Snider .577: A Canadian Perspective

ebruder

ebruder

CGN Regular
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Location
Kingston
Hi Guys...

I just got my first Snider in .577... now to find (or make) some ammo

I've seen alot online about either reloading brass or loading 24 Ga shot gun hulls with a round ball...

Only problem is that all the info is from south of the border, and suppliers are all american.

Anyone north of the border loading for the .577 snider? Do you use the brass or the shot shell method?

Thanks
EB
 
Have you seen the "Redneck" re-loading video on Youtube where the guy uses 28 ga plastic shells in his .577 Snider?
 
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I saw that too... easier to find the 28 Ga, but not so sure about safety... I like my nose just the way it is...

If anyone else has tired it though, I'd love to hear about it.
 
160 bucks for 8 rounds......WOW that's nuts!!

I imagine they are for collecting...not shooting.

Get a lb of goex, a bunch of brass and some large pistol primers and cast yourself some balls with a 58 cal mould, save up and get a minie mould and then try those.

Load them all by hand and practise ,practise , practise
 
577 Snider bullets

I have put approx. 1000 rounds through my Snider in the last 3 years & since I dont cast, I buy all my bullets from R&R Bullets in Maitland, Ontario (near Kingston).
I have not used round balls but 3 or 4 different Minie varieties. At the moment I am using 2 different Parker Hale types one at about ,574" + paper patched & another at .578" both paper patched & not patched. The results are proving interesting (& not as expected) but it will be a few more weeks befor I come to any conclusions.
I am also using Jamison brass & FFG blackpowder.

PM me if you want the R&R address.

Peter (Burlington, Ontario)


sunborn said:
Anyone know where you buy some good minie balls or get a mould in Canada?
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Pete04 said:
I thought I read that paper patch cartridges could exellerate ware on rifling.
Hope it's not true.
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Doesn't seem to make sense, but absolutely true. Look at the bores of some old guns that only used paper-patched bullets - shiny and smooth.

Take a sharp knife and cut through a stack of paper. Result - dull knife. Carve up some lead bullets - much less dull. Hardly scientific, but puts the point across.

Al this having been said, paper-patching is a proven method to produce accurate loads. It takes a lot of shooting to produce noticeable wear, and it's better to shoot these guns than look at them.
 
Andy said:
Doesn't seem to make sense, but absolutely true.
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Makes sense considering what paper is made of.

Can I get minie balls that don't require paper patches? Or is it all about the die press when it comes to not needing a paper patch?

I don't want to use paper as my snider already seems to have wore rifling.
 
577 minie

I have been told conflicting things about paper patching. One person told me that it would wear out the barrel after 500-1000 rounds.
Searching online I found one guy who said that it would take 10's of thousands of rounds to wear out the barrel. I see no diffference in my Snider barrel after approx 1000 rounds, but that is a tad subjective.
Different sources seem to agree that the type of paper can make a big difference, with rag based paper wearing less than the cheaper papers.

In my Snider I have had fairly good success with an oversize Minie (unpatched) from the Parker Hale mold #575213-OS, Lyman sell it under the number #575213 I believe. The key to the success (I am thinking) is the fact that the hollow base is squared off & not tapered like a cone. This means that the shock from the initial explosion is bending the skirt out where it meets the inside corner of the base in an even ring around the bullet.

This is kind of supposition on my part, but when I have shot similar minie's with a cone shaped hollow base the grouping is much worse. I have also tried a .588" short minie/collar stud type bullet & I cannot get it to group decently at all.

Cheers,
Peter (In Burlington, Ontario)
 
So what is in paper anyway, other than (typically) wood pulp and linen? In order for one material to wear down another, it must be harder than it. I think this is why cutting through pure lead won't wear a knife much vs paper in the example given above.

So what are the hard abrasive ingredients or contaminants in paper, and what kind of patching papers would have less of them?
 
paper

From what I have read clay in some types. From Wikipedia: "Besides the fibres, pulps may contain fillers such as chalk or china clay, which improve the characteristics of the paper for printing or writing. Additives for sizing purposes may be mixed into the pulp and/or applied to the paper web later in the manufacturing process. The purpose of sizing is to establish the correct level of surface absorbency to suit the ink or paint."

Lock_Time said:
So what is in paper anyway, other than (typically) wood pulp and linen? In order for one material to wear down another, it must be harder than it. I think this is why cutting through pure lead won't wear a knife much vs paper in the example given above.

So what are the hard abrasive ingredients or contaminants in paper, and what kind of patching papers would have less of them?
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load

I shoot at 50 yards & my load is:
-50 grains FFG
-milkcard disc
-35-45 grains of cornmeal or Cream of Wheat (to suit bullet length)
-bare or PP bullet is dipped into a 50/50 mix of liquid beeswax & Crisco &
sometimes a little extra rubbed on after
-Brass is NOT resized, it is indexed & just hand loaded with the bullet & the
lube holds the bullet in
I have about 30+ firings & I have not lost a brass case yet.


Peter (In Burlington, Ont.)

sunborn said:
How do you load your brass? I was thinking of getting this purpose built stuff I have never heard of but apparently the Lee die set is not made for it.
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