.45 Colt Brass Life in Rifle

Info_Seeker · July 27, 2016, 10:52 AM

Hi All,

New to the forum, glad to be here.

I reload quite a bit of .45 colt (Ruger Blackhawk). Most loads are in the standard range (8-9 grains Unique and 250 XTP's or Lasercast).

I'm thinking of getting a .45 colt lever action (Winchester, Marlin, or Henry).

My questions are:

Does shooting pistol brass through a rifle decrease the life of the brass more than shooting it through a pistol or will the brass last just as long?

Are there any other consideration in this situation?

Thank you

WIL TERRY · July 27, 2016, 11:33 AM

THIS depends entirely upon the dimensions of the chamber in THAT particular rifle. It also depends somewhat upon your ability to handload correctly for that firearm. MANY 45COLT leverguns have chambers you can throw a cat through.
And so it goes....

T. O'Heir · July 27, 2016, 12:07 PM

"...Does shooting pistol brass through a rifle decrease the life of the brass..." Nope. Case life depends entirely on the load used out of any firearm. 8-9 grains of Unique is close to max for a cast bullet out of a revolver though.
Aside from it being unlikely, but possible, that your Blackhawk load will shot well out of a rifle, I very much doubt shooting it out of a rifle will make any difference at all. Wouldn't worry about case life myself. .45 Colt brass isn't hard to come by nor particularly expensive.

bobn · July 27, 2016, 04:55 PM

wil nailed it, loose chambers galore,,,,,bob

Pathfinder45 · July 28, 2016, 12:21 AM

Having both a Ruger Vaquero with very close chambers, and a Marlin Cowboy, also in 45 Colt, but with larger chamber dimensions, I absolutely concur with WIL TERRY on this one. Ammo fired from the Vaquero show no bulging whatsoever. The same ammo fired in my Marlin are remarkably bulged. although the bulged brass resizes and reloads OK, I am certain it is affecting case life.

TimSr · July 29, 2016, 06:53 AM

Quote:

THIS depends entirely upon the dimensions of the chamber in THAT particular rifle. It also depends somewhat upon your ability to handload correctly for that firearm. MANY 45COLT leverguns have chambers you can throw a cat through.
And so it goes....

Considering that the brass stretches to the dimensions of the chamber when fired, it makes perfect sense that the more oversize the chamber, the more your brass will stretch, and the shorter its working life.

briandg · July 29, 2016, 08:48 AM

Would he be better off to segregate brass? Not necessarily religiously, run them together as needed, but marking them for r and p, and keeping them separate most of the time?

I don't segregate my .357.

g.willikers · July 29, 2016, 09:26 AM

Another consideration is the possible differences in the overall length of the reloads needed for revolver and rifle.
It's not always about the chamber dimensions, but the feeding from the tube magazine for the rifle.
It that proves to be a requirement, then the ammo might have to be different and separate for each, too, if a happy version can't be found for both.
Just a thought.

Info_Seeker · July 31, 2016, 09:57 AM

Thank you all for the replies - you gave me some good info.

July 27, 2016, 10:52 AM	#1
Info_Seeker Junior Member Join Date: July 26, 2016 Posts: 2	.45 Colt Brass Life in Rifle Hi All, New to the forum, glad to be here. I reload quite a bit of .45 colt (Ruger Blackhawk). Most loads are in the standard range (8-9 grains Unique and 250 XTP's or Lasercast). I'm thinking of getting a .45 colt lever action (Winchester, Marlin, or Henry). My questions are: Does shooting pistol brass through a rifle decrease the life of the brass more than shooting it through a pistol or will the brass last just as long? Are there any other consideration in this situation? Thank you

July 27, 2016, 12:07 PM	#3
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...Does shooting pistol brass through a rifle decrease the life of the brass..." Nope. Case life depends entirely on the load used out of any firearm. 8-9 grains of Unique is close to max for a cast bullet out of a revolver though. Aside from it being unlikely, but possible, that your Blackhawk load will shot well out of a rifle, I very much doubt shooting it out of a rifle will make any difference at all. Wouldn't worry about case life myself. .45 Colt brass isn't hard to come by nor particularly expensive. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

July 29, 2016, 08:48 AM	#7
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	Would he be better off to segregate brass? Not necessarily religiously, run them together as needed, but marking them for r and p, and keeping them separate most of the time? I don't segregate my .357. __________________ None.

July 29, 2016, 09:26 AM	#8
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Another consideration is the possible differences in the overall length of the reloads needed for revolver and rifle. It's not always about the chamber dimensions, but the feeding from the tube magazine for the rifle. It that proves to be a requirement, then the ammo might have to be different and separate for each, too, if a happy version can't be found for both. Just a thought. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

July 27, 2016, 11:33 AM	#2
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	THIS depends entirely upon the dimensions of the chamber in THAT particular rifle. It also depends somewhat upon your ability to handload correctly for that firearm. MANY 45COLT leverguns have chambers you can throw a cat through. And so it goes....

July 27, 2016, 04:55 PM	#4
bobn Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2006 Location: midwest Posts: 1,105	wil nailed it, loose chambers galore,,,,,bob

July 28, 2016, 12:21 AM	#5
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	Having both a Ruger Vaquero with very close chambers, and a Marlin Cowboy, also in 45 Colt, but with larger chamber dimensions, I absolutely concur with WIL TERRY on this one. Ammo fired from the Vaquero show no bulging whatsoever. The same ammo fired in my Marlin are remarkably bulged. although the bulged brass resizes and reloads OK, I am certain it is affecting case life.

July 31, 2016, 09:57 AM	#9
Info_Seeker Junior Member Join Date: July 26, 2016 Posts: 2	Thank you all for the replies - you gave me some good info.