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Posted: 12/11/2010 2:25:27 AM EDT
I'm going to be casting and reloading my own ammunition by the end of the month.
I suddenly have the desire to get something weird but I can't figure out what. I'm really interested in loading BP cartridges too so that would be a plus. ammunition cost is no issue as long as I can get a mold, dies, and brass for it without selling my soul. Suggestions? |
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what types of actions do those come in?
I've considered a nice .45/70 lever gun in the past but I have never looked into anything larger |
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What about that 25-223? I've heard people cast loads for .223, so why not that one? Or maybe .444 Marlin.
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What about that 25-223? I've heard people cast loads for .223, so why not that one? Or maybe .444 Marlin. well the idea of a 300 grain straight walled cartridge at 2200FPS does make me smile... |
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32-20, easy to load, low recoil,can use BP or smokeless. It is used in both rifles and pistols, and new Colt SAA and 73 Winchester replica rifles are available. Fun little cartridge
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a blackhawk in .45 LC is very tempting...
I've been wanting a SA revolver of some sort. I like the aesthetics of the new vaqueros over the blackhawk but I don't want wimpy smokeless loads. with the blackhawk I could load smokeless to high velocities AND BP. |
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What about that 25-223? I've heard people cast loads for .223, so why not that one? Or maybe .444 Marlin. well the idea of a 300 grain straight walled cartridge at 2200FPS does make me smile... My uncle has a Marlin lever gun in .444 that is a blast to shoot. That thing can be loaded HOT too. |
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I do 44.40 for my SAA revolver.
ETA: And .303 British, nice cheap accurate load that doesn't blow out brass after reloading four or five times. |
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I just found a load for a 720 grain bullet for the 45-120 using F Goex at 1110FPS and the Idea of that mammoth cartridge makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
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I just found a load for a 720 grain bullet for the 45-120 using F Goex at 1110FPS and the Idea of that mammoth cartridge makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Jeez! That thing must have a kick like a bull moose on steroids. |
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I just found a load for a 720 grain bullet for the 45-120 using F Goex at 1110FPS and the Idea of that mammoth cartridge makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Jeez! That thing must have a kick like a bull moose on steroids. so does the price of the rifle now that I actually looked it up. I don't see anything modern chambered in it BTW the COAL of that round is 4.450" It's HUGE! |
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I just found a load for a 720 grain bullet for the 45-120 using F Goex at 1110FPS and the Idea of that mammoth cartridge makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Jeez! That thing must have a kick like a bull moose on steroids. so does the price of the rifle now that I actually looked it up. I don't see anything modern chambered in it BTW the COAL of that round is 4.450" It's HUGE! On the plus side though, moving that slow, with a bullet that big, you could use it for indirect fire. I could get you Dope for a 60mm mortar. |
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I recommend avoiding the .45-110 or .45-120. They foul rapidly if loaded with black poweder, no matter what you do. That's why serious target shooters in the late 1800's stopped at the .45-100. If you want a classic American black powder cartridge other than the .45-70 that can be shot acccurately multiple times, once you learn the tricks:
.40-65, .45-90, .45-100, .50-70, .50-90 If you want something English, then a .577 Snider or .577-.450 Martini Henry could be fun. In more modern cartridges, the 9.3x62 is still rare in the U.S. but very popular in Europe and Africa. Very practical on anything in North America or any African plains game except maybe giraffe. This can be chambered in any good bolt action that can handle .30-06. The rimmed ballistic twin of the 9.3x62 is the 9.3x74R and is great for anything in North America and is available in a limited edition Ruger Number one. For that matter, so is the classic African medium bore .450-.400 Jefferies. Great for the next time you are attacked at the range by a charging bull elephant. |
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Ditto on the .577 snider or .577/450 Martini-Henry. Rifles sre available from IMA and Atlanta Cutlery,brass can be formed from 24 ga CBC brass shotshells and Lee sells dies.
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can the straight walled .45 cartridges like the 45-100 fire their shorter companions such as the 45-90 and the 45-70?
