Tall John Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Somebody tipped me off to this cool little jig that allows you to effortlessly cut down .45 Colt cases to use in loading Cowboy 45 Special cases. it works with the Harbor Freight mini Chop Saw. It has some adjustment, I settled on 0.900-0.906” and then used my Lee Quick Trimmer on my Single stage press to do the final trim, deburr and chamfer. i was able to convert 50 cases in about an hour. https://ebay.us/m/4IABUu 5 1 Quote
Griff Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Now... if only there was a use for the little ring of brass left over! 😁 Thank you... I believe I'll stick to my C45S cases from Starline! I have some other revolvers & rifles that'll remain being fired with 45 Colt cartridges. 3 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted February 10 Posted February 10 @Tall John what trim die are you using? ACP or Colt? 1 Quote
Captain Clark Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Thats a nifty little jig. Ive hand cut 100s of cases by in my homemade jig thats somewhat similar . 1 Quote
Tall John Posted February 10 Author Posted February 10 45ACP for its length is the same as the C45S. 45Colt is too long. 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted February 10 Posted February 10 I’ve been using a Redding 45ACP file trim die in a single stage press. It’s quite a cumbersome chore. When I first started cutting Colt cases I was using a 3D printed jig with the harbor freight chopsaw and was getting all kinds of different lengths. I’m hoping this setup will be more consistent and easier. 1 Quote
Oddnews SASS# 24779 Posted February 10 Posted February 10 I’ve used something similar to cut down 50 Alaskan to 12.7x44R. Worked like a charm in my case. 1 Quote
Old Man Graybeard Posted February 10 Posted February 10 A friend uses a Forstner bit in a drill press to cut 45 colt to 45 cowboy special. He has had pretty good luck that way. Just set the depth adjustment on the drill press 2 1 Quote
Sarge Posted February 10 Posted February 10 I've tried that system. Was not impressed. I made my own and can chop 40 rounds at a time with my home made jig. 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted February 10 Posted February 10 56 minutes ago, Sarge said: can chop 40 rounds at a time I’d like to see your setup. Sounds like a huge time saver. 1 Quote
Sarge Posted February 10 Posted February 10 2 hours ago, Leroy Luck said: I’d like to see your setup. Sounds like a huge time saver. I took a scrap piece of walnut. I drilled 40 holes in it, 4 rows of 10 rounds each to make the fixture. I planed the piece to the thickness of the length of a C .45 Spl case . I use masking tape to hold the .45 colt rounds in place. I use a table saw with a fine tooth carbide bit. I then run the fixture through the saw with the cartridge bases against the fence, and the blade even with the front face of the fixture. I cut two rows, then flip the fixture around and get the other two row. Deburr and you're done. You could probably do more than 40 at a time, depending on how big you piece of scrap you have. I tried using the jig from Ebay, and found I couldn't get a consistent length. 1 1 Quote
Tall John Posted February 11 Author Posted February 11 (edited) 8 hours ago, Leroy Luck said: I’d like to see your setup. Sounds like a huge time save Edited February 11 by Tall John Quote
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted February 11 Posted February 11 oh boy, it still sounds easier to just buy the brass from starline if you want them in bulk. Cutting a few to try out is one thing, but cutting a bunch sounds like a chore. You can always sell a pile of your 45Colt brass to help fund the new brass. 3 1 Quote
Sarge Posted February 11 Posted February 11 34 minutes ago, Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 said: oh boy, it still sounds easier to just buy the brass from starline if you want them in bulk. Cutting a few to try out is one thing, but cutting a bunch sounds like a chore. You can always sell a pile of your 45Colt brass to help fund the new brass. Starline Brass is not cheap. Cutting the brass in bulk isn't too bad when you can do a larger number at a time. I kinda like the looks of the Lee trimmer in the OP. Quote
Leroy Luck Posted February 11 Posted February 11 53 minutes ago, Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 said: oh boy, it still sounds easier to just buy the brass from starline if you want them in bulk. Cutting a few to try out is one thing, but cutting a bunch sounds like a chore. You can always sell a pile of your 45Colt brass to help fund the new brass I do it out of necessity. I’ve got two uberti 73s that sometimes struggle to extract factory C45S brass… but has absolutely no issues with cut Colt cases. It’s cheaper to cut cases than pay someone to figure out the problem. Quote
