Split 45 Colt cases

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There's not a set time when they crack.
I had some factory ammo that cracked on the first firing.
The mfg asked for the remaining brass/ammo, apologized & sent me 2 boxes of ammo.

Then again, I've got a couple of boxes that've been reloaded 15 times with no issues.
(Winchester & Starline brass)
 
I have found that 45 Colt chambers tend to be what I would call oversize.
I've had 45 Colt revolvers that my fired cases come out looking like Pilsner glasses.Personally I wish that the various revolver manufacturerers would tighten up their chamber dimensions,that being said I reload on a 650 using Dillon dies and rarely do I have a case split on me granted I don't load much beyond factory loads that's why I have a 454.
 
What I'm getting at is that I'm surprised that RCBS would intentionally make a die that produces ammunition that does not adhere to SAAMI specs.
 
well I use lee carbide dies on a rcbs rock chucker press and I don't have any trouble with split cases I shoot these in two rossi 92's and just got a new heritage big bore pistol yesterday and brass looks good coming out of it! here's my load I use Missouri bullet company's cowboy #1 250gr lfp with 6.8gr greendot powder and no troubles at all! plus I also load ruger only loads for those two rossi rifle's only with sierra 300gr jsp and 20.8gr h110 powder works very well but please don't shoot the ruger only loads in colt or colt clones Saa pistols!
 
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eldon519,

The problem with carbide dies is, the carbide ring is located at the very bottom of the resizing die and does all the resizing. So, the carbide ring must size the case neck to the proper size when the case first enters the die, and whatever that size is, the rest of the case is also sized to that size. This is fine with cartridges fired in firearms whose chambers are parallel, but the .45 Colt chamber is slightly larger at the back end than the front end, so the back end get sized smaller than ideal and works the brass more than necessary.

Don
 
sounds like generous chambers in that rossi 92. i'd measure the diameter of a fired case and see just how much your cases are expanding when fired. i remember a brian pearce article in handloader magazine about this same problem.

i would try the partial sizing recommendation.

luck,

murf
 
I feel like I'm speaking another language. I understand SAAMI spec for the .45 Colt chamber is tapered. SAAMI spec for the .45 Colt is for a cylindrical straight-walled case. My observation is that it is odd that a manufacturer would make dies that intentionally produce out-of-spec ammunition.
 
My observation is that it is odd that a manufacturer would make dies that intentionally produce out-of-spec ammunition.
Click to expand...

The don't with RCBS steel dies, but there is no way to produce a taper with carbide dies as I explained above. And, everybody wants carbide dies. They figure WTH, it's only a few thousands and it's not going to damage anyone's gun.

Don
 
Yep, it's safe, it doesn't hurt case life that much, and people want easy (Carbide).
 
A tapered .45 Colt round is out of spec. The spec does not call for a taper. .45 Colt is one of the few "straight-walled" cartridges that is actually straight-walled. So a die making tapered cartridges is out of spec.
 
A tapered .45 Colt round is out of spec. The spec does not call for a taper. .45 Colt is one of the few "straight-walled" cartridges that is actually straight-walled. So a die making tapered cartridges is out of spec.
Click to expand...

Oh, okay, so you say RCBS steel .45 Colt dies produce out-of-spec cartridges. I will simply leave you with this interesting quote:

It is not so much a matter of thought as actuality. Isaac Asimov once described this phenomenon as the false notion that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Click to expand...

Don
 
You are really struggling with this "actuality" concept. I'll leave you with a link to this SAAMI spec cartridge drawing. Note the word "cylindrical" and the single body dimension given. So if it does not adhere to the spec, what is it? The actuality is that this is what the cartridge spec calls for. Cartridge specs govern cartridges, chamber specs govern chambers. These are facts, however concenient or inconvenient they may be to you. And that is "actuality" as the people at SAAMI have laid it out, but you seem to have a knack for molding your perceived reality around inconvenient facts.
http://www.saami.org/pubresources/cc_drawings/Pistol/45 Colt.pdf

Now does this really matter? No. Those tapered cartridges will work fine. Again, my observation was simply that I thought it strange that RCBS would intentionally make dies producing tapered, off-spec ammo.
 
I've noticed that everyones QC seems to have slipped because of the past shortages. Winchester and Remington seem to be the worst. Partial sizing may help with your problem.
 
eldon519,

most pistol chambers are tapered, per the saami drawings. most cartridges are tapered, per the drawings. apparently, colts firearms didn't think their 45 colt cartridge didn't need a taper back in 1873. maybe the technology wasn't developed yet.

murf
 
.38 Special, .357 magnum (think I incorrectly stated that it is earlier) and .500 S&W are not tapered cartridges. The .500 S&W is pretty new, so for sure tapered cartridge technology existed at its inception. There were tapered rounds in existence around the time of the .45 Colt's inception as well.
 
If the cases have been kept in a leather belt for an extended time, the acids in the tanning solutions will degrade the brass causing them to fail as yours have.

I regularly shoot heavier loads than you describe (not a lot, however), and only see that with brass of unknown origin/history. Never had a Starline or Magtech case do that. Have seen old Remington and Winchester do it. Some could be more than 30yrs old, and used when I got them! Been accumulating brass fo close to 50yrs. ( not "collecting" as I shoot them. I've got a 1917 .45acp case somewhere, and it's still "on the job".
 
eldon519,

list a tapered cartridge that was available in 1873. i can't think of one.

murf
 
I have done some measurements:
Fired brass measures 0.477 - 0.478 in outside diameter about a 1/2" from the case mouth.

I sized some brass in my 45 Colt RCBS, 454 Casull Hornady and Lee 460 S&W dies - all carbide.
All 3 resizers size fired cases to within a thousandth - 0.469 - 0.470

Question: Is an eight thousandth delta between fired and resized cases considered "big"? Enough to weaken the brass substantially after a few reloads? Is this indicative of a "loose" chamber? Within acceptable spec?

Any thoughts?
Thanks
 
.480" is spec in the 45 colt chamber at the mouth. your chamber seems well within spec. .008" reduction in the sizing operation seems a bit excessive and probably contributes to the early case failure.

have you concidered partial sizing?

murf
 
In 30 years of reloading the 45 Colt Ive pitched maybe a dozen shells for being split and Ive got casing that have seen dozens of loadings. Not really seeing it as much of an issue.
 
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