45 Schofield in 45 Colt?

[ozarak]

Just picked up my first repro lever rifle....Got a great deal on a 18" half octagon/half round, that I believe is a "Brushpopper".  It is chambered in 45 Colt.  I have searched (weak skills) and have not been able to find anything about shooting Schofield ammo in the 45 Colt chambered rifle.  I tried to cycle some through and found that the rounds popped out of the magazine and locked up the elevator.

Does anyone shoot this combo successfully and if so, how do I make my rifle reliable with both?  I have access to both and at times, the Schofield ammo is abundant if I need to purchase at retail.  I seems that the Colt ammo goes in surges and the "Judge" crowed loves to buy them all up.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

oz

[KirkD]

For the Model 1873, Overall Cartridge Length (OAL) is very important for feeding purposes. The only thing that stops the next cartridge from being pushed into the elevator is the cartridge that is already in there. For that reason, the 45 Schofield will not work in a Model 1873 that is designed for the longer 45 Colt cartridge. A possible work around might be to seat the bullet further out to the OAL of the 45 Colt, but I'm not sure there would still be enough base left in the case to crimp well enough to avoid having cartridges in the tubular magazine get their bullets shoved into the case during recoil.

[Major 2]

If you do a search on 45 Cowboy Ammo you will read of a Carrier mod that will alter the carrier and allow that shorter round.
Stands to reason , it can be carried out for the 45 Schofield

It involves adding a threaded cap screw to limit the rearward travel of the shorter case ...

[KirkD]

If you do a search on 45 Cowboy Ammo you will read of a Carrier mod that will alter the carrier and allow that shorter round.
Stands to reason , it can be carried out for the 45 Schofield

It involves adding a threaded cap screw to limit the rearward travel of the shorter case ...

That should work. The main thing is to keep the 45 Schofield cartridge from coming back too far. The nose of the cartridge must be far enough into the carrier so it doesn't catch on the mag tube, but not so far in that it lets the next cartridge come in and bind the carrier. Of course, whatever is done, it should not interfere with the bolt.

[Abilene]

No need for the modified carrier.  .45 Schofield feeds fine if, as mentioned, the OAL is long enouigh, and a lot of people use it.  Black Hills .45 Schofield with the 230gr bullet feed and eject fine in my Cimarron '73 trapper.  They make it with a 180gr bullet as well, but it is much shorter and I expect would jam.  If you buy ammo, buy it with a bigger bullet which will have a longer OAL.  If you reload, use the bigger bullets or load the smaller bullets long.  You can take oiut your carrier and measure down the center of it from the rear to the point where the ramp starts down.  Your cartridge has to be at least that long.  If you want to know all about what will feed in a toggle-link gun, read Pettifogger's article:
http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/togglelink.pdf

[KirkD]

That is a great article. I see that some modern '73s have a modified ramp that shoves the next cartridge back into the mag tube. I've only owned original 1873's and their ramp is much less forgiving. With the originals, OAL is more important.

[Cliff Fendley]

The more recent made Uberti's I've encountered have more of a ramp and although I haven't tried they should feed schofield. The older ones seem more like original winchesters and are more oal sensitive.

[ozarak]

Picked up some 230gr Schofield ammo.....works like a charm!