Oak Ridge Regulator Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 I have always wanted a Spencer and have seen a couple in 45 colt which is the caliber I shoot the most, not really knowing enough about the feed system on the Spencer I was wondering if anyone out there had tried running the shorter 45 cowboy brass, it looks like you might be able to get 10 rounds instead of 7 that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Will not work as the cartridges are too short. AFAIK there is no way you could modify an existing breech block to make it work. If you found a gunsmith that really understood how a Spencer action works you might get a custom breech block to work but I doubt it. Even if a Spencer held 10 rounds you are still coming in dead last simply because of how slow the action works. Embrace shooting a Spencer for the style points. Get one in 56-50, load those cases full of BP, seat a 330 grain bullet on top and have fun. I guarantee you'll come in first place every state when it comes to how much fun you are having. I chronoed my 56-50 with a case full of 2F and the velocity is right around 1000 fps and I chronoed my 4227 smokeless loads at 1166 fps. So both loads are definitely SASS legal. Who knows shooting a Spencer at a match may get you a few minutes on National TV. https://www.shootingusa.com/TV_SCHEDULE/SHOW_40-01/show_40-01.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 The action on a Spencer is very touchy about over all length of the cartridge. Even some 45lc have to be adjusted to get them to work in a Spencer. But I don't know if they still make it in 45 IIRC they are only available in 44-40 and 52. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 3 minutes ago, Nickel City Dude said: The action on a Spencer is very touchy about over all length of the cartridge. Even some 45lc have to be adjusted to get them to work in a Spencer. But I don't know if they still make it in 45 IIRC they are only available in 44-40 and 52. Yep very OAL sensitive. I'm still working on getting my 56-50 rifle to reliably feed cases. I am pretty sure they no longer make it in 45 because of the difficulty getting the cases to extract properly. The 56-50 and 44-40 cartridges have very large rims compared to the base diameter of the case. The design of the extractor needs the extra rim diameter to properly extract cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 The earlier Armi-Sport / Chiappa Spencers that shot pistol caliber were 44 Russian and 45 Schofield. Some people had success but in general those shorter cartridges were more problematic, so they switched to the 45 Colt and 44-40 because they fed better, even though it reduced capacity. 56-50 is a little shorter than those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 I had a Spencer in 44 Russian that I used for Civil War reenacting and it was a nightmare. It had two paddle extractors, one on each side. And they were constantly getting on the wrong side of the cartridge and jamming up the breach. I got rid of it and got one in 44-40 and made blanks from cut down and resized 410 shotgun shells. This worked great and I had a lot of fun using it. I once fired so many rounds in a weekend reenactment that I raised a blister on my thumb from cocking it. Great fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Just did the math and even if you could get it to work with C45S the magazine would only hold 8 rounds vice 7 of 56-50 or 44-40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.