http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=60200
If you have read that thread, you will note that I did comment on my experience along those lines (my experience was firing .45-60 cartridges in a .45-70 rifle).
I suppose I should tell the whole story, as it possibly could have a bearing on why the shorter .45-60 cartridges did not shoot very accurately in my .45-70:
I purchased my Uberti-made Taylors Model 1876 Winchester .45-60 unfired from a fellow on the east coast, and the deal included about ten boxes of ammo loaded with smokeless powder and cast lead bullets that the seller stated he had purchased from a well-known small re-manufacturer, whom I will not name for liability reasons, as well as the fact that I have no proof who made them.
The rifle arrived in fine shape at a local FFL dealer. The ammunition was shipped directly to me. Upon arrival, the box containing the ammunition looked OK, as did the cardboard 20 round boxes inside. The problems started when I opened the 20 round boxes. Here are pictures of a sample box freshly opened...
As you can see, the styrofoam inserts were pretty badly broken up, with bits of styrofoam sticking to the cartridges because they all still had case lube on them left over from not having been cleaned after the sizing process. Even worse, many of the cast lead bullets were severely flawed, apparently from having been cast in a cold mold:
I don't know, perhaps the 20 round boxes had been mishandled by someone after leaving the manufacturer's, but those wrinkled bullets were no accident! I picked out the rounds that looked undamaged, cleaned off the case lube, and set out to shoot my new rifle.
Unfortunately, Uberti had copied the original chamber size very closely. The 1.89" case of the .45-60 round is the same diameter as the 2.1" case of the .45-70, but the original .45-60 had a thinner rim thickness. My new rifle was chambered for the thinner rims, so none of the ammo I had would chamber. (A friend has the same rifle, just marked differently and marketed by Cimarron. His will chamber .45-70 cartridge rims without a problem).
A bit of research led me to KirkD's article showing how to thin the .45-70 case rims to fit the .45-60 chamber. Not wanting to have to pull all those bullets, I decided to just shoot them in my reproduction 1886 Winchester .45-70 take-down rifle. I didn't try shooting on paper, I just went out and shot at distant rocks, cans, and other targets of opportunity, missing most of the time. I was not surprised at the lack of accuracy, figuring it was caused by the bullet having to jump an extra 2/10th's inch before contacting the rifling. I did pull the bullets from the worst looking loaded rounds, and the degree of carelessness shown in the loading process was surprising. It was indeed brand new Starline brass, but bullets not only were deformed, they were poorly sized, with lube slopped all over:
I weighed a few of the powder charges (it looked like IMR 4198 powder) and they averaged 20 grains in weight, with as much as two grains variation. I'm not sure how much of that variation was caused by the bits of brass trimmings that were mixed in with the powder:
Despite the general lack of quality in those re-manufactured .45-60's, they did have the brass properly and consistently trimmed for length. You will be glad to know I did get all those case rims thinned successfully and have gotten a lot of enjoyment reloading for and shooting my .45-60.
I suppose my point in posting this long thread is not so much about shooting shorter rounds in a longer chamber, but more to point out that at least in my case, lack of quality ammunition may have been a factor contributing to poor accuracy.
SHASTA
