How to make 25 RF ammo! BP and shot!!!+ Hilti cap.

dingus

dingus

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OK i got my Antique 25 Stevens rifle today! Love it!
its a take down model.
has a ex bore!
Anyway i found a easy way to shoot it tho some may say its kinda nuts :D

I drop a .258 Round ball = #3 shot down the chamber ram it lightly so it engages the rifleing.
then pour BP down the chamber till its almost full.
Then pop in the 27 Cal Hilti cap that fits with some compresion (i was suprised by this) but there a tad loose.
I have the Red ones! but there NOT 22 cal there 25 or 27 Cal
Now its ready to shoot.
Im sure it would kill a pine martin or a Bunny :)
Its kinda fun but i want to build a case outa brass so i have a cartridge useing the 25 cal hiltis caps.

Works great but the rims a tad thin on these Hilti caps i need to make a spacer to have them sit back abit so they go off better,
im working on makeing a brass tube with a lip so i can have a loaded cartridge thats faster to reload.

Beats looking at a gun in the safe ya cant buy ammo for! ;)

id still like a box or two of the real 25 stevens ammo tho.
 
Cool, I understand what you're describing, but dont exactly know what a 'Hilti cap' is? Some sort of primer for reloading rimfire?
 
john@ said:
Cool, I understand what you're describing, but dont exactly know what a 'Hilti cap' is? Some sort of primer for reloading rimfire?
Click to expand...

Nail gun blanks
fr00298.jpg

de00671.jpg

http://www.ca.hilti.com/holca/modules/prcat/prca_navigation.jsp?OID=-32867
 
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Hey EX theres a purple Hilti cap with more power than the Red ones :D

Thats a great link Joe-nwt

I think mine are 27 cal im gona have to go look at the Fastener shop in town.
Good thing the guns a break down model and see if they got the purple ones in 25 Caliber.
I can just bring in the Barrel.

Them ones in the link look way longer than the little ones im useing.

I bet just a purple one with a .258 dia Rd ball NO BP would be enough to kill small animals no problem.:cool:
 
I acquired a .25 rimfire stevens yesterday, by chance, and just finished taking a chamber cast with cerrosafe. Some surprises; the shell may use a heeled bullet but it is considerably larger than .250 and the groove diameter on my rifle is .260. The chamber dimensions are sufficiently close that I think I will make up a die and reform slightly shortened .22 hornet shells to fit then drill the base out for a rimfire primer. The toss up is whether to use .22 shells for primers or hilti shells which will fit but only just, inside the case. I also need to make up a swage to put a heel on a .26 cal bullet so that I can cast a slug then swage the base. Just might get lucky and find that a mould for a slug with a gas check will work out just right.

cheers mooncoon
 
mooncoon said:
I acquired a .25 rimfire stevens yesterday, by chance, and just finished taking a chamber cast with cerrosafe. Some surprises; the shell may use a heeled bullet but it is considerably larger than .250 and the groove diameter on my rifle is .260. The chamber dimensions are sufficiently close that I think I will make up a die and reform slightly shortened .22 hornet shells to fit then drill the base out for a rimfire primer. The toss up is whether to use .22 shells for primers or hilti shells which will fit but only just, inside the case. I also need to make up a swage to put a heel on a .26 cal bullet so that I can cast a slug then swage the base. Just might get lucky and find that a mould for a slug with a gas check will work out just right.

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...
u know that the hilti blanks are black powder and corosive.
they used to be any ways. hot soapy water after every use.
 
As a black powder shooter, the cleaning doesn't worry me. But also in mulling over the dimensions of the case, I am not convinced that I need to use a heeled bullet. The common molds probably throw a .257 slug and without remeasuring, the case in the chamber in the neck area is around .280. Allow for .010" wall thickness and it should take an inside slug. The base of the hornet is slightly oversize but I think I can remove enough in the lathe, to make it match the chamber without having separations.

cheers mooncoon
 
OK some progress!!

We put the .257 Dia lead ball in the chamber and with JUST the short RED Hilti cap blew the Projectile 3 inches into a piece of Hard wet fir firewood!
It Only stoped at 3 inches cause it hit a Knot!

So the Short Red 27 Cal caps alone with a ball droped in work EX!

