Vetterli Question

[danyboy]

I bought a swiss Vetterli and converted it to centerfire. Bought Lee 41 swiss dies, chamber casted it, slugged the bore, reformed win 348 cases. I read most topics on this subject here and elsewhere and I am a little puzzled.
Chamber cast: base OD= .547
----------- neck = .455
I have 2.12 to the rifling

Bore slugs to .4165 and groove size is .4335

Reformed and sized cases are .445 at the neck and .015 thick.

Lee 41 swiss resizing die has an inside sizer OD of .427 .

Some guys said they sized Lee 446110 bullets from .446 to .430 with success and I was too quick at ordering an H & I bullet sizing die of that dimension. In order to make this work, I'd have to neck turn cases down to .007-.008 thick which doesn't make much sens to me.

What would be the correct bullet diameter for this particular size rifle ?

Any help would be greatly welcome,
Thank you,
Danyboy

[skeettx]

Hello
I made my cases from 348 like you.
I took 240 grain 44 Mag cast bullets and made a ram for an steel (not carbide) 41 mag case sizing die and after lubing the bullets to .430 pushed then through the 41 mag die.
Loaded with 22.5 grains of 4198 and Win LR primer.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-015S19.JPG

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-014S21.JPG
Five shots at 100 yards

Enjoy
Mike

[danyboy]

Doesn't the 41 mag die have a .410 diameter ? Kind of small for this size bore, isn't it ?
Danyboy

[jonk]

Correct diameter would be .4345 or .435 to start. I used a .429 mold and beagled it. Mine measures .431 on the grooves so it just needed a little extra.

The lee dies work fine, just needed a little opening with some emery paper glued on a stick.

PS- you might get more answers if you post this in the military rifle forums, rather than in the casting equipment forum.

[RugerFan]

Hello
I made my cases from 348 like you.
I took 240 grain 44 Mag cast bullets and made a ram for an steel (not carbide) 41 mag case sizing die and after lubing the bullets to .430 pushed then through the 41 mag die.
Loaded with 22.5 grains of 4198 and Win LR primer.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-015S19.JPG

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-014S21.JPG
Five shots at 100 yards

Enjoy
Mike

Nice shooting. What did you do about the short front sight blade?

........................

[danyboy]

Jonk,
I will expand my die a little the way you did yours, good trick. As for the mold,
you wrote: ' I used a .429 mold and beagled it. '
You 'beagled' it ? The only beagle I know has 4 legs and long ears. What did you mean by 'beagled it' ?
Danyboy

[skeettx]

Hello
No the 41 mag CASE sizing die is NOT 410
Give it a try and see what you get

I left the front sight alone and tried to focus on the front sight
I am not always successful in this
Mike

[danyboy]

I would give it a try but I don't own a 41 mag die. What size bullet do you end up with after running them through this 41 mag die ?
Danyboy

[skeettx]

I will let you know in the spring
Mike

[ambergrifleman]

What model of Vetterli do You Have ? Model 78 or Model 81 use around a .430 size, If You have the Early 69/71 Model , They use a .425 Size. Swiss changed the Chamber size for some Reason, I have 2 Early ones, and 3 of the Later Models, Those are the Size that will Fit in Mine, Post some Pics of your Rifles. Hope this will Help You out some.

[danyboy]

Ambergrifleman,
Bore slugs to .4165" and groove size is .4335"
Chambers neck is .455"
I believe I have an early model, here are some pictures:
http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/dan_leonard87/Vetterli2-1.jpg
http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/dan_leonard87/?action=view&current=Vetterli2.jpg
http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/dan_leonard87/Vetterli.jpg
Some guy in Europe told me there is a good chance it might be an earlier model.
I was going to neck turn some reformed 348 cases, resize some .446 bullets down to .430 and try it out .
Danyboy

[oscarflytyer]

.427 lead shouldn't be that hard to find. Check the Cowboy sites. The 44-40 shoots a .427 bullet!

[MtGun44]

Search on "beagling" here. It is a process to very slightly shim the
mold open and cast that way. Yeah, they are slightly out of round, no - they
do not get fins, works for +.002 or more.

Bill

[32ideal]

dannyboy check out Bull Shops cast bullet for rifles in 44 caliber most are .432 or .433" diameter, he states that most bullets can be provided .001 to .002" oversize.
http://bullshop.gunloads.com/tbs_riflebullets40.htm

32ideal

[danyboy]

thanks fot the Bullshop deal but I'd rather cast my own. cheaper. Ended up re-sizing Lyman 446110 down do .430. Here is what I shot at 50 yards with 20gr. 4759.
A real pleasure to shoot with this rifle. My eyesight, however, doesn't seem as good as when I was a little younger...
Never had to make front sight taller like some guys were saying. Sights seem to work fine. Probably a different model. Just found a Lee 430-310 mould. Just gotta kick myself in the ass to setup in the garage at -20C weather.

[ambergrifleman]

Hi , Dany boy. Yes that is one of the early models, I did shoot some .427 Diameters in mine once. It was very tough to close Bolt on it too. I had Lee to make me a custom .425 sizer, It works Nice now. Good luck, They are fun to shoot.

[danyboy]

Ya, fun to shoot and I'll probably try hunting deer with it. You're probably wright, must be an older model

Danyboy

[ambergrifleman]

Model 1869/71 I can tell by the Rear Sight, But Plate and Trigger Guard, What model it is. I got 2 of them. Fun ! To Shoot!!!!!!!

[danyboy]

Thanks for the tip, always good to know what you're shooting. Asked RCMP (Royal Canadian Monted Police) for an registration exemption letter because of it Antique status and they confirmed, according to serial number, it was pre-1898, just so in case I run into an over-zealous cop or game warden. Laws are nuts up here