Help with 577 Snider

Tinman204 said:
The 58 cal round ball I mentioned is undersized. That is why you patch it with a lubed patch, just like you would with a muzzle loader. I'm using traditions cotton 50 cal patches lubed with a dab of bore butter.

For loading the shells I use a 209 shot shell primer, 60-70 grains of FFG then a milk carton wad which is there simply to hold the powder against the primer. Next I take the round ball and stick it on top of the lubed patch and then rap the patch around the ball and I push it into the 24g hull. Last thing I do which may not be necessary is I take more bore butter and I fill the end of the case with the lube. The last step seems to keep fowling to a minimum and it also makes the rounds watertight for long term storage.
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Thanks Tinman, I will try the patched ball technique and see how it goes.
 
spoc said:
Thanks Tinman, I will try the patched ball technique and see how it goes.
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Give it a try and report back. I'm hesitant to fire the .600 round balls in my Mk2 3 band snider as she wears an iron barrel and is 152 years old! So I thought to myself "I will treat muzzle loading barrel like a muzzle loading barrel" seemed to work well and components are easily found.

I'm also firing cast bullets made from a LEE R.E.A.L. Mould which makes 500 grain slugs that measure .592". Accuracy is so so compared to the latched balls and it really increases the recoil.
 
spoc said:
Gabrielguitars...
I bought the .600 round ball mould and the 500gr conical one as well. I'm having a lot of fun casting the bullets. The .600 seems a little too big though.
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not at al and a lot of shorts use them but then need to be pure lead so they can swage down(that don't have to by much btw) id start with a .585" ball and work up your way up to the .600" most people find a .590" or a .595" work well .600 is just a tad more common. these guns used mini balls when they were muzzleloaders mini balls don't engage the rifling when rammed down once the powder is touched off the skirt expands and fills the grooves but since we are nor driving the bullet from the other end we need a bullet that will fill the grooves rather then one that expands
 
Tinman204 said:
Give it a try and report back. I'm hesitant to fire the .600 round balls in my Mk2 3 band snider as she wears an iron barrel and is 152 years old! So I thought to myself "I will treat muzzle loading barrel like a muzzle loading barrel" seemed to work well and components are easily found.

I'm also firing cast bullets made from a LEE R.E.A.L. Mould which makes 500 grain slugs that measure .592". Accuracy is so so compared to the latched balls and it really increases the recoil.
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the bottom bands on the R.E.A.L. bullet are smaller then the top band so id guess those not really engaging the rifling may have something to do with accuracy I bet of thy were all the same size it would be a very good bullet for the snider though
 
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antiqueguy said:
the bottom bands on the R.E.A.L. bullet are smaller then the top band so id guess those not really engaginf the rifling may have something to do with accuracy I bet of thy were all the same size it would be a very good bullet for the snider though
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I suspect you are indeed correct. Accuracy seems good at times but can be inconsistent at times.

I may take several of the REAL slugs and drill the backs out to create a poor man's Minnie ball. The mould was like $15 so if I can make them work with a little bit of elbow grease then I'm happy.

Haven't done that yet because my 50 and 100 yard 58 cal round ball loads shoot great. Not to mention that I bought several boxes of them at a gun show for $10 each. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
 
Tinman204 said:
I suspect you are indeed correct. Accuracy seems good at times but can be inconsistent at times.

I may take several of the REAL slugs and drill the backs out to create a poor man's Minnie ball. The mould was like $15 so if I can make them work with a little bit of elbow grease then I'm happy.

Haven't done that yet because my 50 and 100 yard 58 cal round ball loads shoot great. Not to mention that I bought several boxes of them at a gun show for $10 each. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
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I don't know how much difference there is in the lower bands but id try some valve grinding compound to bump up the size of the lower bands. to do so you need a bullet cast in the mold some grind compound and a means of spinning the bullet
 
Tinman204 said:
Give it a try and report back. I'm hesitant to fire the .600 round balls in my Mk2 3 band snider as she wears an iron barrel and is 152 years old! So I thought to myself "I will treat muzzle loading barrel like a muzzle loading barrel" seemed to work well and components are easily found.

