.45 Colt short cases

[Hair Trigger]

I bought a box of Hornady .45 Colt ammo that was loaded with their 225 grain FTX pointed bullet. Due to the longer ogive, in order not to exceed the OAL for a .45 Colt cartridge, the cases are
0.010" shorter than the usual trim length for a .45C case. If I reload these cases (only 20) with a regular flat-point JHP or plated bullet, how much should I reduce the powder charge to account for the decreased space in the case? Or would that small difference make any significant difference? I load mildly, using a 250 grain bullet at about 800 fps, for my M25-5

 

[Muley Gil]

You will probably get a small increase in velocity. I wouldn't worry about any slight increase in pressure.

Make sure you regularly clean the chambers.

 

[AJ]

I bought a box of Hornady .45 Colt ammo that was loaded with their 225 grain FTX pointed bullet. Due to the longer ogive, in order not to exceed the OAL for a .45 Colt cartridge, the cases are
0.010" shorter than the usual trim length for a .45C case. If I reload these cases (only 20) with a regular flat-point JHP or plated bullet, how much should I reduce the powder charge to account for the decreased space in the case? Or would that small difference make any significant difference? I load mildly, using a 250 grain bullet at about 800 fps, for my M25-5

I duplicate the War Department loading of a 250 grain bullet at 750 FPS using 5.6 grains of Bullseye for the M1909 U.S.Army Colt.

Add: I also shoot this in my S&W Model 25-9.

 

[gwpercle]

With a Mild Load ... I wouldn't worry about the 0.010 reduction in the 45 Colt case capacity ... it has plenty room in there and you aren't loading Maximum loads ... should be no danger , maybe a couple extra fps .
Gary

 

[505Gibbs]

Brand new brass being shorter than the min. case length isn't new - IMO.

 

[DWalt]

Probably undetectable. 0.010" is nothing. In my M1909s, I use 6 grains of Bullseye and 200 grain Cowboy FP bullets, MV is around 800.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Thanks, all, I'll treat them as regular cases; they'll be easy to tell apart from my other .45C brass, these shorties are nickeled, my new brass I ordered is gold (Starline).

 

[smithra_66]

I bought a box of Hornady .45 Colt ammo that was loaded with their 225 grain FTX pointed bullet. Due to the longer ogive, in order not to exceed the OAL for a .45 Colt cartridge, the cases are
0.010" shorter than the usual trim length for a .45C case. If I reload these cases (only 20) with a regular flat-point JHP or plated bullet, how much should I reduce the powder charge to account for the decreased space in the case? Or would that small difference make any significant difference? I load mildly, using a 250 grain bullet at about 800 fps, for my M25-5

At your pressure levels, it won't make any difference.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Thanks, all, I'll treat them as regular cases; they'll be easy to tell apart from my other .45C brass, these shorties are nickeled, my new brass I ordered is gold (Starline).

..... is Gold.

Well with the price of cases,
you got that part right.

Have fun.

 

[Nightowl]

I discovered the short cases when I was given some Hornaday .357 Magnum cases a guy was shooting at the range. I threw them away and do not buy any more Hornaday ammo.

I would not load them with traditional magnum loads at the crimp groove depth. For light loads, I doubt it would make a significant difference. I just refuse to use them.

 

[BC38]

I'd load them per normal and match the OAL to the specs for the recipe you're loading. Might not put your crimp in the groove quite as well, but if it is at the back of the groove instead of the front it should still do the trick. As long as the OAL is correct the interior volume will be the same and so will the pressure.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Brand new brass being shorter than the min. case length isn't new - IMO.

Not really true. If you read the OP you will see the ammo is using a Hornady FTX bullet. All the ammo from Hornady that uses the FTX bullet has a slightly shortened case so that the longer bullet due to the tip will not exceed the suggested OAL of the cartridge they are loading. If not it could stick out past the end of the cylinder and lock up the revolver. Even the 45-70 ammo has a shortened case.

 

[Cdog]

A year or so ago I bought some Hornady .45 Colt brass that was much too short, rendering it unusable for me.

I was told by an employee at Ga. Arms that they had recently had the same experience with some of Hornady's brass.

 

[Alk8944]

With a Mild Load ... I wouldn't worry about the 0.010 reduction in the 45 Colt case capacity ... it has plenty room in there and you aren't loading Maximum loads ... should be no danger , maybe a couple extra fps .
Gary

.010" is approximately the thickness of the mouth of the cartridge case, it is not "short", but within normal manufacturing tolerance for any caliber. as a matter of fact, my experience over more than 60 years of reloading, is most new brass will be at least this much shorter than "Trim To" length, often .025" and frequently even more. Some Hornady brass factory loaded with their FTX bullets can be 1/8", (.125") shorter than standard brass, that does need to be accounted for.

 

[tops]

I discovered the short cases when I was given some Hornaday .357 Magnum cases a guy was shooting at the range. I threw them away and do not buy any more Hornaday ammo.

.

I had the same experience with some .44M brass. Larry

 

[jake1945]

I bought 20 rounds of Hornady 45-70 awhile back. I noticed, visually, that the brass was way shorter (1/8 inch) than than Starline brass. They went into the scrap bucket!

 

[Warboar]

I have loaded the Hornady 45-70, 45 Colt, and 357 that were loaded with their leverevolution bullets. The only difference I found was the need to adjust my die down to seat and crimp the bullets in the crimping groove on my bullets. For that reason I sort the brass and save them for the last. They all hold the same powder charge and have never displayed any signs of pressure when shooting them. I rarely hot rod handgun ammo anymore unless I am loading ammo to be used for self defense.

 

[crstrode]

It won't make any discernible difference. The 45 Colt case is so cavernous and full of empty space - unless it is filled to the brim with holy black. That is how it was done in 1873.

And in the case of a shorter case, there is even less room for the good stuff.

 

[DWalt]

SAAMI case length spec for .45 Colt is 1.265"-1.285". Max COAL is 1.600".

 

[Dvus]

Are you sure the difference is .010 and not .100? All of the Hornady short brass I have found is .100 and really looks funny if it gets in the mix when loading standard length brass. It looks more like .45 Schofield brass. It wazsuch a pain the butt that I eventually threw it all away.