Need a little help with .50-95 bullets...

[wymanwinn]

i purchased a Uberti 1876 Centennial 28" bbl in .50-95 and Buffalo Arms said it had a .509 bore....i also bought a Jim510300 bullet mold to cast bullets....the mold puts out a VERY nice .510 bullet BUT the rifle slugs at .514"....!!!! i can send the mold to Eric at HollowPointMold.com to increase the driving band diameter but i would also like a mold that casts about a 350gr RNFP bullet at about .515"....

any of y'all have any ideas...Lyman 515139 looks pretty good except for the lack of a crimp groove....

thanks in advance for any and all help here...

wyman

[ndnchf]

If you have not done so, I recommend going to the CASCITY forum and look in the 1876 Winchester sub-forum. There is a ton of good info there.

I will say that I use the Lyman 515139 in my 50-95 with good results. My rifle's groove size is pretty similar to yours. I also use a Rapine 350T mold. It has a huge lube groove which is great for black powder.

[wymanwinn]

thanks ndnchf!!!

where might i find a Rapine 350T....Buffalo Arms has the Lyman 515139...

wyman

[wymanwinn]

If you have not done so, I recommend going to the CASCITY forum and look in the 1876 Winchester sub-forum. There is a ton of good info there.

I will say that I use the Lyman 515139 in my 50-95 with good results. My rifle's groove size is pretty similar to yours. I also use a Rapine 350T mold. It has a huge lube groove which is great for black powder.

i ordered the Lyman and saw your post on CasCity....78gr of 3f under the Lyman....cant wait....do you use a card wad on top of the powder?

thanks again...

wyman

[ndnchf]

Sadly, Ray Rapine retired from the mold business a few years ago. So you'd have keep your eye out for a used one. But Accurate Molds has a wide variety of molds, including some very similar to the Rapine. Check out their online catalog. I generally don't use wads in my 50-95 loads. But I have tried them as mentioned on the other forum. But I haven't seen a noticeable difference in accuracy either way. I do recommend use of a compression die to compress your black powder.

[dubber123]

It is heavier that you are after, but the plain old LEE 450 gr RF shoots very well for me in 50-90. I have several other molds, including a couple LBT's I had cut, but the LEE outshoots them all. I think my copy may even cast as big as you need. Might be worth a shot for the low cash outlay. Good luck.

[quasi]

NOE makes a Hollow Base at .512

[wymanwinn]

If you have not done so, I recommend going to the CASCITY forum and look in the 1876 Winchester sub-forum. There is a ton of good info there.

I will say that I use the Lyman 515139 in my 50-95 with good results. My rifle's groove size is pretty similar to yours. I also use a Rapine 350T mold. It has a huge lube groove which is great for black powder.

ndnchf,

received my Lyman 515139 today.....no crimp groove...where do you roll crimp to that bullet....?

thanks again for your help!!!

wyman

[StrawHat]

ndnchf,

received my Lyman 515139 today.....no crimp groove...where do you roll crimp to that bullet....?

thanks again for your help!!!

wyman

If you are using black powder, the bullet will seat on the powder and a crimp is not needed, the neck tension should be sufficient to keep it from backing out.

Kevin

[wymanwinn]

If you are using black powder, the bullet will seat on the powder and a crimp is not needed, the neck tension should be sufficient to keep it from backing out.

Kevin

not so much worried about the bullet "backing out" but rather the bullet being pushed further into the case while the rounds are in the mag tube....

thanks for the response Kevin...

wyman

[dubber123]

not so much worried about the bullet "backing out" but rather the bullet being pushed further into the case while the rounds are in the mag tube....

thanks for the response Kevin...

wyman

If it doesn't make the cartridge OAL too long, I have often just roll crimped below the top driving band in the upper lube groove on designs without a dedicated crimp groove.

[ndnchf]

I see that Moose Moulds is making what looks like a dead ringer for the old Rapine 350 mold. In my 50-95, this bullet has proven to be the best choice. It holds a ton of lube for black powder use.
https://m.facebook.com/MooseMoulds/p...pe=3&source=54

[wymanwinn]

If it doesn't make the cartridge OAL too long, I have often just roll crimped below the top driving band in the upper lube groove on designs without a dedicated crimp groove.

thanks Dubber....my thoughts as well....

[wymanwinn]

I see that Moose Moulds is making what looks like a dead ringer for the old Rapine 350 mold. In my 50-95, this bullet has proven to be the best choice. It holds a ton of lube for black powder use.
https://m.facebook.com/MooseMoulds/p...pe=3&source=54

now, that's my idea of a big lube bullet......

thanks!!!!

[ndnchf]

Just for comparison, from left to right is the Lyman 515139, Rapine 350T and Lee 515-450. I think the Lee is a bit heavy for the 1-48 twist Uberti 1876. But it works well in my Trapdoors. The Rapine bullet works great in my 1876 50-95 and 1871 Springfield Spencer rifle.

[dubber123]

If I needed a lighter boolit, I might be tempted to buy the $20 LEE and have the bottom lube groove and drive band milled off. That would still leave 2 fairly substantial lube grooves.

[wymanwinn]

update...

did some more measuring and figuring....i know, dangerous...LOL

first, slugged my barrel....measured .5140-.5145"...NOT .510" as advertised

my CH4D neck expander measured as stamped....509" way too small for for the ideal bullet size of .516" for this gun

ordered the Moose .50-95 Spencer in dual cavity....REALLY, really nice folks to boot...

will order a sizing die to .516"....

sent an email to Buffalo Arms explaining, not complaining, about the lack of proper info on the gun...response was... "as a current production rifle, there should be no need to slug the bore. I’d be inquiring about getting the barrel replaced, as the diameter you measured is nowhere near what the importer lists."

WHAT i say??? no need to slug the bore...i slug the bore of EVERY firearm i take in....

point is, i ordered the necessary moulds (JIM510300) and reloading dies only to have a perfectly good die paper weight and a worthless expander.....

i will say that this is mostly my fault for ordering the reloading gear BEFORE receiving and slugging the rifle.....but still.....

Buffalo Arms will still get my business as stuff happens....

can't wait for the new gear to arrive....

wyman

ps...anyone in the market for a perfect, with handles, JIM510300 single cavity bullet mould....

w

[ndnchf]

My Uberti runs 513" groove size. Just about everyone I've heard from say theirs run 513-514". CH4D can send you a larger expander plug.

[wymanwinn]

My Uberti runs 513" groove size. Just about everyone I've heard from say theirs run 513-514". CH4D can send you a larger expander plug.

ordered!!!

really appreciate all the help ndnchf!!!

looking forward to getting this round on paper.....

wyman

[ndnchf]

Glad to help. Please share your experience here and on the 1876 Winchester board on cascity.