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can the straight walled .45 cartridges like the 45-100 fire their shorter companions such as the 45-90 and the 45-70? I don't recommend it. These cartridges, except .45-70, have too much case volume for anything but black powder to be safe and practical in the replica buffalo rifles they are chambered. This means cast bullets and, while not necessarily dangerous, I think you would end up with very bad fouling, very bad leading, and accuracy that couldn't hit a flock of barns. Also, shooting powerful black powder cartridge rifles requires study if you want good, non-frustrating results. Special cast bullet designs (wide grooves to hold lots of lube), special lubes (neither bullet lubes for smokeless powder or muzzle loaders will do), and special black powder (there are good reasons that Swiss costs more than GOEX). Get in touch with Buffalo Arms and SPG on line. Try to find a copy of Dick Trenk's "The BP Cartridge Rifle Reloading Guide" on line. |
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Go for it, I reload for two where loaded ammo is virtually unavailable, One, the 9.3x57 Mauser has brass and bullets available but I have never found loaded ammo, so, I stocked up on components to ensure a supply. The other is totally unavailable, in fact obselete. It's the 10.4x 38R (I think) also known as 41 Swiss. It is a rimfire cartridge, but there is an easy fix. converting to centerfire is easy, centerfire brass is made from either .348 Winchester or 8mm Lebel. Run through a sizing die to expand neck and trim to length then resize. I can use .429 bullets for a .44 mag revolver, or cast a proper round nose version.
Even in many of the larger black powder cases you can use smokeless safely, Just read, read and read some more. Be sure to follow reloading guides for proper charges and do not exceed maximums. Hodgdon has a relatively new power for just this purpose, called Trail Boss, a very bulky lightweight powder that will nearly fill most cases and still give very low pressure loads. I tried some in my 45-70 and in reality they are milder than black powder loads. |
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I used to cast bullets for my 45-70 Marlin. Good times. Accurate.
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I suggest watching Quigley Down Under.. The choice will become clear
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30-30 357's or 44mag in a newer Marlin.
The last 2 can also be fired from revolvers for a nice combo set up. |
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I vote .303 British. You can do a lot of fun things with it. Get a No. 4 Mk I or II Enfield to shoot. You'll get a fairly accurate, historical piece with a ten round magazine, and a two way aperture sight, not unlike an A2 AR.
Buy some PRVI or Wolf Gold from AIM. Shoot that and save the brass. It's fire formed to your chamber. After that, you only need to use a LEE neck sizer die. If you keep full length sizing the brass, it won't last long until the head separates. Enfield chambers are a bit, uh, generous. For bullets, there's a lot of variety. Any bullet for the 7.62x39, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.62x54R is compatible. Remington sells 180 gr round nose soft points. Heavy hitter. Hornady 150gr Interlocks are good too. For general shooting, buy some 123gr bulk FMJs designed for the 7.62x39. If you want a light plinker load, use a 71 gr .32 ACP pistol bullet with 12 gr of Unique. No recoil, cheap, accurate as hell at 50 yards, and 2200 or so FPS. They look like they were still stable at 100 yards, but the wind really works them that far out. One of my favorite loads. You need a die to bell the case mouth and I like a heavy crimp since you gotta push the bolt kind of hard to get them to chamber of you load from the mag. |
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I vote .303 British. You can do a lot of fun things with it. Get a No. 4 Mk I or II Enfield to shoot. You'll get a fairly accurate, historical piece with a ten round magazine, and a two way aperture sight, not unlike an A2 AR. Buy some PRVI or Wolf Gold from AIM. Shoot that and save the brass. It's fire formed to your chamber. After that, you only need to use a LEE neck sizer die. If you keep full length sizing the brass, it won't last long until the head separates. Enfield chambers are a bit, uh, generous. For bullets, there's a lot of variety. Any bullet for the 7.62x39, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.62x54R is compatible. Remington sells 180 gr round nose soft points. Heavy hitter. Hornady 150gr Interlocks are good too. For general shooting, buy some 123gr bulk FMJs designed for the 7.62x39. If you want a light plinker load, use a 71 gr .32 ACP pistol bullet with 12 gr of Unique. No recoil, cheap, accurate as hell at 50 yards, and 2200 or so FPS. They look like they were still stable at 100 yards, but the wind really works them that far out. One of my favorite loads. You need a die to bell the case mouth and I like a heavy crimp since you gotta push the bolt kind of hard to get them to chamber of you load from the mag. The SMLE is bored for .311 diameter bullets...most US cartridges are .308. The twist is not advantageous for the short 123gr. FMJ.s perhaps in a cast bullet they get enough baring surface to stabilize. I had a Savage 110S that was barreled in .311 with cast bullets...it was a recoil-less hoot to shoot. |
