43 Spanish

BuffHunter · Post by **BuffHunter** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:39 am

I recently purchased an old Remington rolling block in 43 spanish,and am looking for reloading information.Any load data for this cartridge would be helpfull.I will be loading with BP not smokeless.Thanks.

MLV · Post by **MLV** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 12:58 pm

The .43 Spanish uses the exact same case as the .44-77 Sharps, only bullets are .439/.440 for the former and .446 for the latter. In fact I use the same batch of brass for both .43 Spanish and .44-77 and just size them in different dies. Cases can be had from B.E.L.L. at the proper 2.25 inch length and ready to load. I have found RCBS mould #43-370FN to work very well. I cast them from 1-20 alloy, size them .440 inch, lube with SPG, and load them over 75 grains of Swiss 1 1/2 Fg with Federal 215 Magnum primers. And use a .060 inch Walters wad between powder and bullet. Velocity is about 1360 fps and groups run from about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches at 100 yards despite my rifle's 12 pound trigger pull and those military sights. I hope this helps.

JAGG · Post by **JAGG** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:05 pm

B H ! Get a bullet that is in the 400grain weight with large grease grooves , the twist is about 1 to 20 and can take heavier bullets ! Fill the case to just 1/8inch above the case neck shoulder meeting area to compress the bullet that 1/8 inch on seating with 2fg goex ! You can shoot real tight groups with the right load and a 215 primer ! The problem is that the bottle necks leave a hard powder ring infront of the chamber ! JAGG

Clarence · Post by **Clarence** » Sat Nov 08, 2003 8:03 pm

BuffHunter, et al,

I experimented with my .43 several years ago, and found it shot very well.

I did a chamber cast and found the chamber was over 2.5" long, vs. 2.25". The trim length for me is 2.555". I bought basis brass from Buffalo Arms. The case looks like a long-neck .44-77 or short-body .44-909.

I use Lee dies, but had to cut the end off the sizer with a diamond saw blade so I could handle the longer neck.

The cases stretched like crazy and I had the first separation after the 2nd shot. That occurred because the chamber was cut for a 0.090" rim thickness, and the cases were the standard .348 rim. Around that time, Buffalo Arms perfected the way to thicken the rims, and that solved the problem. They thickened my rims, and I've had no more separations.

I used the Lyman 378 gr. mould. It doesn't carry very much lube, but I found it shoots well. My rifle, with a bore that looks new, will shoot around 2" at 100 yds. when I do my part.

My rifle is the typical type with no metal finish. I also have another that appears to be an arsenal refinish, and I don't believe it has been fired since the rebuild. The finish is almost commercial quality.

I wrote an article in the Single Shot Exchange. Please post a private message if you want a computer file of the article.

Clarence

Clarence · Post by **Clarence** » Sat Nov 08, 2003 8:19 pm

One thing I forgot to include in the previous message: since the lube grooves on the Lyman bullet are small, I took the opportunity to experiment with lube.

I made up a lube that was 60% by volume yellow beeswax and 40% by volume Dexron ATF. The lube was soft enough to be a little messy. It worked well, and one day I shot 18 rounds as quickly as I could blow and reload. No hard fouling, and the barrel cleaned in 3 patches.

The experiment convinced me that a lube needs enough oil, more than some of the commercial lubes, if you are to expect to shoot a rifle much more than you would in a typical silhouette match.

Clarence