Impulse buy - .577 snider-enfield -w- Bayonet

J

janssen

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Hi all,

So was in the gun shop picking up a new tikka and low and behold there was a .577 snider that looked so forlorn amongst all the new kids that my son and I felt it should be adopted and taken home. We thought Mom would be a tad upset but was very pleasantly surprised when she was quite intrigued about the old girl.

So now I need to shoot it.

It appears to be in pretty good shape, took the block apart and everything looks good except that the firing pin is broken - just a tad short.


So a few questions for you folks out there:

Where is the best place in Canada to order a replacement firing pin? Does this come under itar? Can I order from the states? :)

What is the best way to go about shooting this semi-regularly- I do reload just never for a BP gun

-Use 24guage Plastic?
-make my own from 24guage brass?
-order readymade brass?

Best place to get what I need?

Have a couple of rounds on order from epps that are 150 years old, hopefully that brass can be reused. :)

Don't want to go to deep down the BP rabbit hole - Yet...

Thx JJ
 
Congrats on the purchase. Snider-Enfields have a rich history in Canada. Post some pics. Any markings on the stock or stamped into the tang of the buttplate?

Lots of supplies out there for reloading for the Snider. Notably X-ring Services for brass and molds. Easy cartridge to reload. BritishMilitariaForums should be your first stop. Hours of good reading and many long- term Snider owners and shooters there.
 
As far as I know, parts for antique firearms are not necessarily ITARS eligible. One of the most obvious sources for parts is probably International Military Antiques (IMA) in the US. They bought cubic metres of antique Nepalese muskets. It is likely there were some Snider Enfields in the piles. Send them pictures of what you've got, and describe what you need. If they can't help, be prepared to have someone manufacture one from bar stock.


Secondly, you will need to learn blackpowder reloading. Cast lead bullets, gas checks, wads, powder, and new brass or plastic cases. I think you are right that they are 24-ga.
 
Check Peter Dyson’s web store in the uk, he sells original and reproduction British snider parts.

For brass, almost everyone uses 24 gauge brass shot shells, shortened and fireformed in the rifle. It’s not hard to do.

Black powder only in these old girls, in my view. Some will tell you they have a reliable smokeless load, but honestly, no is available and more foolproof. I’d stick to that.

There are lots of websites talking about what projectiles to buy, but most guys get into casting, but a mold, and work up a load that works with your own bullet.
 
I usually use 1fg if I can find it but 2fg I worked a decent load out. Setting up to load Sniders isn’t cheap. Press that takes the larger size dies. Snider dies are close to $200 for Lee , others even higher. Your bullet mould will likely be about $200. So we over $700 and you haven’t bought any powder, primers or cases. And if your not already into casting bullets well more money.
The cases aren’t to had to make out 24 gauge brass. I use my lathe to trim to length and while on the lathe I also deburr. Cases need to be annealed before attempting to resize otherwise the brass is too hard and won’t flow properly. I have an Accurate 2cavity mould 500gr 0.595 that works well. I have tried both Lee’s 0.575 and 0.578 Minies which also worked well. The Accurate bullet is the one I use mostly now as it shows better accuracy at the 100 and farther.
The stuff to make one of these shoot usually costs more than the rifle. If you need bullets I always have a few or can make them.
 
Awesome, I am not sure I want to deep dive into BP yet - although I have been collecting tire weights for years "just in case" have an old replica muzzle loader BP 50 that I haven't shot in years but think I am goign to get back into it. My son looks at it hanging on the wall regularly and says "Dad when are we going to shoot that?" Plan currently is to purchase what i need to try it out without breaking the bank - not getting into casting yet!

I thought that you could just press the bullets into the 24G brass by hand?

For resizing Can't I just cut down, anneal and fire form?

Maybe I just send you $$ and get some brass, bullets to try it out and then go from there...

Don't want to sink too much to try it out, then not enjoy it. Although waving the smoke away to see if you hit the target was always fun :)

SO much learning....
 
janssen said:
What BP to use 3F?

Looking at ordering from rusty wood for the 24Guage, Bullets etc... Anyone dealt with them before?
Click to expand...

I haven't personally dealt with them but they're highly recommended in these parts (they're local to me) for working on shotguns and cowboy action stuff. I wouldn't hesitate to give em a try if they had something I needed.
 
