Starline brass ??

[Harve Curry]

Does anyone know if the Starline 56-50 brass function/work in an original Spencer carbine?

[RattlesnakeJack]

I'm really only learning about this stuff myself (just in the process of trying to acquire a Taylor's 56-50 carbine) but have noted (as you have, likely) that the Starline listing specifies "56-50 SPENCER (TAYLOR'S)", implying that it is not suitable for originals. 

I seem to recall reading somewhere that there is a bit of a rim-thickness difference between what works best in the originals and in the repros ...

I pretty sure I saw (while browsing the 'Net just in the past day or two) at least one vendor offering pre-loaded ammo in four different versions, i.e. both smokeless and BP loads for both repros and originals (converted to centerfire, I presume) ... but now I can't remember where that was!       If we could track that info down, you could maybe contact them to ascertain what the difference is - and maybe get brass from them...?  (If they won't sell unloaded brass, you could buy some loaded rounds - price didn't seem significantly more than unloaded brass, as I recall - then use the cases for reloading ...

On the other hand ... can anyone answer the original question ... i.e. whether Starline brass can be used in original Spencers?

[RattlesnakeJack]

OK, although this isn't the site I remember seeing, here is one vendor who offers two different loadings of Spencer ammo (" 56-50 Spencer"and "56-50 Spencer Converted";   he also liists "56-56 Spencer Converted Original", for that matter) in his "Obsolete Ammunition Loads" section -
http://gadcustomcartridges.com/#obsolete

He also lists empty cases for each - you might try e-mailing him for more info ....

[Black River Smith]

There is an article in the newest Shoot Mag about this very topic.

No, the starline Taylor will not eject from an original.  My friend has an original Spencer. He gave me bullets he had in order to try in my Taylors, the rim was too big.

The article states the same thing.

From the Starline site the Rim of their 56/50 is 0.629 to 0.632.  The average Rim for an original Spencer casing/bullet is 0.64.

Hope this helps.

Black River Smith

[Harve Curry]

Thanks for the info. I'll just continue making them from 50-70.