Antique Ideal Loading Tool

[cajun shooter]

I just purchased a Ideal 44-40 combo tool. It has the bullet mold up front along with the primer seater. It also has the decapping tool. The tool has alot of it's original chrome plating. I loaded a 44-40 round and will say that if the Indians are coming you will be up all night loading. I have a few questions about parts of the tool that I don't know about. Right behind the seater is a hole that is too small for the case. there is a round rod on the upper handle that goes into the hole when squeezed. The hole is much larger than the rod. I thoughjt that it might be a bullet sizer and when I ran a bullet it sized it to 425. Is this what it's intent was? The mold is almost like new and is as good as my current Lyman 427098 From the looks of the handle in one place it appears that the tool was struck to bell the mouth of the case. I filled the case with some 33 grs of Swiss and seated the bullet in the case. Is there some where that a person could obtain a set of reloading instructions for this tool? Thanks for any help you may give, David

[Bent Ramrod]

Sounds like you have an Ideal #4 tool with a nonadjustable chamber. The tools were nickel plated originally, and this model was meant to cast a standard bullet and seat and crimp it the standard depth in the case. Nominal bullet diameter for the early .44-40's was 0.424" so your sizer hole is the right size for the barrels of the day. The rod pushes the bullet through the hole in the most up-to-date-approved "nose first" configuration.

In use, you put the decapping rod in the chamber, follow it with a fired case, and squeeze the handles together. The primer should pop out and the slight widened area on the decapping pin should slightly bell the mouth of the case. If it doesn't, push and twirl the case on the conical end of the seating chamber to bevel it a little. Wash and dry the case, if it has been fired with black powder.

The first hole behind the seating chamber is the priming station. Drop a case into the hole, start (as best you can) a primer in the primer pocket, let the handle down gently so the priming punch contacts the primer and squeeze the handles to seat the primer.

When you've cast a bunch of the bullets, pan lube them or tumble lube as you wish. Fill the case with black powder, start the bullet in the belled case and carefully put the assembly into the seating chamber (with the depriming pin removed). Squeezing the handles should seat the bullet and crimp the mouth of the case at the right place.

The complete loading set included a scoop for the proper charge of black powder. Generally both that and the depriming pin are lost; you are fortunate to have the decapper still with the tool. However, a Lee scoop of the proper size or a cut-off case, filed to size and soldered to a piece of wire,can be used.

The #4 does not resize cases, and a well-used one will have the crimping ring worn and not very effective, especially if there is no full case of black powder to hold the bullet in place. Still, in the old days, the tool could load perfectly serviceable ammunition for a homesteader's or woods loafer's rifle.

Instructions can be found in the various copies of the early Ideal handbooks. I think the name of the reprint outfit is Cornell Poblications. Any Handbook up to #28 ought to have all the info you need about using these tools.

[cajun shooter]

I have a different tool from what you described. I 'm 62 and have loaded BP since 1971 so I'm familiar with the proper steps to take with it and most loading toolsMy primer seater is in the very front of the tool even before the mold which is next. The mold as I said before almost looks unused.I thank you for the info on the Ideal book to look into. When I ran a bullet through it and it sized it to .424 and after reading your answer I remember reading that the early 44-40's were smaller in bore size. Oh on my tool the hole behind the seating chamber is the bullet sizer hole. Thanks for the help. Later David

[Bent Ramrod]

The very early #4's (and also the #5's) had the priming setup on the front of the mould as you described. It was later moved to along the handle, ahead of the sizing hole and behind the seating chamber. That is the most common variant, which I assumed you had. You might send a pm to Floodgate, who posts here infrequently. He has studied all the old Ideal handbooks and can tell you when your tool was phased out for the newer design.