Like so many, I've found round balls more accurate in C&B pistols than conical bullets. I've done BP cartridges with good success but wanted to try round balls in them.
.454 round ball cartridges have a major issue in cartridges, that being lube. No lube grooves.
In a C45S cartridge, 25 grains of BP would be a good load with a slight amount of compression.
A 45 ACP case yields the right volume of 25 grains without any modification so I made a scoop out of one.
That would make a nice cartridge but no lube. You'd have to smear lube over the front of the cylinder just as with C&B.
I found that a Lee 45 Schofield Powder Thru Expanding Die, adjusted right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) will seat a round ball into a 45 Colt case to the same equivalent powder capacity as the C45S cartridge. Obviously these would be sized and primed cases.
I intend to try these and put lube in them with a wax cookie crimped in on top to keep dirt and trash out of the cartridge until ready to use. I don't think I can lube the loaded cartridges too far in advance of using them but they would work fine in the field. SASS would not allow them because the bullet is below the cartridge lip but for other uses, they would be fine. The case in the photo has been crimped but that won't happen with real loads until the lube is in them.
So the process is: 1) Size and prime the cases. 2) Into the Lee expanding die and add powder charge. 3) Drop the cartridge and put a round ball in, up into the die a second time to seat the ball. 4) Back into the case sizing die, without the decapper pin, to crimp the cartridge onto the round ball. The day before shooting: 5) Fill the end of the cases with lube and put a waxed cardboard cookie on top 6) Into the bullet closing die to put a crimp over the waxed cardboard cookie.
If this works, maybe someone will invent a cylinder that you can just pour powder in, seat a ball, smear lube over the chambers and prime the back of the chamber.
