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Thread: .36 Pietta 1858 Rework & .41 Colt Molds

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    .36 Pietta 1858 Rework & .41 Colt Molds

    There's a couple of .41 Colt molds in the fun box, the old Ideal .386 diameter hollow base and a .388 diameter SWC. So was thinking about those undersized chambers on the Pietta and a push through sizer.

    The undersized chambers need to be reamed out one way or the other. And a push through sizer could be used to reduced the .41 boolits.
    So if the groove diameter is .375 then .377 would work for the reamed diameter on the chambers. The boolits would need to shear off on the chambers mouths so a push through sizer something around .383 would work. And the rear ends on the boolits would get sized down in the Lyman 450 press to slip into the chambers, about .375 diameter.

    This is looking workable and some old molds could be called into service for the .36.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    You might want to try sizing your boolits to see just how well that works. I'm assuming you'd be casting out of soft lead - especially the HB. I use push through sizers and have a Shiloh mold that makes a HB flat nose conical for use in a conversion cylinder on a .36 C & B. I played with it quite a bit last summer as far as sizing, etc. and even being careful in pushing it through the sizing die - HB up and going in first - and tumbling them in paste wax prior to sizing to act as a lube- I got a lot of reforming of the nose as the bullet was pushed through the sizer. They fell at a fat .359 to 360 and taking them down to 358 - .002 at the most and usually a bit less - the nose would deform. So, if you are going to size them down - you may need to do it in steps and work the diameter down gradually by putting them through graduated sizing dies.

    The .36 C &B barrel is bored .360 and then rifled so your groove diameter is .375 as you stated. - not true in all revolvers made over the years so I would slug your bore to make sure. I don't know what you are saying when you are talking about reaming your chambers as you aren't real clear on that? Are you talking about reaming so your bullets you are talking about fit the chamber? I'm guessing not but just remember you don't want to stuff a way larger boo lit down a way smaller bore - and what grain weight are the bullets?

    I have a Pietta '58 Navy - a good revolver. I have tried Lee conicals - hated them. But some love 'em. If you are looking for something a bit different - take a look at the molds that Eras Gone offers - they offer an original style Colt Cartridge conical as well as an original Confederate design. I have the Colt Cartridge mold but haven't had a chance to shoot any of them yet.

    Another thing to take a look is to take a look at the area under the loading plunger and check one of your boolits you want to try to see if there is room in there for it to fit and get it seated with the loading lever. Might seem a silly thing to say but I have a Uberti '60 Army that I am going to have to work on the barrel in that area as the Eras Gone .44 Johnson and Dow conical (copy of an original boolit) will not fit in under the loading lever to get seated. A mute point if you are loading your cylinder off the pistol but I don't and prefer to load it the original method.

    Not saying it can't be done as it may be feasible to do it - but like I said, try sizing a few of your boolits first to see just how far you can resize them and if you have any deforming issues with what you are using.

    And - please let us know how it all works out - you never know - you just might find the it would work out fine.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    Hey there.
    Would be reaming the undersized chambers to be one or two thousandths over groove diameter.
    Right now figgerin' chambers might end up at .377.
    Then sizing the boolits to .383 would give .005-.006 shear on the chamber mouths.
    The rear ends of the boolits would need to be sized .002 under chamber diameter to allow the rear ends of the boolits to slip into the chambers.
    So the push through sizing on the boolits would be from .386-.388 down to .383. Then for the next step their rear ends would be taken down enough to slip into the chambers (but still actually be at barrel groove diameter).

    But you know, it's tempting just to have a .36 caliber 1858 rebored to shoot .429 molds!

  4. #4
    In Remembrance
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    You have two of those 41 Colt molds? Wow! It took me over 4 years to find one; those molds bring big bucks now.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check