Springfield Slim SASS #24733 Posted February 11 Posted February 11 I use several jigs like this to do custom brass, but in all cases I found finish trim worked best with a Forstner trimmer. Sure, it takes a while but brass lasts for at least 5 more firings, so you don't have to do it that often, and all my brass is exactly the same length, best for even crimps. 1 Quote
Lucky R. K. Posted February 12 Posted February 12 On 2/10/2026 at 12:18 PM, Old Man Graybeard said: A friend uses a Forstner bit in a drill press to cut 45 colt to 45 cowboy special. He has had pretty good luck that way. Just set the depth adjustment on the drill press This is the method I use also. I stop the cut a few thousands short and finish cutting to length with a Lyman case trimmer. As the Maker of Coffins would say, "it works a treat". Lucky 😁 2 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) 6 hours ago, Lucky R. K. said: This is the method I use also. I stop the cut a few thousands short and finish cutting to length with a Lyman case trimmer. As the Maker of Coffins would say, "it works a treat". Lucky 😁 How are you holding the brass when using the drill press/first er forstnerbit combo? Edited February 12 by Eyesa Horg Fricken otto 1 Quote
Lucky R. K. Posted February 13 Posted February 13 20 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said: How are you holding the brass when using the drill press/first er forstnerbit combo? I take the shell holder off the Lyman case trimmer and mount it onto the table of the drill press. I set the depth of cut with the stop on the press and cut the brass down. Then I camphor the mouth. I have made pilots for 38, 44, and 45 calibers that screw into the end of the cutter. You can trim a bunch of brass in no time. I will try to get a picture the next time I trim any brass. Lucky 😁 2 1 Quote
Roscoe Regulator Posted February 13 Posted February 13 That's neat, but I do see that 100 pcs of Starline from MidwayUSA costs less than the chop saw. 1 Quote
largo casey #19191 Posted February 14 Posted February 14 Wonder how it would work on 44/40. Largo Quote
Lucky R. K. Posted February 15 Posted February 15 On 2/13/2026 at 6:24 PM, Roscoe Regulator said: That's neat, but I do see that 100 pcs of Starline from MidwayUSA costs less than the chop saw. That's true Roscoe but when I started shooting that was not the case. Adirondack Jack, who came up with the idea originally started selling a 45 Colt case trimmed to the 45 ACP length on the internet and called it the 45 Cowboy Special. I bought my first batch from him. He later sold the business, and one or two others sold them for a while and finally Starline wound up with the rights. I save all my 45 colt cases that have split mouths and cut them down to 45 Cowboy length. This gives me something to do and adds to my supply of Cowboy brass. Lucky 😁 1 Quote
Lucky R. K. Posted February 15 Posted February 15 18 hours ago, largo casey #19191 said: Wonder how it would work on 44/40. Largo The process would be the same but, why would you want to cut down 44/40 brass? Lucky 😁 Quote
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted February 15 Posted February 15 Well, not quite. Many Lustrum ago, During the time frame Adirondack Jack and I were developing short .45s, cutting down 45 Colt and 45 Schofield (I did Schofield) to 45 ACP length was the only way to get those short cases. Very time consuming. I used my Lathe and a Forster Case Trimmer (for 'lectric drill motor). I made several thousand. Boring. Then AJ went to Starline to ask for a commercial version. Starline said OK, but that custom head stamp is gonna cost ya. AJ took a great leap of faith and agreed, bought FIFTY THOUSAND cases stamped Cowboy 45 Special. Gambled he could sell enough to at least break even. AJ was successful and ordered another batch. Then Medical problems reared an ugly head and AJ sold the business. Starline continues to produce the Cowboy 45 Special to this day. AJ also developed the Carrier Block for the Toggle Link Rifles in concert with Bill English of the Smith Shop as well as designed the .45 Barnstormer Bullet. ALL of which are great additions to Our Game. With the C45S commercially available, I would never again spend that kind of time to make those cases DIY. Doesn't make good sense (to me anyway). I haven't talked to AJ in several years. Wonder how he's doing these days. 1 1 Quote
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted February 15 Posted February 15 I bought that little cut off saw from Harbor Freight to trim the crimp fold off shotshells to make my black powder loads, which I then roll crimp. The blade is not quite big enough to trim the shell in one pass, so I have to rotate it about a quarter turn. I find the saw works more efficiently if you remove the clear plastic blade guard and the safety mechanism. To trim cases (45-70 to 45-60 or 45 Colt to C45S) I use my RCBS case trimmer powered by an electric drill. Quote
