450/577 Martini Henry

[Lead pot]

The way I look at it is, you just don't wash out the dirty laundry on a open forum first.
You work it out in privet first.

[DoctorBill]

OK, gentlemen.

I apologize for my posts about my dealings with the Brass Order to......

They are history. No more unwanted "Consumer Reports" Articles.

Erase (delete) your posts referring to mine and then - all gone.

Are we all happy now ? No worries.....

DoctorBill

[skeettx]

Save the not too bad cases, they make good 577 Snider brass

ALSO, I use an RCBS Bullet Puller Die without collet to start the bottlenecking of the case.

Mike

[ddburg]

Hey all,
I just got a call from my nephew in Bloomington Indiana, and he told me that Traildust Army Navy Surplus store had about 6, 10 round boxes of original manufactured 450/577 Martini Henry ammo for $30 box. I got 2 earlier and they were KYNOCH from 1951, but are smokeless powder. I just thought I'd pass this along if anyone's looking.

[Buckshot]

Hey all,
I just got a call from my nephew in Bloomington Indiana, and he told me that Traildust Army Navy Surplus store had about 6, 10 round boxes of original manufactured 450/577 Martini Henry ammo for $30 box. I got 2 earlier and they were KYNOCH from 1951, but are smokeless powder. I just thought I'd pass this along if anyone's looking.

.............I'll bet they're paper patched, use Berdan primers and are loaded with long strand cordite. If you fire any of them I'd bet you get 100% "Click-booms" and probably about 80% after firing will have minor to severe split necks. Maybe even a couple split down into the body also.

..............Buckshot

[DoctorBill]

DDBurg - Can you possibly save one out from shooting them and pull the bullet
and show the components in order of their place in the cartridge in a good
close up digital photograph that is in good focus ?

If possible measure the bullet's length and major diameter with a caliper ?

If Paper Patched, gently unroll the paper and include that in the photograph ?

We would ALL much appreciate the learning experience - for Posterity !
It is important and worth the effort.

DoctorBill

[acmech]

Don't know if you guys have seen this, but heres a video on sizing cases from magtech brass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRnSOrPbho

[Sti1911]

i know i am a bit late to this post but i have been doing my homework(a lot there of) on forming .577/450M-H casings and on the rifles themselves. I have always wanted one and now that I am a Gunsmithing student at Yavapai College in Arizona I finally have a perfect excuse to buy one. I have to say first that even though I haven't talked to anyone here THANK YOU all so much for the massive volumes of information that you have provided for the ying yangs like me that fore some reason have the smell of black powder oozing out of their pores. I am sure i will run into issues along the way and its good knowing that there are a great deal of people who have felt the pain and sweat the same sweat that i will soon be shedding.

[Surculus]

Hey!..."Groan" all you want...the mold makes a bullit that works in my rifles..I never understood the RCBS designation of '.465-480'..this must reflect the bullets after sizing...'cause they do dump out of the mold at from .468-.469...just like the guy that recomended the mold told me it would.

No, their designation means that using a specific alloy [Lyman #2, usually] it will throw a nominally .465 dia bobo that weighs 480gr.

[Yes, I realize this is an old, dormant thread but it seems nobody ever responded to this question. My OCD just couldn't let this sleeping dog lie, since I'm hoping to finally find a circular tuit wrt making some MH brass out of the 24ga hulls I got so long ago...]

[johnson1942]

i probably missed it but i will ask anyways, what twist is it?

[Mgvande]

Back from the dead.
i just got a mk3 at a gun show. I'm wondering about the bullets and what people are doing with paper patching. I know these were originally pp rounds but has anyone had success with just lead rounds minus the paper patching? Also what molds seem to be good. I graduated from the snider and now looking to battle the zulu's��

[skeettx]

Yes, I have a .466 diameter mould and some even use .470
Mike

[Mgvande]

I have a .460 mold I'm going to try out. It looks like I will have to patch it up.

[Buckshot]

Back from the dead.
i just got a mk3 at a gun show. I'm wondering about the bullets and what people are doing with paper patching. I know these were originally pp rounds but has anyone had success with just lead rounds minus the paper patching? Also what molds seem to be good. I graduated from the snider and now looking to battle the zulu's��

..............Depends up what the barrel slugs. The British Militaria board had Lee create several custom moulds for both the Snider and a couple Martini models several years ago.



The above was the one @ .470" and 475grs aimed at the MkIV. I'm NOT the one to talk to about the 577-450 and BP I tried it one time with 20 rounds in my MkIV and after 5 rounds I was looking around for someone else to shoot the rest of them off! I also have a 577-450 Sporter on a Greener action with a barrel having ratchet rifling. Never tried BP with it either.



With the MkIV Martini my best results had been with the above, which is the Lee 405gr solid FN paper patched 'as cast' of pure lead with .004" bond and a mild smokless load (1330 fps) but this isn't the board to discuss that.

If I were you I'd contact Accurate Moulds @ http://www.accuratemolds.com/index.php

There are a TON of 46 and 47 caliber moulds (check 'catalog') . You'd need to check with him as to specifics re: Your bore dimensions and what you're wanting to do/accomplish.

................Buckshot

[Mgvande]

Thanks for the feedback Buckshot. I patched up some of my Beaumont bullets at 430gr and I am just waiting on my dies so I can make some brass. I will see if my current mold works prior to buying another. I'm kinda stoked about smacking an elk with it this fall. Do you think it will kill an elk. Haha
One more thing after the first firing I'm hoping to neck size. Would CH4D be a good resource for a neck sizing die once I find my chamber diameter?

[ascast]

Buckshot -- what is ratchet rifling?

[Mgvande]

[Buckshot]

...........Mgvande put up a nice chart, but since I spent time drawing a pit-chure and converted it to Jpeg I'd go ahead and add it anyway I think that the 'New" rifling called 5-R is similar, with just one pressure side? As you can see the barrel has 7 grooves.



Here's a couple slugs driven through the barrel. The one on the right is a 500gr Lee and the left (and of .470" OD ) is one of the custom Lee's. It has a bit better definition to it. On the left slug facing directly towards the camera is one of the barrel 'grooves'. Due to the lighting on the top and middle drive band you can see the shade of the lead that's the pressure edge (groove). THat Lee boolit @.459" isn't fat enough to give a good picture of what's going on.

...............Buckshot