Anyone out there looking for a Lyman mould in .439?
When I got my Argentine .43 Spanish rolling block, I bought both NEI and Lyman moulds.
The Lyman is their 439186 that throws a 375 gr. bullet as per the original loading. The NEI casts a longer 470 gr. bullet.
The rifle has a long throat (for paper patch?) and the 375 gr. loads gave so-so accuracy. Seating the 470 gr. bullets out one grease groove gives great accuracy in the rifle's 1 in 20" twist.
According to my references, the .43 Spanish was loaded with a 'naked' bullet, so the long throat puzzles me.
I'm using Buffalo Arms supplied reformed .348 Winchester cases and they are great! The NDFS brass I have is unsatisfactory - the rim thickness being the problem; too thin.
With 75 grs. of powder, the 470 gr. load becomes the ballistic twin of the .44-77 Sharps, one of the original cartridges for the '74.
It steps to the rear rather smartly!
Todd
"and yes, it's true what they say of war and war's alarms;
but oh, that I was young again, and held her in my arms."
Lyman Mould for .43 Spanish
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Todd Birch
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- Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....
Lyman Mould for .43 Spanish
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
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Clarence
- Posts: 2172
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Todd,
I've been curious about that, too. My guess is that it was done so the rifle would for certain chamber after repeatedly firing black powder loads. The chamber in my 2 .43's is ~2.57" long, vs. 2.25" in the books. I load my loads well over 3" OAL, having started with BA basic brass so I could trim to 2.555". The Lyman bullet shoots very well in my rifles. The cartridge looks like a very long-necked .44-77 or a short-bodied .44-90.
Clarence
I've been curious about that, too. My guess is that it was done so the rifle would for certain chamber after repeatedly firing black powder loads. The chamber in my 2 .43's is ~2.57" long, vs. 2.25" in the books. I load my loads well over 3" OAL, having started with BA basic brass so I could trim to 2.555". The Lyman bullet shoots very well in my rifles. The cartridge looks like a very long-necked .44-77 or a short-bodied .44-90.
Clarence
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Todd Birch
- Posts: 2133
- Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....
Lyman Mould for .43 Spanish
Hey Clarence
Gee, I just melted down a batch of the Lyman .439/186 to cast up some NEI .439/470s!
Sounds like I ought to have tried them in the BA brass first.
I'm going to be sending my Remington off for a trigger job, something in the order of four pounds.
How much powder are you throwing in yours?
Todd
Gee, I just melted down a batch of the Lyman .439/186 to cast up some NEI .439/470s!
Sounds like I ought to have tried them in the BA brass first.
I'm going to be sending my Remington off for a trigger job, something in the order of four pounds.
How much powder are you throwing in yours?
Todd
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
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Clarence
- Posts: 2172
- Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2002 7:38 pm
- Location: Hill Country, TX
Todd,
I'm using around 92 grains of GOEX FFg. The trim length of the cases is 2.555". The basic brass is sized/trimmed/sized until it will just enter the chamber. A reminder-I'm using BA brass with rims that run 0.088-0.089" thick, if I remember correctly. Overall length is 3.25", which leaves the driving bands on the bullets just short of engaging the rifling.
Remember this is what works in my rifles, based on chamber casts. Make sure your chamber is this long before you load these loads.
With my rifle, I was able to hit 7 of 10 pigs by using the 200 yd. sight setting and holding slightly above the pig and just to the right (my rifle shoots about 3 MOA left of the aiming point, and the ones I lost were on elevation, reflecting my inability to hold consistently with the issue tapered front sight. They went down with authority, and people indicated it was obvious that the bullet was moving considerably faster than the typical BPCR bullet. I've been toying with installing a tang sight and a clamp-on front base to allow me to shoot it to see what its real capability is.
You can do a pretty good trigger job yourself by replacing the trigger spring with one you make from a piece of ~0.048" piano wire. Bend a loop for the screw, give it the same shape as the original, and make sure the rifle stays cocked when you subject it to a couple of hard bumps on the butt. In mine, the spring change with no other stoning or engagement changes dropped the pull to around 5 lb.
Clarence
I'm using around 92 grains of GOEX FFg. The trim length of the cases is 2.555". The basic brass is sized/trimmed/sized until it will just enter the chamber. A reminder-I'm using BA brass with rims that run 0.088-0.089" thick, if I remember correctly. Overall length is 3.25", which leaves the driving bands on the bullets just short of engaging the rifling.
Remember this is what works in my rifles, based on chamber casts. Make sure your chamber is this long before you load these loads.
With my rifle, I was able to hit 7 of 10 pigs by using the 200 yd. sight setting and holding slightly above the pig and just to the right (my rifle shoots about 3 MOA left of the aiming point, and the ones I lost were on elevation, reflecting my inability to hold consistently with the issue tapered front sight. They went down with authority, and people indicated it was obvious that the bullet was moving considerably faster than the typical BPCR bullet. I've been toying with installing a tang sight and a clamp-on front base to allow me to shoot it to see what its real capability is.
You can do a pretty good trigger job yourself by replacing the trigger spring with one you make from a piece of ~0.048" piano wire. Bend a loop for the screw, give it the same shape as the original, and make sure the rifle stays cocked when you subject it to a couple of hard bumps on the butt. In mine, the spring change with no other stoning or engagement changes dropped the pull to around 5 lb.
Clarence
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Todd Birch
- Posts: 2133
- Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....
.43 Spanish Rolling Block
Hi Clarence
I'm using 70 grs of Goex cartridge behind the NEI .439/470 bullet, soon to be increased to 75 now that my BA reformed .348 brass has been fire formed.
I'm seating them out one grease groove and still not touching the rifling.
I measured a couple of loaded rounds and their OAL is 3.180-184", the difference being the resilience caused by the use of two felt wads to fill up space with the 70 gr charge. I'll get a more consistent measurement with 75 grs and one wad, I believe.
The NDFS brass I have measures 2.260 in length, .072 rim thickness.
The BA reformed .348/.43 brass measures 2.242 in length, .086 rim.
I'm not surprised that your loads are moving out there! Have you ever clocked them?
Thanks for the tips on tuning the rolling block. I will get mine worked on.
Todd
I'm using 70 grs of Goex cartridge behind the NEI .439/470 bullet, soon to be increased to 75 now that my BA reformed .348 brass has been fire formed.
I'm seating them out one grease groove and still not touching the rifling.
I measured a couple of loaded rounds and their OAL is 3.180-184", the difference being the resilience caused by the use of two felt wads to fill up space with the 70 gr charge. I'll get a more consistent measurement with 75 grs and one wad, I believe.
The NDFS brass I have measures 2.260 in length, .072 rim thickness.
The BA reformed .348/.43 brass measures 2.242 in length, .086 rim.
I'm not surprised that your loads are moving out there! Have you ever clocked them?
Thanks for the tips on tuning the rolling block. I will get mine worked on.
Todd
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"