I'm also firing cast bullets made from a LEE R.E.A.L. Mould which makes 500 grain slugs that measure .592". Accuracy is so so compared to the latched balls and it really increases the recoil.
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These are the bullets that I have cast and will probably be using these the most if they are accurate. I'm hoping the patched ball technique is accurate as they are cheap to buy and readily available in my area.
 
When people use the .600" round ball, they seem to be trimming the length of the cases back a bit, so that the case isn't quite holding the ball around the middle. I just got my new mould today from MountainMolds.com, and just finished casting up some - a 475 grain .590" modified Elmer Keith boolit of my own design.
 
I must say guys this has been a great thread!!

I may open up that lee real mould ASAP!! I cast about 100 of them last year so I'm going to play with the remaining 20 that I have left.

What I really want to do is buy a bigger press cause I have 50 pieces of 24 gauge brass here that I'm dying to try!!
 
I finally got my 24 gauge shotgun hulls and I am finding they are too big to hold the bullet in tightly. I tried to patch the bullet but when I do that it wont chamber properly. The patched 58 cal round ball stays in the hull fine with some bore butter but would like to find a solution for the 510gr minie. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking I should have ordered the 28 gauge instead because they work very well.
 
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spoc said:
I finally got my 24 gauge shotgun hulls and I am finding they are too big to hold the bullet in tightly. I tried to patch the bullet but when I do that it wont chamber properly. The patched 58 cal round ball stays in the hull fine with some bore butter but would like to find a solution for the 510gr minie. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking I should have ordered the 28 gauge instead because they work very well.
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using 28ga you will have the breech block blow open do not do it(been there done that not fun) as gas will get past the cartridge and under the breechblock pushing it up and tuning it into a auto eject. did you cut the hull down to 2"
 
Time for me to chime in on the Snider. I have just started to reload and shoot the .577. Am using lee dies and clasic press. Magtec 24 gauge brass, 60 gr. FFG.with. Fiber wad to take up the air space,grease cookie (SPG lube) about 1/16" with a Parker hale Minnie or a slug from a custom mold .595". First outing showed both types of projectiles shot 2 feet high at 50 meters with each shot dropping a inch low from the previous???? with perfect windage. At 100 meters achieved the same results. After 25 rounds I noticed 2 of the barrel bands had worked them selves forward. the next outing after taking care of the barrel band issue and making a taller sight that slipped over the original and using the bullets from the custom mold I was ble to keep 6 rounds into a 3" group at 50 meters and a group of 5" at 100 meters. The ID of the case mouth after firing measured at .600". The magtec brass I received over all length measured 1.90". If I wanted to crimp with the lee dies and the magtec brass I had to set the case on top of the shell holder and run it into the die. Also found that with the .595 bullet diameter would contact the crimping area of die causing the bullet to set deeper before crimp achieved. The fouling had stayed soft through the 25 rounds and did not notice any fouling issues. Have to say that even with the nice bore this MK.2 has that it is the worst black powder firearm I have to clean. Hope to achive consistent 5" groups at 100 meters. Not there yet!
 
antiqueguy said:
using 28ga you will have the breech block blow open do not do it(been there done that not fun) as gas will get past the cartridge and under the breechblock pushing it up and tuning it into a auto eject. did you cut the hull down to 2"
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Hey Antiqueguy, Yes I cut the hulls to 2" and they chamber fine in that regards. Its just when I seat the bullet in the hull its loose to the point where it will fall out. I was just looking for a way to keep the bullet in the hull without it coming out. With the 28 gauge I put a single roll of gorilla tape around the case and it is a perfect snug fit in the chamber. I have only fired 4 rounds out of it like this and had no issue but I will take your word for it that its not a good idea.
 
