rules, then it's not Cowboy Action Shooting, it's just a bunch of guys out shooting guns. Complete anarchy! :lol:

 

(edit) OK, I'll let you in on a little secret - I have a couple myself. ;) I never use them at a match though.

SpencerLoadingTube.jpg

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