.45colt Marlin carbine will not completely chamber .45 Schofield brass?

[Baltimore Ed]

Hey guys, I shortened my wife's .45colt Marlin carbine into a Trapper a while back. Love the gun and how handy it is. In order to get the obligatory 10 cartridges in the mag I reload Schofield brass but I initially noted how hard it was to completely close the lever. Btw Schofield brass runs fine in my .45colt Cowboy Limited. I figured out that the case rim was a hair too big so I chucked them into my mini mill and filed them until they fit my 45colt checker gauge. I've lost enough that I need 40 more to make 100 so I was wondering about using my mini mill as a lathe. This is what I came up with. Seems to work. I used a piece of lathe tool stock that was in my dad's machinist tool box, he never was a machinist so I have no idea where it came from. I put the stock in my table vice, lightly chuck the Starline brass in and slowly lower it. Cutting it from a .519/.520 to a .511/.512.
Loaded some and they work fine in my Trapper.

[Drydock]

This usually means the extractor has not been cut with enough clearance for the wider S&W rim.  A few minutes with a file fixed mine.

[Tronicst1]

Wouldn't it be easier to cut 45 Colt brass down to 45 Schofield length and then use 45 Schofield load data.

[Coffinmaker]

Hey There Biltmore

You didn't mention what barrel length you went to, but when I built Trappers with 16 and a Quarter inch barrels, I set the guns up to run Cowboy 45 Special cases.  A Marlin with the modified carrier will run C45S slick as snot onna doorknob 


People be Hazardous to Yer Health

[Baltimore Ed]

Do you know how to modify the lifter Roger? I have a spare if I haven't wrecked it. Can you send or post a photo? My barrel on the trapper is 16.5 inches. Thx, Ed

[Coffinmaker]

I've been retired some years now and don't have any of my old pictures or drawings.  If however, you're really interested, I'd suggest posting a "how to" question over on the SASS wire.  Several folks over there are bound to have the information.

[Coffinmaker]

  Biltmore 

Checked around and contacted one of the Guru of the Marlin.  There are excellent pictures and procedures for the carrier modifications to C45S on "Marauder's" website under "Widdermatic."