40-70SS chamber dimension problems & what brass to use?

Troll · Post by **Troll** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:03 pm

1st
I keep hearing there are chamber dimension problems with this round. What are the these problems and how should I get around them.

2nd.
What brass do you recommend? I uder stand that there is now .405 brass available. What do I need to do to make this work if I go with .405 brass? Is it better than stretched 30-40 brass which I hear alot of people are using? What is the best brass to go with and have the least amount of problems. I'm not worried to much about price, but I am worried about having problems.

sharps5090 · Post by **sharps5090** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:24 pm

I use both stretched 30-40 brass and new 405 brass, if I was starting now I would stick with the 405. When I first got my 40-70 the 405 brass wasn't available so I have lots of the 30-40 brass.

I have newer had any chamber dimension problems with my rifle. I use .408 bullets (410g PJ Creedmoor). It's a great round, your going to like it.

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:34 pm

Contact the gunsmith building your rifle & ask what brass will work best w/ the chambering reamer that he uses.

For example, when I had my . 45-2 7/8” Borchardt re-barreled, John King said that the chambering reamer he utilized would easily accommodate the rim size of Buffalo Arms' stretched .348 Winchester brass. I've only utilized the BA stretched .348 Win brass & there have been no problems.

AL Rittenhouse · Post by **AL Rittenhouse** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:48 pm

Sharps 5090
What is the length of the 405 brass when you first buy it and why do you like it better? I've just started playing with a 40-70 and have some 30-40 brass from Buffalo Arms but I am always looking for improvements. Thanks Al

Troll · Post by **Troll** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:17 am

I see that Buffalo arms sells the 40-70 SS by Bertrem and some unlisted brand for the shiloh sharps which happens to be cheaper than the bertrem brass. What is the unlisted brand and is it any good? Has anyone tried the bertram brass?

shooter 37 · Post by **shooter 37** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:03 am

Troll
I have several 40-70's and have used the 30-40 brass (RP) as well as the Bertrams. The Berts work OK but all are far too long out of the box, lots of trim to chamber: they also need trimming more often. I had one case where the rim diameter was wrong. My suggestion would be to skip the Berts and shoot the 30-40's. Haven't tried the 405's but might later.
Accuracy with the 30-40's is very good for match shooting.
Hope this helps

Al

sharps5090 · Post by **sharps5090** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:22 am

Al
Hornaday 405 brass is about 2.57. There is nothing wrong with the
BA 30-40 brass, but for about the same price you could have new brass.
Chris

KHR · Post by **KHR** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:36 am

good info about the Hornaday 405 brass, is it specific to a certain chamber reamer, or can it be sized to fit any gun? I soon will be getting my rebarreled bridgeport, and it is a 40/70.

anyone have good leads on good prices on the Hornaday 405 brass?

keith

sharps5090 · Post by **sharps5090** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 11:13 am

KHR

Try Midsouth Shooters Supply, less than $33 per 50;

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

Midway is currenty out, $36 per 50.

Good Luck and good shooting.
Chris

AL Rittenhouse · Post by **AL Rittenhouse** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:57 pm

Chris
The only thing I don't like about the 30-40 brass is the bevel on the base. When I put it into the trimmer collet on the forester trimmer it wants to turn out because of the base. So you are using the Hornaday 405 brass is that right? Thanks Al. Oh by the way Mid South says they are also out.

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:06 am

Having been there myself, the 40-70ss is probably not a good cartridge for someone just starting out in BPC shooting. The 40-70 is of course a cartridge that has not been standardized by SAAMI. A further disadvantage is the fact that there is no basic "family patriarch" like the 45 calibers enjoy.

Before my rifle arrived, I ordered 60 Bertram cases, a total waste, the dimension just in front of the rim was about .004 too great, and they could not be sized to fit into the chamber. I then ordered some cases from Rocky Mountain Cartridge, which are turned from solid brass on a CNC machine. The headspace (Rim thickness) was apparently right at maximum for my rifle, requiring a fair amount of force to close the action. The re-drawn 30-40 cases from Buffalo Arms solved my problem and I wish I had found them sooner.

This is not anyone's fault. The answer is to communicate with your rifle builder before you invest in brass.

sharps5090 · Post by **sharps5090** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:33 am

Al
I still use BA 30-40 for most of my shooting (because I have more of it).
I have about 100rd of Hornady 405 brass (I try to slip in and order when I don't thing my wife is looking). I plan on getting enough on hand to last awhile.

The Hornady 405 brass works good in my rifle, a Shiloh Sharps LRE.
Chris

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40-70SS chamber dimension problems & what brass to use?

40-70SS chamber dimension problems & what brass to use?

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