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Using 45 Cowboy Specials


Nightlatch

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For those of you who use 45 Cowboy Special brass, after long period usage of these shorter brass, and after cleaning the cylinder thoroughly after every match, have you noticed that it gets harder to eject 45 Long Colts when you use them? I am concerned with causing ejection resistance in the cylinders after using the short brass. ( I do shoot stainless Vaqueros if that has any relevance)

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I've been using C45S in my Vaqueros for years. I don't clean them often now that I've been using Clays powder. When I do, I use a Slix scraper in the chamber, but there usually isn't any real build up. 45 Colts still go in ok. The only time I had issue was when shooting Trail Boss, then cleaning after every match was pretty much required. Same as shooting 38s in a 357, with TB after a match or 2 , 357 wouldn't go in. I only deep clean  Ellie's about once a year now with Clays.

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Depends on the powder you choose.  Your powder of choice may leave a "ring around the chamber" from burned carbon.  Also, depending on the powder selected and the powder charge, and whether you hold yer tongue right, you may be getting Blow-By which makes the 45 Colt cases sticky.  YMMV

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I have not shot 45 Colt in many years, I shoot 45 CS & 45 Schofield and chambering/ejecting Schofields after shooting 45 CS is never a problem.

--Dawg

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1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Depends on the powder you choose.  Your powder of choice may leave a "ring around the chamber" from burned carbon.  Also, depending on the powder selected and the powder charge, and whether you hold yer tongue right, you may be getting Blow-By which makes the 45 Colt cases sticky.  YMMV

I don't know what powders Black Hills uses for their ammo.  I bought a case of 44 Russian at a super deal, and after just a few matches could no longer chamber 44 Special in a conversion due to the hard carbon ring. 

 

Shooting BP will remove a carbon ring, BTW.

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I bought a pair of .44 Special Vaqueros from a shooter in Colorado about four years back that had been shot exclusively with .44 Russians and not cleaned very well afterward, among other serious problems with one of them. I suppose eventually I would have been able to get the crud out by hand with a bronze brush, but after several hours, I resorted to chucking the brush in a drill and having at it. 

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I’ve only been loading and shooting C45S ammo in Pietta revolvers for about a year.  I’ve shot a few times with smokeless but mostly with APP/Black MZ.  No noticeable fouling after cleaning.

 

I’ve been shooting .357 New Vaqueros, almost exclusively with .38 Special ammo, since 2010.  A few years later I was preparing to shoot cowboy ammo in .357 cases so I bought a Slix Scraper.  There was no accumulated fouling in the chambers and the .357s chambered and ejected without any issues.

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I have not had a problem.  I use C.45 Spl. in both rifle and pistol.   I always keep a few .45 Colts around just in case and it's never been a problem during a match.  

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59 minutes ago, Griff said:

And why would I go back to using 45 Colt brass?  

I use C.45 Spl.  my rifle too.  However, if my arthritis is acting up or it's cold out and a stage requires a reload, I often find it easier to use a .45 Colt cartridge for the reload.

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7 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Slix scraper, or a bore brush in a drill at low speed. I find that Goex black powder does a dandy job of cleaning out carbon rings. It's more fun too!

It's amazing how well BP cleans that corner of the topstrap and barrel.

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So educate me please.  Special dies required for cowboy 45 special?  Any recommended loads.  Just scored 500 brass from a garage sale and need some help.  No chronograph so looking for the data to keep me well within sass standards.  Thanks

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AFAIK, there is no such thing as Cowboy .45 Special dies. I size & deprime with a .45 Colt sizer or, if they're going in my .45acp Vaqueros, a .45 acp sizer. Then expand/bell, seat/crimp with .45 AR dies... I think - I'd have to go downstairs and check my reloading notes.

 

 

cowboy_45_Special_Jacks_load_data.pdf

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2 hours ago, Shanghai Jack said:

So educate me please.  Special dies required for cowboy 45 special?  Any recommended loads.  Just scored 500 brass from a garage sale and need some help.  No chronograph so looking for the data to keep me well within sass standards.  Thanks

My Hornady .45 Colt dies are good for all steps and puts a nice roll crimp on them. My RCBS dies are good except for crimping as that die won’t go low enough. You can use a .45 acp die for crimping, but that’s a taper crimp that will need to be cranked down to bite into the bullet. I don’t recommend it though. 
 

My load is 4.1 gr Trailboss and 160 gr bullet. My other load is 2f or 3f real BP and 180 big lube bullet. 
 

