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Does no one ever experiment anymore?


Alpo

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I was just over on this one board. Guy wanted to know if you could size 45 ACP in a 45 Colt die.

 

Apparently he has a turret press with seven holes. And he has set his 38/357 up with the size die in the middle. Then turning counterclockwise he has the 38 bell, then seat, then crimp. Or, turning clockwise, he has the 357 bell, then seat, then crimp.

 

He has the same setup with his 44 special and 44 Magnum.

 

He wishes to set one up with his 45 Colt and 45 ACP, but this requires the ability to size both cases in the same die. So he asks.

 

Three people told him it would not work. They show the dimensions of the cases as proof that it will not work. I told him to try. Size a couple of the ACPs in the Colt die and see if they work. If they do, he's golden. If they don't, resize them in an ACP die. All it takes is a little bit of time wasted, maybe.

 

Another guy, different board. Wanted to know if he could use 44 magnum brass to make 44/40. Several people told him it would not work. I believe it would. I don't think you would have enough rim for it to work through a lever action, it would be a little bit short so you might have to shorten the crimp die to get the crimp shoulder down for enough, and you might only get two or three loads out of it. But, if as the man said, he had lots of Magnum brass and was unable to find any wucf brass anywhere, it was worth a try.

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I suspect that when you're setting out to do things involving explosives and such,

asking folks for information about whether something is doable, not just once,

but safely and repeatably, might not be a bad default position. 

 

If it turns out to be an easy and common practice then you get useful information

right away. If no one knows or the data is conflicted you get to decide if you want

to blaze that trail.

 

We always tell folks to get one or several reloading manuals, and always double check

data published on the web - I suspect in other aspects of reloading such an

attitude is worth maintaining.

 

Just my speculations though . . . . .

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357 mag is just a stretched 38, same for 44 special and mag so yes the same sizer will work because the OD is the same for each pair. 45acp and 45 colt are different diameters. He'll either end up with oversized 45acp's that won't chamber right or undersized 45 Colt rounds and that cartridge has chamber sealing issues with properly sized brass. It is not worth the risk.

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