45 Colt Case Prep (for rifle) Dilemma

If it were me, I'd eliminate as many steps as possible. If you anneal AND load the heavier bullets, how will you know which one solved the problem?

I'd just load the heavier bullets and see if blow by stops. If not then anneal. (Maybe neither will stop the blow by??)

I have never annealed a pistol case and would worry about getting heat only where I wanted it. In this situation I would be doing a bullet change. In rifle cases I would definitely anneal.

AJC1 said:

I have never annealed a pistol case and would worry about getting heat only where I wanted it. In this situation I would be doing a bullet change. In rifle cases I would definitely anneal.

Click to expand...

This is what I would suggest. I've never shot loads that lite in a 45 Colt but I would choose a heavier bullet and a stiffer powder charge. Probably a different powder.

I've never annealed pistol brass and would worry about getting the case head too soft.

I would use a slower powder, like unique

I load 200gr cast bullets in .45C for CAS. Have never had a problem in MY rifle.
Heavier bullet or powder charge could help.

I have never annealed a straight walled case.

IF you decide to try it. Set the brass in a shallow tray of water to prevent the case head from getting heated.

I get case blow-by in my Rossi 92 in .45C pretty much no matter what I've tried. I haven't tried annealing and likely won't bother. Even 255gr loads in 'ruger only' range get some so I've decided to just accept it for what it is. Seems to be extremely common with levers chambered in the cartridge.

If it were me, I'd pull the bullets and dump the powder . then load as you would, see what happens. Even if you trust the guy 100%, you already know you don't like the load- don't waste time on it.
That may not solve your concern but either way, maybe it will.
I wouldn't bother annealing 45 colt cases.

Did you try running the rounds through a crimping die?

Maybe they just need a little more crimp

d

I bumped up the powder a bit for some and problem solved. Otherwise I just wear glasses and don’t worry about it. My rifles, all four don’t like the lighter bullets. They like the 255’s. Still get some blow back. Especially the Rossi.

My brother's Winchester Trapper has a... uh... 'generous' chamber. Moderate charges of Unique and a ~250grn bullet do produce blowby. Heavier charges reduce it, and slower powders still more (think IMR4227, 2400, etc.) It seemed like there was a threshold with Unique where the blowby lessened, you would have to work up to that with your particular rifle to see.

Do factory loads have blow by?

JDinFbg said:

A friend who used to do CAS gave me over 200 rounds of his 45 Colt handloads to shoot in my 1894 Marlin. The load is 6.5 gr. of Titegroup driving a 200 gr. cast bullet. They produce blow-by in my rifle. There are many posts asking whether folks anneal pistol cases (most do not), but some say periodic annealing provides better case expansion for more reliable bullet seating, and some have suggested it may help with the blow-by issue. However, other posts have suggested that blow-by is a common issue in 45 Colt rifles shooting anything lighter than 240-250 gr. cast bullets. When I reload the fired cases, I plan to use Unique and 250 gr. cast bullets for my 'fun' loads. I have no idea of how many times the cases have been fired, but as I prep the cases for reloading, my dilemma is whether I should first anneal or whether moving to the 250 gr. cast bullet will inherently solve the blow-by problem? What say y'all?

Click to expand...

Shoot 'em out of your SAA and then reload them as you see fit for the rifle.

You may be over sizing the brass. I went with my Hornady sizer which yields the largest outer diameter. When I reload, there is real resistance at the sizer, so the brass is soft enough when fired. I use only Starline and Winchester brass in my JM Marlin Cowboy Ltd. I clean after every match (60 rounds), and yes the action is dirty, no big deal. Nothing is hitting me in the face when I shoot, so I see no problem. I load the minimum load of 5.5 gr Trailboss and a 200 gr bullet. Pistols are using 45 Cowboy Special.

If you think about it... as the powder starts to burn and create gas that expands the walls of the cartridge case, it may actually expand it enough... in a big enough chamber... that the bullet would be able to exit the case without rolling the crimp out, or completely out. Because brass will spring back somewhat, that's why you can't just shove another bullet in there. I've seen it on some of my cases before... that's my best guess, anyway.

If "well-crimped," low pressure, and blow-by already occurring, I'm not surprised that some residual "spring-back" crimp remains to interfere with slipping a bullet back in.
(that Titegrp load is MIN and only 9,000CUP -- small wonder they're not sealing in the large(r) rifle chamber that already offsets the case mouth because of the extractor)
That said....If it were me.....

- Shoot`em up and just have fun with the ones already loaded.
- Load the next batch w/ heavier bullets/higher charge.https://www.levergunscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?t=39945
- Worst case w/ light bullets: faster powder to kick the pressure up higher/quicker

JDinFbg said:

They are all well crimped. My friend used a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Click to expand...

You should use a different crimp die, because the FCD is smaller than a lead bullet and case and will create excess space in the chamber before firing. Some of that blowback could be the .001 difference in outer diameter. I use an RCBS Cowboy die, a Hornady sizer, and Lyman M-die. The tell is that my cartridges do not show the imprint of the bullet.

MEHavey said:

- Worst case w/ light bullets: faster powder to kick the pressure up higher/quicker

Click to expand...

He's already using TiteGroup...

Use Clays..... if low loading/light bullet
(Even Bullseye would be better)

TG needs to be at the upper end of load data if you want to eliminate blow by on 45 Colt. I personally don't care about it, if I'm getting the velocity and accuracy I want out my load. I will live with TG low power loads, as it's not case position sensitive, and that benefit out weighs the more or less "aesthetic" problem of a sooty case. Other powders that don't create blow by, often have really poor SD numbers unless you do the "tilt my Colt back, then forward before shooting" game, which I refuse to do. Clean Shot and AA2 also work well, with less visible blow by, and are not case position sensitive. Clean Shot has become my personal favorite 45 Colt powder. The problem is definitely not so great as to warrant the extra step of annealing.

Edited to add: I will also add, after reading some more posts on this...if you're using cast bulets, and/or coated cast bullets...with a lee FCD, that could be contributing to your problem. It's "resizing" your bullets (IIRC, to .451). You definitely don't want that. Replace that with a roll crimp, or a redding profile crimp. Classic Colt loads do not need a heavy crimp. Make sure you aren't crimping so hard as to bulge the case mouth.