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Somewhere on this board someone recommended the Hornady set 546554. I modified the bullet seater using JB Weld so that it holds the 160-grain bullets properly.

image.thumb.png.7c5d22d90b43713d004a37ba7a2a8c5b.png

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45 Colt sizer and a 45ACP seater & roll crimp die.  (RCBS #18942)  If you're loading on a Dillon or other progressive press with thru the die charging, there's NO need to buy a 3-die set... unless you want the future ability to load on a single stage or turret.  If you're looking to move from 45 Colt to Cowboy45Special, I suspect you already have a 45 Colt sizer die.  If you're like me and like separate toolheads already set up, then go ahead and buy a new sizer die & the above roll crimp die for the ACP.  Your troubles will be over.  

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10 hours ago, Cholla said:

Somewhere on this board someone recommended the Hornady set 546554. I modified the bullet seater using JB Weld so that it holds the 160-grain bullets properly.

image.thumb.png.7c5d22d90b43713d004a37ba7a2a8c5b.png

The guy who recommended that die set is the guy who came up with C45S. Will have to look to see if I can find his original loads for powder and bullets. That set is the one I use, no problems, easy set up and I have seen it available on the shelf at both cabelas and sportsmen warehouse. 
Regards

:FlagAm:  :FlagAm:  :FlagAm:
Gateway Kid

I see three foot Johnson already posted the load notes. 

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Shootinfox has the molds and makes the 130gr. bullet that Jack designed to go along with the C45S case.

 

 

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13 hours ago, Cholla said:

Somewhere on this board someone recommended the Hornady set 546554. I modified the bullet seater using JB Weld so that it holds the 160-grain bullets properly.

image.thumb.png.7c5d22d90b43713d004a37ba7a2a8c5b.png

I use these dies but use the 45 Colt Sizer die. I use 160 gr. bullets in the seater die with no problems and gives a good crimp. 

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Been shooting Cowboy 45 Special since Before they were invented.  Was wildcatting short cases at the same time Adirondack Jack was developing the C45S.  DON'T use 45 ACP sizing dies as they impart a very slight taper to the case and create Blow-By.  Use a regular 45 Colt sizing die.  I do use a 45 ACP bullet seating die.  I use a separate Redding 45 Auto Rim crimp die for a nice Roll Crimp.

 

The 130Gr Barnstormer was specifically designed by AJ for the C45S case to give .45 CAS players the same recoil as a .38 and it works a treat.

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6 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

  DON'T use 45 ACP sizing dies as they impart a very slight taper to the case and create Blow-By.  Use a regular 45 Colt sizing die. 

The 130Gr Barnstormer was specifically designed by AJ for the C45S case to give .45 CAS players the same recoil as a .38 and it works a treat.

↑↑ THIS  ↑↑

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Back to the carbon ring question that started this thread.  Nobody yet has mentioned the common trick of taking the longer brass case (45 Colt in this instance) and flaring the mouth just to the point where you can barely push it into the cylinder.  This helps to scrape the walls.  Chamfering the case mouth to make the edges "sharper" helps as well.  This can get a lot of it and reduce the amount of further scrubbing needed.

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34 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

Back to the carbon ring question that started this thread.  Nobody yet has mentioned the common trick of taking the longer brass case (45 Colt in this instance) and flaring the mouth just to the point where you can barely push it into the cylinder.  This helps to scrape the walls.  Chamfering the case mouth to make the edges "sharper" helps as well.  This can get a lot of it and reduce the amount of further scrubbing needed.

Yup. I did that for awhile but found it took several insertions to do the job. I switched to the Slix Scraper which I find less tedious because you rotate it to clean. Still, the flared case is reasonably effective and less expensive. 

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On 3/22/2023 at 4:15 PM, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Slix scraper, or a bore brush in a drill at low speed. I find that Goex black powder does a dandy job of cleaning out carbon rings. It's more fun too!

 

On 3/22/2023 at 4:24 PM, Eyesa Horg said:

It's amazing how well BP cleans that corner of the topstrap and barrel.

 

YEP Lots more fun. 

 

Shoot a match with real BP or APP. Not only will it remove the carbon ring in the cylinder chambers, it'll remove the carbon build up on the face of the cylinder as well.

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And then you could always eliminate the carbon ring forever.  :P Dump the suppository revolvers and use a real gun... C&B revolvers have none of these "issues".  Certainly not a problem.

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1 minute ago, Griff said:

And then you could always eliminate the carbon ring forever.  :P Dump the suppository revolvers and use a real gun... C&B revolvers have none of these "issues".  Certainly not a problem.

 

One pretty big problem; finding percussion caps!

 

 

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