Griff Posted February 16 Posted February 16 I purchased my first 500 cases from AJ after he sent me a care package of 20 to try out. I've since bought about 4,000 over the years. It seems they disappear faster'n than a magician's trick once launched from rifle or carbine! Another shooter at our club had been cutting his 45 Colt cases and when he quit shooting, I bought his supply of 200 rounds. How he ever survived with only 200 rounds, I don't understand. With at least 2 bags (1K each) still unopened, I think I can pretty much weather any future shortage. Let's see, I can simply go and load ammo, or spend hours trimming brass... so, trimming brass seems a waste of time, Starline has them available right now, free shipping. I load ammo in batches of 500, since I've never had a loaded round go bad, having plenty seems prudent. How many additional hours will it take to trim 500 cases? Quote
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted February 16 Posted February 16 Hy Ya Griff!! Absolumondo!! I don't even like to think back to the amount of time it took to make 500 .45 Special cases from 45 colt. Nor do I want to remember making 500 .45 Squirt from 45 Schofield. I made somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 each, Spl. and Squirt. Never again. I currently have around 2 or 3 thousand Starline on hand and do not anticipate EVER needing to DIY. Ever. 1 Quote
Long Gulch, SASS #53035 Posted February 17 Posted February 17 On 2/15/2026 at 10:30 AM, Lucky R. K. said: The process would be the same but, why would you want to cut down 44/40 brass? Lucky 😁 Ta make .44 Cowboy Short. (Thanks to and inspiration from Springfield Slim.) Quote
Griff Posted February 17 Posted February 17 Forgive my ignorance, but would those be shot from a .44-40, or? Quote
Long Gulch, SASS #53035 Posted February 17 Posted February 17 50 minutes ago, Griff said: Forgive my ignorance, but would those be shot from a .44-40, or? Yes 44WCF. 185 or 210 (pictured) grain bullet seated to approximately 1.20 inch OAL for use iin rifle with The Smith Shop's modified carrier. Works good in rifle and revolver. Quote
Yul Lose Posted February 17 Posted February 17 15 minutes ago, Long Gulch, SASS #53035 said: Yes 44WCF. 185 or 210 (pictured) grain bullet seated to approximately 1.20 inch OAL for use iin rifle with The Smith Shop's modified carrier. Works good in rifle and revolver. I’m going to try some of those in my Lightning rifles, what case length do you use? Quote
Long Gulch, SASS #53035 Posted February 17 Posted February 17 I am using 0.900 inch simply because that length works in my toggle link carbine with the modified carrier from The Smith Shop. You may have to experiment with the Lightning rifle. I resize as usual and then use a .44 Russian sizing die to neck resize. Use the distance from the point of crimp to the bullet base for the measurement to neck size. Neck sizing is needed because the shortened brass at this point will not retain a .427-430 diameter bullet. Expand the case mouth just enough for a good bullet start. Since this round retains some taper it will seal the chamber and keep the carrier area relatively clean. The bullet in the picture I posted is 210 grains from a Lyman mold that I use only for blackpowder and is crimped ahead of the front driving band. I shortened a Lee die in order to get a good crimp. The outcome of all this is a cartridge OAL similar to 44 Russian. For smokeless I used Hogdon's 44 Russian data as a guide. 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted February 17 Posted February 17 1 hour ago, Long Gulch, SASS #53035 said: The outcome of all this is a cartridge OAL similar to 44 Russian A couple guys I shoot with run 44 Russians in their 44-40 rifles and pistols quite frequently. Seem to have no trouble with doing so. My goal is to wind up with a 44-40 rifle in the future and make it a dedicated black powder rifle. But run 44 Russians through it instead of 44-40. Quote
Yul Lose Posted February 17 Posted February 17 8 hours ago, Long Gulch, SASS #53035 said: I am using 0.900 inch simply because that length works in my toggle link carbine with the modified carrier from The Smith Shop. You may have to experiment with the Lightning rifle. I resize as usual and then use a .44 Russian sizing die to neck resize. Use the distance from the point of crimp to the bullet base for the measurement to neck size. Neck sizing is needed because the shortened brass at this point will not retain a .427-430 diameter bullet. Expand the case mouth just enough for a good bullet start. Since this round retains some taper it will seal the chamber and keep the carrier area relatively clean. The bullet in the picture I posted is 210 grains from a Lyman mold that I use only for blackpowder and is crimped ahead of the front driving band. I shortened a Lee die in order to get a good crimp. The outcome of all this is a cartridge OAL similar to 44 Russian. For smokeless I used Hogdon's 44 Russian data as a guide. Thank you, I might be heading down a new rabbit hole. Quote
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