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so I found a brass cartridge case...what the heck is it ?


Throckmorton,23149

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visually it's a fat looking 45 colt case EXCEPT  no extractor groove, it looks to take small primer...I didn't want to actually seat it, but diameter is right.

the main body is tapered, skinnier on top by .030 or so . A .452 bullet fits just right,in the case mouth.

The headstamp looks like gibberish...maybe a pattern of some sort. ?

Just curious what I found lurking, I have no recollection of where it came from 

 

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per google all dimensions wrong for schoefield. It's a good 1/8" shorter than a Colt,no extractor groove, rim is several thou. wider than Colt
 

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.45 auto rim ?

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That is too long for a .45 Auto rimmed.

They are about the same length as .45 ACP.

Can you give dimensions?

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If it's a small primer, it may be one of the high perf cartridges like a .454 Casull which use a small rifle primer, if I recollect rightly.

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oal 1.180, rim dia. 605..case mouth .452... case dia. at base, .544, case dia near mouth, .511

basically it looks like a short ,slightly fatter....thicker brass ?? 45 colt with a bit wider rim taking spp primers

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4 hours ago, Throckmorton,23149 said:

oal 1.180, rim dia. 605..case mouth .452... case dia. at base, .544, case dia near mouth, .511

basically it looks like a short ,slightly fatter....thicker brass ?? 45 colt with a bit wider rim taking spp primers

 

What is the red goop in the primer pocket and on the rim where the extractor groove should be?

 

No cartridge I know uses 0.030" thick brass at neck. That is not a "design" on head, it is brass spall over concentric-circle stamp/forming marks, (not milling/turning marks).

 

Cut-down rifle case? Maybe. However, while hard to see the mouth appears at some point had a very heavy crimp.  NO cartridge comes close to matching that head and at-mouth diameter and length, so what die could have done the crimp?

 

Hard to see, case appears to have heavy black powder fouling.

 

My guess:  ordinance electric or percussion primer, or artillery fuse igniter.  The .452" inside mouth diameter is pure coincidence, or someone tweeked brass after being fired.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Mustang Gregg said:

If it's a small primer, it may be one of the high perf cartridges like a .454 Casull which use a small rifle primer, if I recollect rightly.

.454 Casull case is longer than .45 Colt.

The case in the OP's picture is not .454 Casull.

OLG 

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I am betting my WAG on the .45 Government.  Produced to provide comparable ammunition for both .45 Colt SAAs and .45 Schofield for the military (and civilian) when the military found logistics problems and field problems when the .45 Colt and .45 Schofield were found to be incompatible.

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Possibly a foreign caliber? Check some of the ammo from Great Britain or possibly one of the European calibers.

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10 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

.454 Casull case is longer than .45 Colt.

The case in the OP's picture is not .454 Casull.

OLG 

He hadn't given the dimensions yet when I answered.

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My 2 bits:

From the measurements given I would guess that it is an obsolete 8mm Lebel round cut down.  The primer pocket looks to have been swaged to hold the primer in.  WW1 machine guns, such as the Vickers, used the Lebel rounds. I could not match up any other rounds to fit.  It looks like the red stuff is in the primer pocket as well as the base next to the rim, possible dirt left from a dug up?  

I do love a mystery.

CK  :)

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The thing I notice is the rim diameter as stated by the OP at .605. What other cartridge other than .45 government (.608) has a rim that big?
 

I also don’t think we’re looking at head stamp. Looks more like a case that was spun against an abrasive surface without lube. 

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