[stevewhr]

Excuse me I'm new here, but are .45 Colt chambers usually generous? Mine is one of the dreaded Marlington's and it is certainly more generous than either of my Ruger Blackhawks. I measured a fired case and believe it to have shown .003" larger just in front of the web. You can even see the swelling of the brass. My handguns don't do this. Are the Cowboy models better? Thanks for your help...Steve.

 

[eaglesnest]

Yes sir they are! Mine is big as well, and it is a Marlin Micro Groove barrel probably made in the early 90's. When I first installed it I tried shooting my plinking rounds I had been shooting in my Blackhawk, 200gr cast with 9.0gr of Unique but the pressure generated wasn't enough to seal the breach and I kept getting a bit of burnt powder on my cheek. I since switched to 250gr bullets and it is no longer a problem. If I am going to want to use those light bullets I will need to get some faster powder in order to raise the pressure. Yes the cases do swell some but not really much more than my 44 mag barrel did, and nothing the resizing die doesn't restore (if you reload). The cylinder on a revolver is a very tight fit so the expansion is very minimal.

 

[stevewhr]

While I appreciate your response, that wasn't what I wanted to hear. I hate to stretch my brass every time I shoot. Do you know if the Cowboy models are any better. I've found a Cowboy priced right, could just switch the barrels. The Cowboy barrel is octagon, which would be pretty cool...

 

[Carolina Sorillo]

Sorry to tell ya, I've got 2 .45CB's and both have big chambers. When I bought the first one I was just neck sizing my brass for the Blackhawk that I already had. The neck-sized brass from the Marlin wouldn't chamber in the Blackhawk. They looked like .44-40's instead of .45 Colt's.

I think they use a .45-70 reamer with a bushing to prevent it from going too deep.

C.S.

 

[Tomray]

While I appreciate your response, that wasn't what I wanted to hear. I hate to stretch my brass every time I shoot. Do you know if the Cowboy models are any better. I've found a Cowboy priced right, could just switch the barrels. The Cowboy barrel is octagon, which would be pretty cool...

Steve,
The CB barrels will likely have the same chamber dims.
Yes, they are typically on the large side of the tolerance.

Tom

 

[eaglesnest]

The good news is I don't think it hurts the brass much if at all. At least that has been my experience. I've been told on here where the brass is likely to fail is at the rim due to crimping over and over, but people have reported a dozen or more reloadings with the brass.
I believe the extra big chambers aids in chambering the round as it doesn't need to align nearly as perfect as if it were a tighter chamber. I think I would just shoot it and not worry about what can't be changed.

 

[stevewhr]

Well, I asked for it. Just not what I was hoping for! The multiple loadings on the brass is encouraging however. Thanks for that tidbit. Thanks to all who responded, your info has been most helpful.

 

[eaglesnest]

Well, I asked for it. Just not what I was hoping for! The multiple loadings on the brass is encouraging however. Thanks for that tidbit. Thanks to all who responded, your info has been most helpful.

Well if it is any consolation, I understand that the Win 94's also had big chambers. Just think of it as a levergun thing! : ;D

 

[marlin shooter]

Chamber's are generous for the .45 colt's. My new Cabela's 1894 and the cowboy LTD I had. I only have 1 45 colt so I resize little as possible and have had good case life. If loading same brass for different gun's this may not work. I had a Win trapper that not only had a very generous chamber it also kooked oblong, course this could have been a illusion, but to my naked eye it sure didn't look right.
Karl