Wonder if we ordered enough 348 Win brass from Starline and asked them to not squeeze the neck down to .35 cal ????? If 5000 or 10,000 cases were ordered maybe there would be enough reloaders to buy up the order run??
Wonder if we ordered enough 348 Win brass from Starline and asked them to not squeeze the neck down to .35 cal ????? If 5000 or 10,000 cases were ordered maybe there would be enough reloaders to buy up the order run??
Last edited by indian joe; 05-10-2023 at 02:18 AM. Reason: correction 28 gauge to 32 gauge
Curious, do you anneal when forming the 45-75? 348 brass not hard to find, I got a bunch of W-W from the 80's for my long tang Win 71 and Browning 71 Carbine, and Starline is out there, but have a Savage 99 358 that is better.
Rockinndaddy,
Thanks for the tip but another cartridge is something I do not need. Lol. Besides the overall process, a point of my post is the use of the universal case mouth expander/flare. The use of this die before the .457 expander results in 0 split cases even without annealing. I would however, be happy to send you any 45-75 cases that split after reloading x number of times for use in your 11mm Veterelli if you can use them.
Kai: You are a guy after my heart! Thought I was a knuckle head as I am always shooting the old single shot cartridges. My buddies always look to see what I am shooting. They ask me why don't you just get a gun you can buy ammo for??? I was just poking fun when I suggested you buy a Swiss Vetterli to have a use for your mistake 348's But I actually do use my "opps" 348 cases to make the short Swiss 11mm rounds. Indian Joe has a good idea to use the 50 Alaskan brass to make up the cartridges that utilize the 348 Win base. Oh by the way; the 11mm Swiss Vetterli's shoot like they have eyes!!!!
I see the point of your post utilizing a case mouth expander Kai. I made up my own loading dies as none are available for the 11mm Swiss. My home made expander dies gradually open up or sneak up on the larger diameter. I expand the 35 cal case mouth to 38 caliber and anneal the neck. Then open it to 40 caliber. Next expander opens the mouth to 11mm or 44 caliber. 11mm Vickers rounds are no where to be found! You made up a very good post on this topic.
Reviving this for a question or two. I’m getting tooled up to reform some 348 into 45-75. The shell holders for 348 and 45-75 are obviously different. Does the reformed 348 cycle and eject without issue? I have a NIB Chapparal that is the candidate. I only have one box of new Ten-X, thus the desire for reforming the 348. I have a little over 200 348 reloads (not mine) that’ll be torn down for this project. Actually, I don’t plan on tearing them all down, just enough to try my hand at it.
Also, has anyone loaded the Speer (2478) or Hornady (4503) 350gr FNSP in 45-75?
Last edited by Gav-n-Tn; 01-17-2024 at 12:13 PM.
348 WCF converted to 45-75 cycles and ejects with ease. Takes a couple of firings to fully form. The 1876's chambers I load for will not accept a case formed from 50-90 or CBC 32 gauge brass. Base diameter ahead of the rim is too big in diameter.
Below are some base diameters
348 Winchester .547
45-75 Jamison .558
50-90 Sharps Straight Starline .5597
50-110 Starline .5445
32 Gauge CBC .563-.566
Depending on the chamber, some of the other cases might work.
Rick
Last edited by Rick B; 01-17-2024 at 03:27 PM.
Anneal, let me repeat, ANNEAL! If your looking for proper form tools, CH4D has them in stock as of two days ago. You will have to expand the neck in steps and then a final full length resize. I shorten mine before I do anything else. As stated prior, it may take a time or two to fire form. Accurate has the mold you will want,
https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet...bullet=46-342W
It's a good one, mimics the original Winchester bullet. The 348 case is the way to go, less fuss than the others to get to run properly. Good luck and enjoy your Chappy. In case I forgot, don't forget to anneal your brass.
“Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
― Mark Twain
W8SOB
First off "Chappy"?? What is a Chappy? As for a mold, I couldn't get my 76 to do better than about 3 feet with several different 350gr molds. Then I found a NEI 458-300 gc mold and the group went to an inch at 50yds. I'm convinced it's because of the gc but the lighter bullet plays a role as well.
Last edited by Kai; 01-17-2024 at 07:53 PM.
I’m going to use a series of expanders with the RCBS Legacy expander being the last. I do plan on annealing between various stages and taking my time. I’m going to keep the case mouths lubed as well. What about the two bullets I mentioned. Any experience with either of them?
Good to know. Thanks!
Yes, the reformed 348 cases cycle and eject without issue. At least they do in a Winchester, not sure about a Chapparal but I don't see why they would not. The key to not ruining cases is to trim them enough to begin with. The shorter the neck is the less likely it will split when expanding.
Wow! Nice note on making 45-75 Win out of 348 Win. I have had several Model 71's over the years and have a pile of 348 Winchester brass. Never bought a 45-75 Winchester Model 1876 because of the brass scarcity. I do make 11 Vickers out of 348 Win to shoot in my belt feed 1918 Colt Vickers aircraft gun. Its a hoot to shoot! A 150 rounds and the old gal gets pretty hot!! Any damaged 348's I turn into 41 Swiss. The 1882 Swiss Vetterli is a fun rifle to shoot. I copied your procedure down in my reloading book so when that 45-75 76' Winchester falls into my lap, I will be able to whip up some brass. Thanks for you sharing!!!!
[QUOTE=Kai;5674920]First off "Chappy"?? What is a Chappy?
It's a Chapparal, no longer manufactured, it's a common use vernacular with shooters of 1876 clones.
“Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
― Mark Twain
W8SOB
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 |