I checked and im useing the Red short 27 cal Hilti cap. I dont think its Black powder tho!

Anyway Doug try the 27 Cal hilti.
Only thing the fireing pin in my gun was a replaced one and the round end needed to be shaped more like a chizel to fire off the hilti caps so some Fireing pin Ajustments MIGHT be in order.

The 22 Hornet idea has promise to tho! just alot more work.
I dont think i need to use the Purple Hilti caps as the guy told me they will nail a 2x4 to a solid steel railway track! :eek:
So the reds what im sticking to.

I need some bullets tho so let me know if ya figger out a good sorce eh Doug?
 
jbunny said:
obviusly u havent read the owners manual. we had
to clean after every hilty session in the mill i worked.
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Well there bunny, I just finished reading the instruction manual for a Hilti DX 460, found here.

Nowhere does it say anything about black powder or taking it apart every day and washing it with soap and water.:rolleyes: Matter of fact, here are the highlights of when to service it;

Servicing the tool
The tool should be serviced if:
1. Cartridges misfire
2. Fastener driving power is inconsistent
3. If you notice that:
contact pressure increases,
trigger force increases,
power regulation is difficult to adjust (stiff),
the cartridge strip is difficult to remove.
Click to expand...

So then why don't you post a link to your relevant info and then I will appologize instead of using the :owned: smiley. ;)
 
joe-nwt said:
Well there bunny, I just finished reading the instruction manual for a Hilti DX 460, found here.

Nowhere does it say anything about black powder or taking it apart every day and washing it with soap and water.:rolleyes: Matter of fact, here are the highlights of when to service it;



So then why don't you post a link to your relevant info and then I will appologize instead of using the :owned: smiley. ;)
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first of i would'nt know how to post a link. i was right,
you had not read the owners manual til now. i was going
by memory and not 100% sure but at one time they were
black powder or had corosive primers . i just cut open
a remmington case,( i didn,t have a hilti) and it was not black powder. u feel better now
 
jbunny said:
first of i would'nt know how to post a link. i was right,
you had not read the owners manual til now. i was going
by memory and not 100% sure but at one time they were
black powder or had corosive primers . i just cut open
a remmington case,( i didn,t have a hilti) and it was not black powder. u feel better now
Click to expand...

LOL Well i feel better if that helps!
I was pouring boiling water and soap down my 25 RF barrel this morning just in case you were right :eek:

Last thing i want is to wreck my nice bore!
So im glad you were mistaken.
 
Well I have made 9 shells up for my .25 and hopefully will make it to the range tomorrow afternoon to try them. I have sized down slightly 22 hornet shells which also requires filing the area over the web down to match the chamber dimension. Then drill out the primer pocket area to take a 22 shell, trim the shell to length (cut off with a dremel tool) and finally thin the rim to between .025 and .030" and be sure to significantly chamfer the edge of the hole because the front of the rim of a 22 shell is somewhat angled rather than completely square.
I am loading then with a 22 long rifle with the bullet pulled and the powder held in by a small paper wad then will fill the void with 3F black and top with a healed .257 cast slug.
I tried a Hilti shell but will have to make a new extractor to use them because their rim appears to be thinner than the 25 rimfire shells. The hilti shell is dented but apparently not enough. I suspect that a red Hilti shell plus a slug will be the easiest way to go once the new extractor is made.
Also having problems with extracting some shells and for those who go this root I would strongly suggest taking several pieces of OO buckshot with them plus a brass rod and small hammer in order to know the fired shell out.

cheers mooncoon
 
john@ said:
Very cool, I've been warry of antique RF firearms, not any more. Gonna keep my eye out for some.
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If you are going to buy one, you would be well advised to own a small metal lathe so that you can make your own shells and bullet molds. Rimfires can often be shot but they also take a bit of tweaking and the correct components would be pretty expensive to have someone else make.
I took my gun to the range yesterday with so-so results. All shells fired but at least one of the first two 85 grain slugs tumbled so I cut the ends off of the remaining 7 bullets, with a pair of pliers. I was hoping for maybe 2" or better group at 15 yards but had a couple of fliers well outside of that. Next step is to cast some slugs with a loverin style mold and try them; a couple full length and the rest shortened to around 65 grains and about .5" long.

cheers mooncoon
 
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