577 snider

BOHROK

BOHROK

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CGN,
I recently acquired these in hopes of finally getting to shoot a snider enfield. I will figure out a load later, although won't object to any helpful hints. There are 3 usable casings and one questionable one on the far right. The two on the left are dummy rounds at least that what I have been told.
What I would like to know is are these reloadable, they seem like they would take a standard large rifle primer except mabey the end one. Any additional information on these casings would also be appreciated.
Thank you
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The 4 cases stamped DCC for Dominion Cartridge Company and I am guessing were made in the 1950s or 60s. They probably take large rifle primers and you might want to think in terms of making a home made priming press to prime them. Think in terms of a piece of 2x4 as a base with a piece of 1/2 inch or 3/4 nailed to it to stand vertically. You can drill a hole in the plywood to form a pivot point and a stiff wooden handle pivoting in the hole and pressing down on the base of the shell. put a dowel in the shell to support it upside down while pressing the primer in. Reason for that haywire system is that a shell base holder is probably expensive and hard to find. You don't have to size the cases and you probably want a slug close to .590. If you know someone with sizing dies, brass can be made from 24 guage brass shotgun shell

cheers mooncoon
 
If you haven't already, take a look at British Muzzle Loaders on youtube - Rob goes into great detail on the various Victorian arms of the British Empire and Commonwealth. I believe there are some videos on reloading the .577/450 as well.
 
I used 5 of those cases over and over again to shoot mine until I got my paws on some Mag Tech brass. I was able to find a well used set of loading dies at a local show and they came with a shell holder so I just loaded on the press.
I used CCI large rifle primers that work just fine.
Lee does make dies and I could be wrong but I believe they come with a shell holder.
Mooncoon has already described the work arounds.
 
THE man to talk to, if you can't attract Rob's attention, is Martyn of X-Ring Services in Spokane Washington State. He has ALL the supplies you will ever need, including correct sized 24g cases, the correct .600" bullets of the correct profile - NOT Miniés, and all the advice you can shake a stick at. OTOH, Rob's two Youtube movies on making ammunition are priceless. Lots of us here shoot Sniders, and there is a lot of good advice, post #2 refers. Both of mine are Canadian - one was acquired from a kind soul here who shipped it to me here in yUK.

Try and find a set of Lee dies if you really have to have dies at all. I've managed for over thirty years without them, using sixty-something Kynoch cases and a couple of dozen NDFS turned brass.
 
Are those snider cadet cases? You should cast the chamber to figure out the chamber length. No heed for fancy stuff, plug the barrell near the chamber and pour melted wax into it. If y
 
tacfoley said:
T He has ALL the supplies you will ever need, including correct sized 24g cases, the correct .600" bullets of the correct profile - NOT Miniés, and all the advice you can shake a stick at.

Try and find a set of Lee dies if you really have to have dies at all. I've managed for over thirty years without them, using sixty-something Kynoch cases and a couple of dozen NDFS turned brass.
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Personally I still use minies for shooting in my 3-groove, slow twist rifles. They have very broad lands and a .60 slug is very badly deformed going through (I've pounded one through a detached barrel to see). I do use .60's in 5-groove rifles which have a much more favorable configuration in terms of proportion of land/ groove. Be aware that they are only a loose fit in fire-formed brass from some rifles and will only be glued in by your lube. Also be aware that with .60's best accuracy requires dabbing on a very soft lube (uddercreme) on the bullet prior to firing (I assume it replaces the lube that is scraped off as the big bullet is forced into the bore). I've also got a .59 solid bullet mould which requires a bit of neck sizing to hold the bullet squarely in the case but also seems to need the supplemental lube added. Sniders are lots of fun to shoot but "accuracy" doesn't come easily.

milsurpo
 
British made Snider's are all the same chamber length.

There was some rim cutout changes in the early days, Snider MK I to MK I* and beyond.

So called Snider cadet casings are shorter so they don't hold full house charge.

I still have some of that brass and shoot them every once and awhile.

I would advise to always clean the chamber good when using them, as the shorter length will leave BlackPowder residue in the chamber.

The majority of all my brass is Magtech also.
 
The Dominion 57 Snider ctg is not a reduced load "cadet ctg". It was loaded with 75 gr BP and 480 gr bullet vs 70 gr and 480 gr bt for the service load. Dominion never referred to the 57 Snider as a "cadet" load. The reference to this ctg as a "cadet" load originated several years with one individual now gone on British Military Forums who had many "facts" unique to himself.
The original .577" coiled case had a base wad in the case and an over powder wad totalling about 3/8" in length. When the solid balloon head cases were introduced it left the case 3/8" too long. To fill this space some makers like Kynoch put a cardboard sleeve in the case. Othhers like Dominion shortened the case by 3/8".
The cases in the OP could have been made between c1895 and 1940. The latest packing date observed on a Dominion 57 Snider box was 1942.
 
The Dominion 57 Snider ctg is not a reduced load "cadet ctg". It was loaded with 75 gr BP and 480 gr bullet
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Where they not loaded with smokeless, around WW2 era?

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Early boxes of Dominion where Blackpowder.

Mostly the ones that are still around seem to be from the smokeless era of Dominion.

They are no where near a full house load.

The guy you made reference too on British Militaria Forums, I think was CoyoteAndMommote?
 

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The smokeless 57 Snider was not listed in the 1935 DCCo catalogue, BP only. The earliest date I have on a smokeless 57 box is 1938 and latest 1942.
Yes Coyote.
 
could you give the BRAND and MODEL of small circular saw you used to cut your casing ,
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I'm not sure who you are asking, but I use and many others, a Harbor Freight 2 in. Mini Bench Top Cut-Off Saw

Item#62136

$34.99 US

They go on sale at different times of the year for $19.99

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thought id post a pic of the last time I did a batch of snider brass. I put them out on the hood of the truck in the sun to dry right after aneling

XYR3dUs.jpg


and cast a bunch of snider bullets to

MQUDjw9.jpg
 
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