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I've had this same lust for a bit now, and shopped .45/70's heavy, but couldn't find the right deal. Just bought a Chaparral 1876 reproduction from CDNN with a 28" octogon bbl, cal .50/95 for $649. Have the dies and brass, but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. Components are going to be way more plentiful and cheaper for the .45/70, and I still want one badly, but this beast will do for now. not my pic, but looks exactly like this: The loads I'll be working up should put the 300 gr bullet between 1500-1700 fps, and still be <25k psi according to Accurate. Not nearly as powerful as .45/70, but unique. |
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I vote .303 British. You can do a lot of fun things with it. Get a No. 4 Mk I or II Enfield to shoot. You'll get a fairly accurate, historical piece with a ten round magazine, and a two way aperture sight, not unlike an A2 AR. Buy some PRVI or Wolf Gold from AIM. Shoot that and save the brass. It's fire formed to your chamber. After that, you only need to use a LEE neck sizer die. If you keep full length sizing the brass, it won't last long until the head separates. Enfield chambers are a bit, uh, generous. For bullets, there's a lot of variety. Any bullet for the 7.62x39, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.62x54R is compatible. Remington sells 180 gr round nose soft points. Heavy hitter. Hornady 150gr Interlocks are good too. For general shooting, buy some 123gr bulk FMJs designed for the 7.62x39. If you want a light plinker load, use a 71 gr .32 ACP pistol bullet with 12 gr of Unique. No recoil, cheap, accurate as hell at 50 yards, and 2200 or so FPS. They look like they were still stable at 100 yards, but the wind really works them that far out. One of my favorite loads. You need a die to bell the case mouth and I like a heavy crimp since you gotta push the bolt kind of hard to get them to chamber of you load from the mag. The SMLE is bored for .311 diameter bullets...most US cartridges are .308. The twist is not advantageous for the short 123gr. FMJ.s perhaps in a cast bullet they get enough baring surface to stabilize. I had a Savage 110S that was barreled in .311 with cast bullets...it was a recoil-less hoot to shoot. And actual bore sizes vary a lot in that general platform. I've slugged out British bores between.309" and.316" ( groove diameter) all in rifles chambered for the .303 British cartridge. I'd suggest casting oversize, and running them through an appropriate bullet-sizing die if necessary. Slug the bore first so you know exactly what you have before buying molds and dies. Brits are a lot of fun to play with. Very cool rifles. |
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Quoted: The twist may not be optimal, but it stabilizes them fine. Hell, it'll stabilize a 71 gr .32 ACP bullet out to 100 yards, so I know 123gr is no problem. Quoted: I vote .303 British. You can do a lot of fun things with it. Get a No. 4 Mk I or II Enfield to shoot. You'll get a fairly accurate, historical piece with a ten round magazine, and a two way aperture sight, not unlike an A2 AR. Buy some PRVI or Wolf Gold from AIM. Shoot that and save the brass. It's fire formed to your chamber. After that, you only need to use a LEE neck sizer die. If you keep full length sizing the brass, it won't last long until the head separates. Enfield chambers are a bit, uh, generous. For bullets, there's a lot of variety. Any bullet for the 7.62x39, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.62x54R is compatible. Remington sells 180 gr round nose soft points. Heavy hitter. Hornady 150gr Interlocks are good too. For general shooting, buy some 123gr bulk FMJs designed for the 7.62x39. If you want a light plinker load, use a 71 gr .32 ACP pistol bullet with 12 gr of Unique. No recoil, cheap, accurate as hell at 50 yards, and 2200 or so FPS. They look like they were still stable at 100 yards, but the wind really works them that far out. One of my favorite loads. You need a die to bell the case mouth and I like a heavy crimp since you gotta push the bolt kind of hard to get them to chamber of you load from the mag. The SMLE is bored for .311 diameter bullets...most US cartridges are .308. The twist is not advantageous for the short 123gr. FMJ.s perhaps in a cast bullet they get enough baring surface to stabilize. I had a Savage 110S that was barreled in .311 with cast bullets...it was a recoil-less hoot to shoot. Remington, Hornady, Barnes, etc all make .311 bullets. |
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The twist may not be optimal, but it stabilizes them fine. Hell, it'll stabilize a 71 gr .32 ACP bullet out to 100 yards, so I know 123gr is no problem.
