MikeS
03-10-2013, 10:39 PM
Hi All.
I just got a Lee Enfield, one of the ones rebuilt by Navy Arms (or actually their rifle building company Gibbs Rifle Co) in 45-70. My other 45-70 rifle is an old spanish rolling block that I shoot only with BP. I'm planning on shooting the Enfield with the same loads, rather than having 2 different loads, one for the roller, one for the Enfield. Is there anything I need to lookout for when shooting it with BP?
Another question, currently I'm sizing my boolits to .458 which after slugging the bore of my rolling block I determined to be the right size, and so far I get zero leading. I haven't slugged the Enfield yet, but I think it might have a larger bore than the roller, when I take a 457125 and stick it in the muzzle of both rifles it goes much deeper into the muzzle of the Enfield than it does in the roller, so if I find after slugging the bore that I need to size the boolits larger, would the rolling block have any problems shooting these larger size boolits?
I really don't want to have to make 2 sets of ammo in the same cartridge if I don't have to which is also the reason I'll be shooting BP in the Enfield. If it does need larger boolits, then I only have a couple of moulds I could use, as all my Lyman moulds drop right at .458, but my 2 Lee moulds the 405gr HB and the 500gr pointed boolit both are spec'ed to drop at .459 but both seem to drop a bit fatter, between .460 - .461 so as long as the Enfield's bore isn't larger than that I should be all set. If I need to load separate ammo for the Enfield, then I might still load BP assuming it won't be a problem for the action (which I doubt, but it can't hurt to ask), although I might load some SP as well.
I just got a Lee Enfield, one of the ones rebuilt by Navy Arms (or actually their rifle building company Gibbs Rifle Co) in 45-70. My other 45-70 rifle is an old spanish rolling block that I shoot only with BP. I'm planning on shooting the Enfield with the same loads, rather than having 2 different loads, one for the roller, one for the Enfield. Is there anything I need to lookout for when shooting it with BP?
Another question, currently I'm sizing my boolits to .458 which after slugging the bore of my rolling block I determined to be the right size, and so far I get zero leading. I haven't slugged the Enfield yet, but I think it might have a larger bore than the roller, when I take a 457125 and stick it in the muzzle of both rifles it goes much deeper into the muzzle of the Enfield than it does in the roller, so if I find after slugging the bore that I need to size the boolits larger, would the rolling block have any problems shooting these larger size boolits?
I really don't want to have to make 2 sets of ammo in the same cartridge if I don't have to which is also the reason I'll be shooting BP in the Enfield. If it does need larger boolits, then I only have a couple of moulds I could use, as all my Lyman moulds drop right at .458, but my 2 Lee moulds the 405gr HB and the 500gr pointed boolit both are spec'ed to drop at .459 but both seem to drop a bit fatter, between .460 - .461 so as long as the Enfield's bore isn't larger than that I should be all set. If I need to load separate ammo for the Enfield, then I might still load BP assuming it won't be a problem for the action (which I doubt, but it can't hurt to ask), although I might load some SP as well.