24 ha brass needs to be sized first as it’s mouth is too big to chamber. After the first firing you can hand seat the bullets. I always resize the case mouth and crimp the bullet. I have seen excellent groups shot using both methods. Another route for resizing is if you can find a set of dies similar to the Lee kit that you pound the case in and out of the die with a hammer. I have a homemade set I sometimes use at the range. I have actual Snider brass from various companies and 24 ga. The 24 ga came from Rusty Woods. It does work well and is a learning experience to form properly. Usually people destroy a couple learning. I believe I still have 10 or 12 cases made up sitting in a box. I probably should order more cases as someone always wants a few.
 
janssen,

Nice to see when people get the Snider infection even if it is a mild case. The Snider case has more of a taper than an out of the box 24 gauge so unless the chamber has been messed with a straight walled 24 gauge will most likely not it a Snider chamber. Original bullets were undersized for the bore and used a "Minie" bullet with a filled in hollow base but also a hollow point that was either filled in with wood or had the top spun over to cover the cavity. Modern shooters have either messed with the hollow base undersized bullets or have used a .600 groove diameter bullet. X-ring does sell a .600 bullet mould. The rounds from Epps might be the later .57 Snider made by Dominion and they are a short case 1.6" rather than closer to 2" as the original cases were. X-ring will send ready made brass up to Canada and because he makes them from shotgun shells there is no trouble at the border. I have had him ship both Snider and Martini brass without any trouble. I can give you the dimensions off one of my Sniders for the firing pin so you can have it machined or I might actually have a spare firing pin, will have to look.
 
Brass has to be both sized and shortened. There are various ways to shorten it. Try YouTube for some how to videos.

If you get say 20 sized cases, they will last you a long time. A really long time, actually.
 
A .60 cal round ball works good and I think Lee makes an inexpensive mold. It is a easy way to get started for projectiles if you can cast your own.
 
I don't even use dies for it. I have a shell holder for priming. (Use large pistol primers) my last projectiles were .600 and were pretty accurate. I haven't tried the new .595 (I don't cast) so we will see how it goes.

But pretty doable without a press, as long as the projectiles squeeze into the brass a bit. The wax lube helps them stick.
 
 
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I'm a newbie with the .577 I'm also a person that, when something grabs my interest, I jump in with both feet! To that end, I bought the rifle, a short Enfield (maybe a Cadet?) a set of LEE dies, a Martyn Robinson mold, a special .600" sizing die, a LEE .600" round ball mold and 100 rds of 24 ga brass. I've since prepped all my brass, cast several 100's of projectiles with 1/20 alloy. I've also acquired factory cases, some Kynoch that was Berdan primed and I converted to shotgun primers as well as Jamison cases.
The rifle came with a set of custom dies that fit a regular press and don't create a "bottleneck" when sizing. Having different cases presents a problem when reloading! Some (Jamison) use a Large rifle primer. The Kynoch takes a 209 primer and the 24 ga brass takes a Large Pistol primer. My friend Buck made a mandrel that is chucked in the lathe to cut the cases. I then annealed and sized the cases with the "custom" die. The neck was too tight to take the .600 conical or the round ball so, I used a 58 cal Minnie, that I powder coated twice and wrapped with 2 wraps of computer paper to bring the diameter to .590" or so, for fire forming. Fire forming load was a newspaper wad against the primer, 60 grs FFg, another newspaper wad over the powder, 2.2 CC's of Cream of Wheat filler and seated a bullet. I needed a slight flare to not damage the bullet while seating. The flare was removed after seating the bullet by using the sizing die ( with the depriming stem removed) as a taper crimp die. Once fire formed to your rifle's chamber, you should be able to reload off press, depending on which bullet you use.
BTW, Old West molds make a 500 gr .595" dia. mold. I can post photos later.
 
Awesome thanks for the info!

Cool a Canadian Gun, Curious what makes it sporterized? I thought sporterized usually meant bastardizing the stock and cutting it down short like some many Lee-Enfields. This appears full length - at least bayonet still works.

So it's not going to pay my mortgage off if I put it on the EE?


You guys have been awesome in helping out with my new purchase - gotta love the wealth of knowledge on here.

Working on ordering some brass and bullets to get me started - then will see if I start casting my own or not....

thx JJ
 
Just for the pleasure, here is my Nepalese model.IMG_4007.jpg
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