Jordy:
I neglected to mention that it has become rather easier of late to get cartridge cases for the old .577 Snider and .577/.450 Martini-Henry rifles, thus making it a lot easier to shoot them on a regular basis.
You may already be aware of this, but very economical cases for the Snider can be made up fairly easily from MagTech (Brazilian-made - "C.B.C.") 24 Ga. all brass shotgun hulls, which are now made for use with standard small pistol primers (rather than the Berdan primers they previously required) and available from various sources. They do require shortening, mind you, for use as .577 brass. Loading dies are available at fairly reasonable cost from Lee Precision (US$110 .... but that is cheap compared to what you'd have paid for dies just a few years ago!) The only problem is they are large diameter (1 1/4" dia. - if you check the Lee Precision website, look for "Large Series Dies" in the reloading dies section) and thus you need one of the presses available with a bushing which can be removed to permit use of such dies - the Lee "Classic Cast" press is one such press, and is the one I now use for single-stage reloading.
Also, Jamison International, located in Sturgis, North Dakota, make new solid-head drawn brass cartridge casings for both .577 Snider and .577/.450 Martini-Henry. Cost is rather more than the base cost of MagTech shotgun hulls, but it will be stronger and last longer, and you avoid the hassle of having to shorten and form it ...... They don't sell retail, but their products are carried by lots of the big outfits like Midway .... not sure if anyone is selling it in Canada yet.
I neglected to mention that it has become rather easier of late to get cartridge cases for the old .577 Snider and .577/.450 Martini-Henry rifles, thus making it a lot easier to shoot them on a regular basis.
You may already be aware of this, but very economical cases for the Snider can be made up fairly easily from MagTech (Brazilian-made - "C.B.C.") 24 Ga. all brass shotgun hulls, which are now made for use with standard small pistol primers (rather than the Berdan primers they previously required) and available from various sources. They do require shortening, mind you, for use as .577 brass. Loading dies are available at fairly reasonable cost from Lee Precision (US$110 .... but that is cheap compared to what you'd have paid for dies just a few years ago!) The only problem is they are large diameter (1 1/4" dia. - if you check the Lee Precision website, look for "Large Series Dies" in the reloading dies section) and thus you need one of the presses available with a bushing which can be removed to permit use of such dies - the Lee "Classic Cast" press is one such press, and is the one I now use for single-stage reloading.
Also, Jamison International, located in Sturgis, North Dakota, make new solid-head drawn brass cartridge casings for both .577 Snider and .577/.450 Martini-Henry. Cost is rather more than the base cost of MagTech shotgun hulls, but it will be stronger and last longer, and you avoid the hassle of having to shorten and form it ...... They don't sell retail, but their products are carried by lots of the big outfits like Midway .... not sure if anyone is selling it in Canada yet.
