Reloading .577 Snider......
- Thread starter tacfoley
- Start date
303EppsFan
CGN Regular
- Location
- Almonte,Ontario
Tac,
I use a round ball because mine shoots best with them.
I configure my load so that the the midline of the the ball is a hair below the case mouth.
I then lightly crimp the case to keep the ball from moving and creating an airspace.
It also creates a consistent bullet pull.
I use a round ball because mine shoots best with them.
I configure my load so that the the midline of the the ball is a hair below the case mouth.
I then lightly crimp the case to keep the ball from moving and creating an airspace.
It also creates a consistent bullet pull.
Thanks for that interesting point. Sadly I have to as-near replicate an original Snider load as possible since I shoot at 500 and 600 yards where the RB is considerably less accurate.
Thanks anyhow, much appreciated.
tac
Thanks anyhow, much appreciated.
tac
I use round ball also , but I set my ball a little deeper into the case , so the top of the ball is flush with the case mouth. Then put some lube (bee's wax / crisco / olive oil) on your finger tip and fill the space around the ball. Leaving just the tip of the ball visible. The lube seals it from moisture and that ball isn't going anywhere till you pull the trigger. It's the way I was shown , and the only method I have used. Accuracy is best in my gun with .600 balls. I don't shoot at 600 yards. But at 100 yards , the round balls are by far more accurate , and group better in my gun ,than any bullet I have tried.
If you can, where do you get the round ball, or do you cast them?
I bought a mold , and get the lead from the local scrap metal yard . Old lead plumbing pipe is my favorite and he usually has some each time I have looked. 40 cents a pound I think , last time I bought some (last summer) You get about 23 balls to a pound of lead.
the 577 Snider, for me, is one of the most difficult cartridges to shoot accurately. So far, I have not found anything that shoots well, just some that are less worse than others. I think the skirt dimensions are critical and about 2 years ago, I bought a sort of collar button old that seems to be promising; I just have not had time to pursue it. So far I have not crimped my shells
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
I crimp mine but there are also some other things I do which may or may not be appropriate for some here.
I use magnum large rifle primers in the cases, covered by 6 grains of HS6 and cover that with 60 grains of Fg black powder. The bullets I cast are conical in shape with a hollow base. I fill the base of the bullet with automotive body putty and don't load it until it has sat overnight. The plug of putty acts like a ram on the bottom of the bullet when the powder ignites and helps the skirt to obdurate into the lands, which are quite shallow. If your bullets are cast out of 15 Brinnell or harder alloy it is likely to hard. The bullets I cast for mine are under 12. I tried dead soft lead and it was to soft. I even tried a patched bullet which wasn't bad at all but paper patching is not my forte' and takes me forever to do a so so job.
My Sniders are in VG or better condition. The Carbine would rate at excellent and the loads I use are very close to the original load they were designed for.
I tried several smokeless powder loads and got poor results with all of them. Maybe it was the Dacron filler causing inconsistency?? Whatever, black powder gives me the best results and that is what I use. I want to take a Black Bear with my 3 band Snider this spring and I will use the above load.
The magnum primer seems to be a must use. The HS6 under Fg blackpowder load came from an old friend in Salmon Arm, Jack Stead, who had a long time love affair with Sniders. The only thing I do differently is how the plug is installed in the bottom of the bullet. He casts up individual plugs by smearing the body filler over a plate with a couple of dozen holes made in an aluminum plate with a countersink of proper proportions. The advantage here is that you can cast up a bunch at one time, the disadvantage is you need to make up cardboard spacers to fit between the bullet and powder to hold the plug in place. I just smear the body filler into the hollow base until its full and wipe the excess off with a plastic strip. The bullet should be seated deep enough to slightly compress the black powder and apply a crimp. The crimp seems to make a big difference in consistency.
Last edited:
burnt_servo
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- right in the middle of b.c.
interesting ....
just for clarification the putty your talking about , I am assuming you are meaning plastic filler with a added hardener { ie bondo ] ?
- Location
- Iroquois Falls ON
I finally got my Snider shooting well using modified mini balls cast in a Lyman mold. (video link shows my process). 9" groups at 100 yards with the gun I built from found parts. I'm hoping the weather will warm up soon so that I can see how my recently purchased Snider does with them.
Smokeless powder with no crimp at around 950 fps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM7bdfBsd08
I like your idea of swaging to a larger size; I am going to have to try that. Also for those who may not have noticed; the skirt and cavity in the base is flat topped and the skirt is relatively thick. American minis had a cone shaped cavity and a thin skirt edge. Mini molds that you find in gun shows can be either style and I think that the british version is much preferable. They are also easier to cast because my experience has been that with american skirts, I usually don't have the mold hot enough and the lead freezes before completely filling the skirt
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
I finally got my Snider shooting well using modified mini balls cast in a Lyman mold. (video link shows my process). 9" groups at 100 yards with the gun I built from found parts. I'm hoping the weather will warm up soon so that I can see how my recently purchased Snider does with them.
Smokeless powder with no crimp at around 950 fps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM7bdfBsd08
Thanks for the link to your video - food for thought here. Both my Sniders are .585", and I was thinking about getting one of the moulds that Rob recommends in his videos - it throws a solid base 490gr-ish bullet that looks very short by comparison with any Minié.
tac
- Location
- Iroquois Falls ON
tacfoley, I was able to get my hands on a couple of dozen of the bullets that you describe. My gun didn't like them at all. Try to get some to test before you purchase the mold.
I have been slow getting my brass loaded but today I finaly finished the 21 brass I have left after re sizing from 24 ga . 4 got ruined because I didn't anneal them . I slugged the barrel and it came out at .577 and I picked up a Lee mini mold .578 / 478 grains and cast some pure lead mini's. I loaded 65 grains of Goex FFG , 1 58 cal thin felt wad and 15 grains of corn meal between the mini and the wad as a filler . Hopefully I can find some FG powder for the next batch. Lubing and filling the base with lube was a pain in the ass. With luck I can see how they shoot in the near future.
The bore of a Snider is tapered, might be .577 by the muzzle but i have my doubts that it will be the same at the other end.
but then again i might be wrong.
Victor.
Thank you for that information - much obliged. I'm saving my hard-earned £££ until I've tried a few from a friend in Prince Edward County - I'll be collecting them while I'm home next month.
tac
- Location
- Iroquois Falls ON
Here is an update on the process that I use to make Snider bullets work better.
https://youtu.be/JDEFuBNHd7s
https://youtu.be/JDEFuBNHd7s
