Trimming 454 Casull Brass for Use in 45 Colt?

Has anyone tried this? The only issue I can think of would be a possible pressure increase from using SR primers instead of a LP primers. Is there anything I'm overlooking or reasons not to do it?

I'm not interested in "hot rodding" my 45 Colt Blackhawk. I have 454 Casulls for that. What got me thinking about it is that I have enough new 454 Casull brass to last me a long time. With some hand issues I don't shoot 454 Casull as much as I used to. That got me thinking about using 454 brass in the 45 Colt.

There might be a slight difference in case capacity due to thicker brass in places.

From what I can tell the wall thickness is the same. The base of the 454 Casull case is thicker which would reduce capacity.

I did a search online and read that Dick Metcalf tried this and wrote an article on it in Shooting Times. I dug through my back issues and found the article in a 2008 copy of Best of Shooting Times and Guns&Ammo.

He tested the same bullet and powder charge in a Contender and a Blackhawk using 45 Colt and cut down 454 brass. He wrote that the 454 brass with rifle primers had increased velocity and accuracy. He didn't see any pressure problems in his tests.

He was using W296 in his comparison with 260gr Partitions. I noticed that the lowest charge he used in the Blackhawk was what Hodgdon lists as a max charge (of H110) for that bullet. The heaviest charge he tested as 1.5gr beyond that.

That sounds promising since I wouldn't plan to load anywhere near max charges. Still not sure if I'm going to try it.

Where I live 454 brass is way more expensive than Starline 45 Colt brass ,so just from the cost prespective I wouldn't. I like to keep my brass with the proper headstamp too,just makes it simpler for me. Pressure wise good Starline brass holds all I want to throw at it in .45 COLT.

What he said!

I agree, if I was buying brass just for this it wouldn't make sense. I have 1200+ pieces of new 454 brass (not to mention all my once fired 454 brass) and don't shoot my 454s much anymore. That's what got me thinking about trimming it for 45 Colt.



I wasn't planning to load my 45 Colt to high pressure levels. That's what my 454s are for.



Other than my question about primer pressure differences, that's the one drawback I see. I would definitely want to mark it so I keep it separate. Wouldn't be too much different than people marking high pressure 45 Colt/45-70 loads to prevent use in Colts/Trapdoor guns. It wouldn't be an issue if it was mistakenly fired in a 454 though.

If you already have the brass why not sell off some 454 brass and buy .45 Colt brass? It would be a lot less trouble and work.
I also worry about my missmarked brass getting into the wrong guns after I am gone. Some will say after your gone it won't matter but I still don't like the idea. I'm old school!!!!

I've sold quite a few bags. Still have a lot.



Since its marked 454 Casull it wouldn't matter if a trimmed case was fired in a 454 since 45 Colt can be shot in it. Along those lines, I have wondered about someone trying to fire my 375JDJ rounds in my 444 Marlin lever action after I'm gone. Its head stamped 444 Marlin so someone unfamiliar with the round could make that mistake. Before I bought my 375JDJ barrels I still had some 338JDJ#2 rounds left after I sold that barrel. Didn't like the idea of those being fired in the 375JDJ by mistake so I got rid of them.

I use trimmed .454 brass in a Contender which works well. A couple of grains less capacity, but I work up loads so that's okay. Cases last forever.

Firing a .375 JDJ in a .444 or a .338JDJ in a .375 will cause no safety hazard. The bullets are smaller than the bore so pressure and velocity will be way down.

Don't let the armchair experts tell you it is a bad idea. The practice is not unsafe, IHMSA shooters used to shoot thousands of .223s in their 7 TCU barrels to fire form them, never a problem.

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Take too it! Not a problem and you can sub small pistol magnum for the rifle primers in the .454 brass if you have pressure concerns you.

Good info, thanks guys!

Carpe Diem, I've always wondered about that on the 375JDJ fired in a 444 Marlin issue. I always wondered if the bullet would travel straight and exit the barrel or if the neck blowing back out to 444 Marlin dimensions would affect its flight. Hopefully after I'm gone it never happens. My son will get my guns so at least he will know better.

Good idea to keep shooting if things go BAD for shooting/reloading after Nov...l have 10 SPs to every LP in my stash..My S&W Model 25 could keep on banging