45 colt case life??

[cleveland48]

Do any of you know about what the case life is for the 45 colt?  The brass is winchester and loaded to +p level.  The load is 19.0 gr. of H4227 behind a 300gr. xtp.  Pressure is somewhere between 25,000-29,000psi.  Also Is the brass you get from magtech in their cowboy loads, the ones with the ring around the case about half way up any weaker than the starline and winchester brass without the ring?  Thanks for your help. Andrew.

[Autorim]

Andrew,

How do you know the pressure levels?

[cleveland48]

Well in my lee reloading manual it say 22.3 gr. I think is 29,900psi.  So I just figured 19.2 gr. would be somewhere in between that and 25,000psi

[dpe.ahoy]

I've got some Winchester brass that has been reloaded more than 10 times.  That said, I now use that for lighter loads.  Got 500 Starline cases in and use them for heavier loads now.  Some of those have 7 reloads on them with pretty stout loads and no streching of the primer pockets at all yet.  I do like the Starline brass quite well.  Had some Remington cases start to split but I don't know how many times they were loaded as I got them out of a gun shop and they were used.  DP

[huntswithdogs]

From my limited experience of loading my 45LC ammo, the failures I've had has been at the case mouth. These were loads that I may have applied too much crimp to. Since I've backed off on the super tight crimp, I've not had any other problems. These are Starline cases. I loaded some older Rem, Win and Federal cases, a bunch of times and haven't had any problems with them.

I do make it a point to try to keep my hotload brass seperated from the other stuff. This way I can track what's happening.


HWD 

[cleveland48]

Ok thanks i've been putting heavy crimps on mine too, so I guess I'll back off of that.

[Lone Star]

After 35+ years loading the .45LC, IME the biggest contributors to shortened case life are a heavy crimp, and the difference between the sizing die and the chamber.  Given a large chamber and a "tight" sizing die, the brass is worked hard regardless of the load's pressure.  Enough cycles and the brass will give out.

If you ever get "loose primer pockets" in .45LC cases, you are well above any safe load.  Primer pockets typically don't expand until pressures rise above 45-50,000 CUP in handgun brass.....


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[cleveland48]

Thanks for the advice lone star I'll remember that.  I'm gonna switch to a lighter crimp.

[Graybeard]

Dunno but if I ever wear out a .45 LC case I'll try to remember to get back to ya on it. Of course they all might out last me.

[Lone Star]

...Of course they all might out last me....

I hope you don't get a cylinder with oversized chambers then.  An old BH I used to own was terrible for this and brass only lasted about 6-9 firing cycles before it cracked at the mouth or developed longitudinal splits.  Another BH, two T/Cs, and a Dan Wesson did not allow the brass to overexpand and the cases last.....heck I don't know, I've seldom tossed any since I unloaded the "bad" Ruger 25 years ago (and tossed the tight Lee .45LC dies).  That included a LOT of silhouette shooting with powerful (but not listed max) loads....

.

[nicholst55]

After 35+ years loading the .45LC, IME the biggest contributors to shortened case life are a heavy crimp, and the difference between the sizing die and the chamber.  Given a large chamber and a "tight" sizing die, the brass is worked hard regardless of the load's pressure.  Enough cycles and the brass will give out.

+1.  Many firearms manufacturers cut really sloppy chambers in .45 Colt.  If you have a set of plug gauges, try measuring your chambers someday.  It may be an eye-opening experience for you!  Unfortunately, about the only 'fix' for this is a new cylinder - either a custom, or fitting and rechambering a smaller caliber cylinder for your gun.  I have a Ruger Redhawk .45 Colt that I had this done with a .44 Mag cylinder.  No more problems with case life in that   particular gun!

[Horn-Harvester]

The only problem ive had with 45 LC brass is getting them to fit into the shell holder after 10 firings or so. The holder is a Lee and I have to move them around to make the fit. I full length size with Lee Carbide dies. This happens to the 454 brass too. Not sure why this is happening.