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I vote .303 British. You can do a lot of fun things with it. Get a No. 4 Mk I or II Enfield to shoot. You'll get a fairly accurate, historical piece with a ten round magazine, and a two way aperture sight, not unlike an A2 AR. Buy some PRVI or Wolf Gold from AIM. Shoot that and save the brass. It's fire formed to your chamber. After that, you only need to use a LEE neck sizer die. If you keep full length sizing the brass, it won't last long until the head separates. Enfield chambers are a bit, uh, generous. For bullets, there's a lot of variety. Any bullet for the 7.62x39, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.62x54R is compatible. Remington sells 180 gr round nose soft points. Heavy hitter. Hornady 150gr Interlocks are good too. For general shooting, buy some 123gr bulk FMJs designed for the 7.62x39. If you want a light plinker load, use a 71 gr .32 ACP pistol bullet with 12 gr of Unique. No recoil, cheap, accurate as hell at 50 yards, and 2200 or so FPS. They look like they were still stable at 100 yards, but the wind really works them that far out. One of my favorite loads. You need a die to bell the case mouth and I like a heavy crimp since you gotta push the bolt kind of hard to get them to chamber of you load from the mag. The SMLE is bored for .311 diameter bullets...most US cartridges are .308. The twist is not advantageous for the short 123gr. FMJ.s perhaps in a cast bullet they get enough baring surface to stabilize. I had a Savage 110S that was barreled in .311 with cast bullets...it was a recoil-less hoot to shoot. Remington, Hornady, Barnes, etc all make .311 bullets. I'd really like to find a mini-MK-X in 7.62x39 just for a walking plinker...I think we tookd this away from the OP's cast boolit question though... |
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Pick up a C&R rifle of your liking and go from there. Something in 7.62x54R, .303 British, or even any of the Mausers actions.
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Google Turnbull. Iirc he makes a 450 and one other. Beautifull rifles.
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If you want to do it on a budget, pick up an Iver Johnson Cycle Works top break hammer safety revolver (probably less than $100). The later ones will even handle smokeless.
At any rate, there are a lot of old revolvers out there chambered for the various .38 and .32 BP rounds that would be fun. |
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Quoted: .310 Cadet. for this:http://www.gunstar.co.uk/images/Gun-Images/Westley-Richards-and-Co-310-Cadet-A14430.jpg funny u say that because i DO have an 1875 mk2 M-H for sale |
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Quoted: a blackhawk in .45 LC is very tempting... I've been wanting a SA revolver of some sort. I like the aesthetics of the new vaqueros over the blackhawk but I don't want wimpy smokeless loads. with the blackhawk I could load smokeless to high velocities AND BP. If you want to shoot black powder then go .44/40 they run cleaner because the case seals the chamber better. You can find used or N.O.S. old model vaqueros chambered in it. Even more important if you pair it with a rifle. |
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264 ackley would be on my list That round as a cast bullet would close the bore off in about 5 firings, even with gas checks. |
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Quoted: Quoted: 264 ackley would be on my list That round as a cast bullet would close the bore off in about 5 firings, even with gas checks. Didn't see the requirement that it be cast. That severely limits the fun |
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.41 magnum isn't too far off the deepend but still something "different"
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38-40 used in revolvers and lever guns
38-55 used in large fram lever guns and single shot rifles 50-70 used in single shot rifles 32-20 used in revolvers and rifles 45-90 used in single shot rifles 45-75 used in the Winchester 1876 Centennial Rifle |
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If you like BP cartridges, look into 32-20, 44-40, or 45-70. All can be loaded with cast boolits powered by holy black.
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Quoted: Pedersoli Cavalry Carbine originally was a 45-70, now rechambered to 50-90. http://www.pbase.com/terry_56/image/131082335.jpg http://www.pbase.com/terry_56/image/131082338.jpg Shilo Sharps 1894 50-90 (the old time big 50). http://www.pbase.com/terry_56/image/131082341.jpg http://www.pbase.com/terry_56/image/131082342.jpg They are all fun, just depends on what you want to spend..... Nice Sharps! I would love me some 50/90. |
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.40-60 or .45-60 in a lever gun, 40-65 in a Highwall, or .40-82 in an original Winchester 1886.
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Pick up a C&R rifle of your liking and go from there. Something in 7.62x54R, .303 British, or even any of the Mausers actions. For milsurps, I heartily reccommend the Swiss K31. Switzerland never issued corrosive ammunition, so most of them have pristine barrels. |
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Choose a cartridge that has a very wide variety of bullet weights available, or a caliber common to both pistols and rifles. For example, the .450-400 Nitro Express is a .41 caliber cartridge. I can buy boxes of 400 grain Barnes Solids(almost 60 bucks for 50), or I can buy Speer 210 grain pistol bullets for about 23 bucks per hundred. Load the light bullets over a charge of Trail Boss(IMR has the data online for all rifle cartridges), and it's all the fun you can possibly handle. For this cartridge, the 400 grain bullets run around 1950 fps. I'm not sure what the velocity on the 210 grain bullets is, but judging by the load data on IRM's website, it's probably round 1200 fps.
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=322279 |
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