The Myth of The "Weak" .45 Colt Case
There has been so much written about the "weak" .45 Colt case. This probably started when The Grand Old Man of the Shooting game, Elmer Keith made this statement in His excellent book Sixguns. "While shooting a 300 gr 45/90 rifle bullet in my .45 Colt SAA with 35 grains of black. Finally a weak .45 Colt case head blew off with this load. The gas blew the loading gate off the gun breaking its shank and cutting through the flesh of my trigger finger. From this experience I decided the bullet was a bit heavy for the thin cases and thin chamber walls of the cylinders. I cut one band and groove from the mould leaving it to cast a 260 gr flat point bullet. This worked very well with 40 grains of black. It was a very good game killer and flatter in trajectory curve than the 300 grain slug with 35 grains of black" ( Sixguns by Keith page 129)
I have no doubt in my mind the weak case came from corrosion due to shooting corrosive primers and black powder. Elmer was also shooting old balloon head cases, not the solid head we have today. The fact that he said, Quote: a weak case,, not, finally one of the WEAK cases let go, means a singular case, not a common recurrence. Modern writers often picture a fired .45 Colt case with a noticeable bulge just above the web of the case. They continually protest the .45 Colt case is "weak". The only thing weak is their limited research on the subject. The cartridge case in any firearm is simply a gasket to seal the hot gases away from the shooter and the firearm. Yes, it's critical that this component be of best quality and design. But overall the firearm itself contains the pressure. The reason the .45 Colt case bulges is the chambers in NEARLY ALL modern .45 Colt chambered arms are grossly oversize. The case simply has to stretch beyond its elastic limit to reach the support of the chambers of the firearm. The modern .45 Colt case measures .476 diameter at the case head web area. Most modern chambers run from .486 upwards to .490. This means the new case has to expand from .010 to .014 to seal the chamber and be supported by the firearm. It is then reseized and the process repeated till the case fails. And fail it will, and more than likely prematurely due to overworking. Modern MAGNUM brass will do the same if fired in too large a chamber. Shooting a .44 magnum round in .45 colt chamber (NOTE; THIS IS A PRACTICE I DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND) will bear this out. Cartridge brass does not have the tensile strength of modern steels. ITS MERELY A GASKET.