.577 Snider

sandermar

sandermar

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Acton. ON
Anyone shooting their Snider(s)? Just picked up a set of Lee dies and would like to start but am looking for some assistance finding some brass and bullets. Anyone have a reasonably priced source they can share with me or am I looking at making my own?

Thanks,

M
 
Magtech out of brazil makes 24 gauge shotgun brass thats what most of us use. Try putting an add on the EE thats where i got mine.

Cheers, McLean
 
Snider stuff

I use Jamison brass for my Snider. Not cheap but so far I have put around 800 shots through 35 cases & have not lost one yet. I got mine by mailorder from Ellwood Epps.

I use 50 or 60 grains FG rather than the full military load of 68-72 grains, & I also handload rather than use a press. I index the cases with a dab of nail polish & restrict the brass to one gun.

At the moment I am using 2 different bullets, one is a FB .588" x475 grain & one is HB .577" x560 grain, both pure lead.
I dont cast my own so I get them both (mailorder) from a guy in Maitland, Ontario. If you PM me I will give you the contact details for him.

That's all I can think off for now, if you have any other questions ask away.

Peter
(Burlington, Ontario)

sandermar said:
Anyone shooting their Snider(s)? Just picked up a set of Lee dies and would like to start but am looking for some assistance finding some brass and bullets. Anyone have a reasonably priced source they can share with me or am I looking at making my own?

Thanks,

M
Click to expand...
 
DO NOT try using 28-gauge shotgun shells for making up Snider ammo.

We tried that here about 20 years ago and all was working just fine..... until one of the Sniders started trying to go full-auto. It didn't get quite that far, but the Mark II* breech DID open and the thing spit a big gob of flames and smoke into the face of the guy firing. FORTUNATELY, he needed glasses to see the sights, so that shot only cost $300 for a set of new glasses..... but we DID save money on the casing, which we were able to find after a short search. I still have that casing here and the back end is all swelled out and the thing looks like a lipstick tube or something. RIM is completely GONE and reformed into a belled-out swollen outward-cupped form. NOT safe at all.

On the other hand, twenty-FOUR gauge is absolutely perfect. Cabela's handles the Magtech brass cases in the US, so they should be able to get them here. They are $22.50 for a box of 25 and they are 2-1/2 inches long, so you will want to trim to Snider length.

BTW, original GEORGE KYNOCH drawn-brass cases for the Snider used an INTERNAL SLEEVE from the inside of the base, to the bottom of the case-neck, to restrict the size of the powder cavity in the casings. This sleeve was made of treated cardboard and prevented your having gallons of space left over once you had inserted the CORRECT charge. Those old Boxer casings were very thick and when they went to the drawn case, they had a LOT more internal space than they wanted.

I just fished one of those powder restrictor inserts out of an old casing. It is 1.225" in length and has a diameter at its top end of exactly .600". Wall thickness is .035". The bottom curves inward to follow the inside profile of the casing at the base. You could make something such as this up quite easily with paper and glue, stuff it in before you load your brass. Brass shotgun cases tend to be pretty thin, but then...... they were designed for pressures right in the same ballpark as the Snider.

Hope this helps.
.
 
redneck 28 ga. load

To add to what Smellie said. If memory serves, the load shown in that video is 85 grain of BP which is more than the military load.
Question is why would you overload something in that manner?. The Snider will probably take it, maybe, most of the time, but it does not make sense to me to do that.
Having said that with care & common sense the Snider is fun to shoot & eay to handload for.
Peter
(Burlington, Ontario)


smellie said:
DO NOT try using 28-gauge shotgun shells for making up Snider ammo.

We tried that here about 20 years ago and all was working just fine..... until one of the Sniders started trying to go full-auto. It didn't get quite that far, but the Mark II* breech DID open and the thing spit a big gob of flames and smoke into the face of the guy firing. FORTUNATELY, he needed glasses to see the sights, so that shot only cost $300 for a set of new glasses..... but we DID save money on the casing, which we were able to find after a short search. I still have that casing here and the back end is all swelled out and the thing looks like a lipstick tube or something. RIM is completely GONE and reformed into a belled-out swollen outward-cupped form. NOT safe at all.

On the other hand, twenty-FOUR gauge is absolutely perfect. Cabela's handles the Magtech brass cases in the US, so they should be able to get them here. They are $22.50 for a box of 25 and they are 2-1/2 inches long, so you will want to trim to Snider length.

BTW, original GEORGE KYNOCH drawn-brass cases for the Snider used an INTERNAL SLEEVE from the inside of the base, to the bottom of the case-neck, to restrict the size of the powder cavity in the casings. This sleeve was made of treated cardboard and prevented your having gallons of space left over once you had inserted the CORRECT charge. Those old Boxer casings were very thick and when they went to the drawn case, they had a LOT more internal space than they wanted.

I just fished one of those powder restrictor inserts out of an old casing. It is 1.225" in length and has a diameter at its top end of exactly .600". Wall thickness is .035". The bottom curves inward to follow the inside profile of the casing at the base. You could make something such as this up quite easily with paper and glue, stuff it in before you load your brass. Brass shotgun cases tend to be pretty thin, but then...... they were designed for pressures right in the same ballpark as the Snider.

