Spencer 56-50 brass

[geo]

got any favorite vendors for new spencer 56-50 brass in original specs dimensions? thanks in advance, geo.

[Dakota Widowmaker]

For Taylors spencers, the Starline will work just fine.

If you have an original 56-50 or 56-52, you might want to TRY a 56-50 case from Starline, or, take a 50-70 case and cut it down.

The other option is to use cut down 348Winchester cases.

AFAIK, all of the oringinal spencers could work off of 50-70 or 348WIN case heads. I have no idea why the Taylors/ArmiSport 56-50 spencers use a smaller rim than the originals.

[RattlesnakeJack]

.... I have no idea why the Taylors/ArmiSport 56-50 spencers use a smaller rim than the originals.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the new rim dimensions may have been part of a "safety" issue - i.e. so that new ammo (possibly loaded fairly hot with smokeless powder) would not be used in original Spencers.  However, that idea doesn't make any sense to me, for two reasons:

- to prevent chambering of new "hot" ammo, you'd need to adopt a larger rim diameter, not smaller.  (All the smaller diameter does is cause extraction problems after the cartridge has been fired ...)

- in any event, there is nothing to prevent someone from loading hot loads in the cut-down 50-70 cases (or any other cases which function well in original firearms) if they are of a mind to ...

Possibly the real reason is something as simple as a mistake ... or perhaps using some existing tooling for some other firearm, as a cost cutting measure.

[Arizona Trooper]

As far as originals go, you need a case head diameter of .65" to get reliable extraction with any of the blade extractors (M-1860, '65, New Model). The Lane extractor (mostly on M-1867s) works just fine with smaller rims. My batch of 348 Win brass measures ~.58" rim diameter and will ONLY extract in M-1867s. The hard part about using 348 brass is that you really need a full length plug die to expand the case. Spencers will not generate enough pressure to blow them out to fit the chamber. Once expanded, they need to be inside reamed to reduce case wall thickness or you will have problems with the case not expanding at all. That causes a lot of umpleasant blowback through the action.

I suspect that the new Spencers use smaller rim diameters to make the ammo cheaper. If the case companies can form heads using existing equipment, it GREATLY reduces the cost of tooling up to make ammo. They probably produce a year's worth of 56-50 cases on about an hour, so special equipment would make production very costly.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

I think the reason for the smaller diameter is so if you have a hot .512 (but loose) bullet going down and original .520 bore, there is less back pressure on the action.

[Ed Clintwood]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but my Starline brass is .63 diameter and my .348's are .603.  I wish the Spencer was based on the
.348 as I could load it in my Dillon, there is no way to load the Spencer in a Dillon (at least that I've found).