.45 Colt/Schofield Question

[semperfi71]

Today I found two boxes of empty cartridge cases at a gunshop.

The cases are the length of .45 Schofield. And according to other posts here they were intended for the .45 Schofield and in the case of the REM-UMC version, to be used in the Colt SAA and NOT the Schofield, due to the rim diameter.

The case are headstamped: "REM-UMC .45 Colt", "WRA .45 Colt", and "Western .45 Colt".

My questions are this.

The REM-UMC cases I bought are balloon-head/folded-head. When was this style of cartridge brass (balloon-head), and maybe even specifically these ".45 Colt" cases, LAST manufactured?

Same for the WRA and Western cases, when were they last made? (These are modern solid-head with extractor cut above the rim.)

Cases are to the right in the pic.

Thanks for any info.

 

[moxie]

If those cases are Schofield length, with those headstamps, I'm thinking they were cut down by someone. Don't know when they were originally made.

 

[mkk41]

Second from left is modern Starline brass. I too have some of those Schofield length rounds which are marked .45 Colt. They use a 230gr bullet. They still have the .510dia rim so they can be used in Colt SAAs. As I pointed out in the .45 LONG COLT thread , these were made back around the turn of the 20th till the 30s.
I've seen old cartridge boards with them listed as .45 Colt (Gov't) and .45 Colt (S&W) and .45 Colt (short)

 

[semperfi71]

I went to a cartridge collector forum and they too suggested cut down cases and they most likely are as they have the cannelure perhaps too high on the case for a factory Schofield round.

Initially I was thinking I had found some factory .45 Schofield cases that were marked ".45 Colt" as MKK41 mentions. But they probalby ain't.

I picked then up as a curiosity and nothing more since I do not cartridge collect.

I do shoot the modern Starline .45 Schofields in four Uberti S&W replica top-breaks though.

Thanks for the input.

 

[336A]

They are .45 Colt "Government", you can read more about them here 45 Short Colt

 

[Texas Star]

I believe the late gun writer Elmer Keith referred to a " .45 short Colt".

BTW, he once wrote that if he had to rely on factory ammo, he'd happily choose the regular .45 Colt. That was, of course, before he got his cherished .44 Magnum project into production.

 

[semperfi71]

E.K. reported in "Sixguns" that the factory black-powder load had killed at least one grizzly that he knew of.

The .45 Colt (or Long Colt) is an excellent cartridge. However it appears to sometimes be difficult to find a revolver to shoot it accurately because of the wide varieties of chamber throat and barrel dimensions.

I had a Ruger three screw, 4 5/8 barreled .45 Colt that cost me about $100.00 in Yuma, Arizona in 1973. Months later they discontinued the three screw variants.

Mine would print Speer's 200 grain SWC (for .45 ACP) with 10 grains of Bullseye into 2 inches at 25 yards for 5 shots.

It is the only gun I have sold that I regret doing so.

 

[BUFF]

"Mine would print Speer's 200 grain SWC (for .45 ACP) with 10 grains of Bullseye into 2 inches at 25 yards for 5 shots."

That's pretty warm. Did you mean Unique?

I have a .45 Schofield-length catridge that is head-stamped "45 COLT" and "REM-UMC" with a "U" marked primer. From the cannelure under the base of the bullet and the cartridge weight, it looks like a 250-255 grain bullet. Looks just like a traditional modern .45 Colt cartridge except for the case length.

 

[semperfi71]

Yes, UNIQUE...I've been shooting Bullseye too long.

 

[mkk41]

I have a .45 Schofield-length catridge that is head-stamped "45 COLT" and "REM-UMC" with a "U" marked primer. From the cannelure under the base of the bullet and the cartridge weight, it looks like a 250-255 grain bullet. Looks just like a traditional modern .45 Colt cartridge except for the case length.

That's what this is , but the cannelure to case mouth distance is noticably shorter.

 

[semperfi71]

mkk41, you're "cannelure" on the short case is lower than mine, perhaps suggesting indeed a factory cartridge.

There was probably so many types of .45 Colt and .45 Schofield ammunition loaded I bet not too many people have seen them all.