Hope this helps.
.
Click to expand...
 
Info

Thanks for all the info everyone. I have been trying to source some 24 guage Magtech brass as we speak but it seems to be on back order with no ETA. I spoke to someone from Elwood Epps but they said they did not have and could not get .577 brass???? I did not ask yet about Magtech brass. I have not had much luck with Epps as of late, I have been trying to get them to bring in some Hornady brass in .455 Webley for me for the past 8 months with no luck, finally got some ordered from Jerry at Mystic Precision out west. I have not tried Cabelas Canada, I will see if they can order some of the Magtech brass in for me.

Marcus
 
sandermar said:
Anyone shooting their Snider(s)? Just picked up a set of Lee dies and would like to start but am looking for some assistance finding some brass and bullets. Anyone have a reasonably priced source they can share with me or am I looking at making my own?

Thanks,

M
Click to expand...
You can buy a good mold from Higginson's, and brass can be bought Will Bilozir at
reloading@bilozir.net or Ellwood Epps.
Cat
 
Hi Sandermar
For Magtech brass, try Doug Rayner at (306)689-2654 . He's top notch to deal with & carries lots of odd brass. Make sure to ask for "boxer" primer style as there was some about with the original ( for 24ga ) shotgun primers.
PM me for any help with the details on reloading and I'll give you my variation. Other than being SAFE, there is no single agreed method or load details for a Snider (At least not that 2 fellows will agree on...chuckle). :D
Cheers
Jaguar
 
I just got some Magtech brass to supplement my Jamison. One thing you have to know is that while it is boxer primed it is meant for large pistol primers. Large rifle primers will protrude out from the base of the cartridge. Not a big deal in most Sniders as there is enough clearance in a 150 year old gun but it may make it difficult to close the breech block. I got mine from CGN'r Klondike Bob. He trimmed the cases to length and annealed them for a very fair price.

Cheers. Steve.
 
When you do load, my experience has been, with all BP guns, that if you try to squeeze very last fps, accuracy will suffer greatly. I have found that mid-level loads work best. Anything you hit with a 577 is gonna hit the brakes real quick, and gonna turn dead just as fast.
 
I have a Lyman mould I bought off the EE as well as a bunch of magtech, sized, trimmed and annealed brass. I use 70 grains of 2F with cornmeal filler and a card wad under the bullet. The rifle is a MkIII 2 band in absolutely perfect condition throughout. I had issues with accuracy initially as I was told to expect, so I did some online "research" and found a guy on line experimenting with paper patching with his Snider as well as spoke with a local chap who used to have a custom built .577 target rifle. Took his advice and have never looked back! The bullet is paper patched to fit the bore properly and the concave based filled with lube as well as the grooves. It shoots absolutely fantastic! No problem to get 3 inch groups at 100 yards if I do my part. It's my absolute favourite rifle to shoot. Looking forward to bagging a deer with the old gal this season.
 
#1 Rule for a Snider -**Slug your bore**

Here is my 50 yard round;

I use a Lee Minie right out of the mold.
MOLD 575-500-M #90481
Drops out of the mold at .578

Yepper, LEE!

I make small batches of 100 or so at a time.
If more where needed, I would switch over to Lyman mold.

Pan lube. (Paul Mathews BP Lube recipe) great for starters.

Then fill the base with lube.

50 grains FFG GOEX BP with Corn Meal as filler on top.

The secret is the Corn Meal.

Brass made from MagTech .24 gauge

Large PISTOL Magnum primer.

I'm not new to this game.

I have been at this seriously for over 37 years.

I have been experimenting with American Pioneer 3F

Same as above -Lee Minie right out of the mold.
MOLD 575-500-M
Drops out of the mold at .578

Liquid Dragon Dralox for lube

Great stuff from one of our site sponsors.

http://dragonbulletlube.com/products.php#liquid-jug

No base fill of the Minie with lube.

50 grains FFFG American Pioneer by VOLUME

Corn Meal as filler on top.

Push the Minie right into the corn meal, lightly.

Brass made from MagTech .24 gauge

Large PISTOL Magnum primer.

I have had excellent results at 50 yards
 
goldidig said:
I have a Lyman mould I bought off the EE as well as a bunch of magtech, sized, trimmed and annealed brass. I use 70 grains of 2F with cornmeal filler and a card wad under the bullet. The rifle is a MkIII 2 band in absolutely perfect condition throughout. I had issues with accuracy initially as I was told to expect, so I did some online "research" and found a guy on line experimenting with paper patching with his Snider as well as spoke with a local chap who used to have a custom built .577 target rifle. Took his advice and have never looked back! The bullet is paper patched to fit the bore properly and the concave based filled with lube as well as the grooves. It shoots absolutely fantastic! No problem to get 3 inch groups at 100 yards if I do my part. It's my absolute favourite rifle to shoot. Looking forward to bagging a deer with the old gal this season.
Click to expand...

If you anchor it thru both shoulders, should be REAL easy to pack out!:D

I shot a smallish bear with a 45-120 several years ago. 500 gr. pure lead slug. Through and through the rib cage, it was quartering towards me. 1/2 hole on the way in, 5" on way out, and guts stretched out about 25 ft.
 
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