Buck: I knew that you (and others) have had good success with 348 Win brass, but I decided to go with 50-90 as my donor case because I was afraid that the slightly smaller rim of the 348 might not work well in my Uberti gun. I felt that I could reduce the rim size easier than increasing it. It would probably have worked, but I didn't want to waste money finding out. When I bought my gun, Jamison brass was plentiful and I'd never formed brass before. i don't really care about the headstamp either, but it was nice to be able to just order the brass. When it went away, it took a fair investment to get set up to form my own--the only case trimmer I had was a Wilson, which was great for loading precision .223 cartridges for my bolt action, but wouldn't work for trimming 45-75. That meant buying a new (used from eBay) trimmer, pilots and 50-90 brass just to try it out. Now that I know that it works, that's all fine, but it was easier to hit the "buy" button at Midway or Graf's when Jamison was in business...
Pinto Beans: I kind of hope that Starline comes out with those calibers, although as I've said, I'm now OK on the brass front with my box of 100 50-90 cases and all of the tools to make my own. I've sent them the same message (maybe more than once--I can't remember).
King Medallion: Either way seems fine--those of us with the standard chamber guns could easily reshape your brass by pushing the shoulder back; those with the longer chamber could fire-form the shoulder forward (I think).
If I had known that there would be issues with the brass, I would likely have leaned towards a 45-60 instead of a 45-75. Now that I'm here, though, it's all worth it! I've seen some of the original 1876's that Buck has had (both NWMP carbines and some rifles). Those are mighty fine guns, but well outside of my price range. I'm glad that Uberti stepped up with their reproductions. I really like my 45-75 carbine!
CC Griff
CC Griff