muzzle flash said:
Time for me to chime in on the Snider. I have just started to reload and shoot the .577. Am using lee dies and clasic press. Magtec 24 gauge brass, 60 gr. FFG.with. Fiber wad to take up the air space,grease cookie (SPG lube) about 1/16" with a Parker hale Minnie or a slug from a custom mold .595". First outing showed both types of projectiles shot 2 feet high at 50 meters with each shot dropping a inch low from the previous???? with perfect windage. At 100 meters achieved the same results. After 25 rounds I noticed 2 of the barrel bands had worked them selves forward. the next outing after taking care of the barrel band issue and making a taller sight that slipped over the original and using the bullets from the custom mold I was ble to keep 6 rounds into a 3" group at 50 meters and a group of 5" at 100 meters. The ID of the case mouth after firing measured at .600". The magtec brass I received over all length measured 1.90". If I wanted to crimp with the lee dies and the magtec brass I had to set the case on top of the shell holder and run it into the die. Also found that with the .595 bullet diameter would contact the crimping area of die causing the bullet to set deeper before crimp achieved. The fouling had stayed soft through the 25 rounds and did not notice any fouling issues. Have to say that even with the nice bore this MK.2 has that it is the worst black powder firearm I have to clean. Hope to achive consistent 5" groups at 100 meters. Not there yet!
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Hey Muzzle flash, thanks for the info. I tried to get some of the magtech brass but they are sold out. I found some dies locally but I havent picked those up yet either. I tested the gun at 50grs of FFG and I think I will up it to 55grs the next time I go out. Thanks for the accuracy report so I can have a benchmark.
 
spoc said:
Hey Antiqueguy, Yes I cut the hulls to 2" and they chamber fine in that regards. Its just when I seat the bullet in the hull its loose to the point where it will fall out. I was just looking for a way to keep the bullet in the hull without it coming out. With the 28 gauge I put a single roll of gorilla tape around the case and it is a perfect snug fit in the chamber. I have only fired 4 rounds out of it like this and had no issue but I will take your word for it that its not a good idea.
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yeah id not risk it with the 28ga
 
muzzle flash said:
Time for me to chime in on the Snider. I have just started to reload and shoot the .577. Am using lee dies and clasic press. Magtec 24 gauge brass, 60 gr. FFG.with. Fiber wad to take up the air space,grease cookie (SPG lube) about 1/16" with a Parker hale Minnie or a slug from a custom mold .595". First outing showed both types of projectiles shot 2 feet high at 50 meters with each shot dropping a inch low from the previous???? with perfect windage. At 100 meters achieved the same results. After 25 rounds I noticed 2 of the barrel bands had worked them selves forward. the next outing after taking care of the barrel band issue and making a taller sight that slipped over the original and using the bullets from the custom mold I was ble to keep 6 rounds into a 3" group at 50 meters and a group of 5" at 100 meters. The ID of the case mouth after firing measured at .600". The magtec brass I received over all length measured 1.90". If I wanted to crimp with the lee dies and the magtec brass I had to set the case on top of the shell holder and run it into the die. Also found that with the .595 bullet diameter would contact the crimping area of die causing the bullet to set deeper before crimp achieved. The fouling had stayed soft through the 25 rounds and did not notice any fouling issues. Have to say that even with the nice bore this MK.2 has that it is the worst black powder firearm I have to clean. Hope to achive consistent 5" groups at 100 meters. Not there yet!
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for cleaning either get one of those .58 cal bore snakes or take the action/barrel out of the stock take the breechblock and and that parts that go with it off. boil a pot of water put the breech end in the water and use a cleaning rod from the muzzle end(use a bore guide or you will wear out the muzzle)
 
antiqueguy said:
for cleaning either get one of those .58 cal bore snakes or take the action/barrel out of the stock take the breechblock and and that parts that go with it off. boil a pot of water put the breech end in the water and use a cleaning rod from the muzzle end(use a bore guide or you will wear out the muzzle)
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One trick for cleaning from the breech is to rig up a cleaning 'rod' from a length of plastic-coated steel cable : clothes-line. It's flexible enough to feed through the breech but stiff enough to push through. You can attach a jag or ring to the end with a clamp and cover the clamp with electricians tape.
 
Metman2 said:
One trick for cleaning from the breech is to rig up a cleaning 'rod' from a length of plastic-coated steel cable : clothes-line. It's flexible enough to feed through the breech but stiff enough to push through. You can attach a jag or ring to the end with a clamp and cover the clamp with electricians tape.
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they make them like that now a few company's do with threaded ends for patch pullers and brushes
 
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