50-70 Compression Die

[Mark Daiute]

where can I find a compression die for my 1866 50-70?

Thanks,

Mark

[Gunlaker]

Buffalo Arms is a great place to buy them.

Chris.

[Washington1331]

Mark,

In a pinch you can use the expander die from your regular die set to compress the powder. I fill the case with the desired amount of 1F, place a wad on top and then compress using the expander die. Works good for me and it saved me some moolah for other projects.

[country gent]

You can also make a hard wood "bullet" under dia of a case neck and use your seater die with it to compress powder. If you get the "wood bullet dead right to what your loading the same setting on your seater die will be right for compressing also. Buffalo arms, Trac of the wolf and I believe dixie sell compression stems for the expander dies of most die sets. A true square base on the stem is important and not compressing to deep also. You dont want airspace between charge wads and bullet.

[Dan4570]

I have friend that custom builds them. they are custom built one at a time, you can see some of his work on
Facebook, Ram Mountain Armory.
I have a proto type 45-90 compression die posted on my facebook page. vigilante bullet lube, the die should do about everything from45-110, 45-100 down to 45-60.
I did some horse trading for mine, I do not know what price he plans to put on them, it may be worth calling him up.
I tried mine out the other night...couln't have a new compression die, and 50 new 45-90 casings sitting here with me all alone and not at least load just one.
These are top quality dies, and custom built, (definitely a cool factor involved) I can say that it was about perfect, and tollerances were right on. I would suggest his compressions dies to anyone looking. They will fit right into your RCBS, Lee ect....press.
Look him up on Face book, the page is public so any one can access it, and his contact info should be there.

Tell him Dan , from Vigilante Bullet Lube sent you, maybe you can talk him into making you one.

[Mark Daiute]

Mark,

In a pinch you can use the expander die from your regular die set to compress the powder. I fill the case with the desired amount of 1F, place a wad on top and then compress using the expander die. Works good for me and it saved me some moolah for other projects.

I have a spare seating die and a spare expansion die from RCBS die sets. How do I use the expander die without destroying the case?

Thanks!

Mark

[Washington1331]

Mark,

I used the expander die that came with the 50/70 RCBS set that I have. Since this method uses the expander plug from the die to compress the powder I used the following proceedure to compress the powder using the 50/70 expander die.

1) Fill cartride with desired charge of powder. For me it was 70 grains of 1F.
2) Place fiberwad on top of powder column. I did this not only to protect the base of the boolit but also to prevent powder from getting up into the expander die during compression.
3) I measured out the depth that my projectile would sit in the case when assembled to my desired LOA. I put a line at approximately the desired depth on the outside of the case.
4) Going slowly screw in the expander die a little at a time, and slowly compress the powder column until you reach close to your marking on the side of case. I then confirm that I have reached the desired depth by finger seating the bullet to see if I can get the desired LOA without forcing or deforming the bullet nose. This part is a pain in the butt with new unfired brass. If you're using new brass, you may see some excess lead being scraped from the side of the boolit. (This will go away once you get some fired brass.) I actually used a peice to 2x4 to push the bullet into the casing on the first one. If all lines up, tighten your set screw and you're good to go. If not deep enough, tighten the die body. If too deep, loosen the die but you're going to have the dickens of a time scraping out compressed powder in the kitchen sink.

Since you're only looking at compressing the powder column between .3 and .5 inches you're not going to get yourself in the situation where you overly flare the case mouth with the expander die.

Another word of advice... When it comes time to reload your fired brass, don't use the resizing/decapping die. My accuracy stunk with new unfired brass as they squeezed down the diameter of the boolit. I now use a universal decapper. I found that once "fire formed" I could easly seat the boolit with my fingers without the need for the seating die. My accuracy increased greatly in my trapdoor rifle.

Hope that helps.

[Mark Daiute]

Mark,

I used the expander die that came with the 50/70 RCBS set that I have. Since this method uses the expander plug from the die to compress the powder I used the following proceedure to compress the powder using the 50/70 expander die.

1) Fill cartride with desired charge of powder. For me it was 70 grains of 1F.
2) Place fiberwad on top of powder column. I did this not only to protect the base of the boolit but also to prevent powder from getting up into the expander die during compression.
3) I measured out the depth that my projectile would sit in the case when assembled to my desired LOA. I put a line at approximately the desired depth on the outside of the case.
4) Going slowly screw in the expander die a little at a time, and slowly compress the powder column until you reach close to your marking on the side of case. I then confirm that I have reached the desired depth by finger seating the bullet to see if I can get the desired LOA without forcing or deforming the bullet nose. This part is a pain in the butt with new unfired brass. If you're using new brass, you may see some excess lead being scraped from the side of the boolit. (This will go away once you get some fired brass.) I actually used a peice to 2x4 to push the bullet into the casing on the first one. If all lines up, tighten your set screw and you're good to go. If not deep enough, tighten the die body. If too deep, loosen the die but you're going to have the dickens of a time scraping out compressed powder in the kitchen sink.

Since you're only looking at compressing the powder column between .3 and .5 inches you're not going to get yourself in the situation where you overly flare the case mouth with the expander die.

Another word of advice... When it comes time to reload your fired brass, don't use the resizing/decapping die. My accuracy stunk with new unfired brass as they squeezed down the diameter of the boolit. I now use a universal decapper. I found that once "fire formed" I could easly seat the boolit with my fingers without the need for the seating die. My accuracy increased greatly in my trapdoor rifle.

Hope that helps.

Wow, this is all truly appreciated.

With my 45-70 I reform the entire case but then I have a full-length expansion die. my .459 sized bullets fit perfectly snug once the Full lenght expansion die is used and I don't crip the bullet as it is completlely snug in the case and will not come loose.

[StrawHat]

where can I find a compression die for my 1866 50-70?

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,

All the above is good information. What you need to remember is the 1866 is truly a "weak trapdoor" in that it is a converted musket and not a separate receiver and barrel. I load for one and do not use a lot of compression, just enough to keep things from shifting until I get the boolit in place.

Kevin

[Mark Daiute]

Kevin,

Are you loading 70 grains of Black Powder?

Thanks,

Mark

[StrawHat]

Mark,

With black powder, I am not the most scientific of loaders. With black powder, I take an empty case and use it as a scoop. I dip the case into a dish of black powder and strike it even with the neck. I then slowly pour the powder through a funnel, into the case to be charged. It usually settles enough to allow me to seat a boolit with gentle compression. If not, I trim the scoop back a little and try again. I have not trimmed this case. It was made by Starline. I have not weighed a charge in many years but guess it is close to 70 grains. I am not a long range shooter or a target shooter so this method is satisfactory for my needs.

Getting technical nearly drove me beyond compulsion, so I try to keep things simple.

Kevin

[Mark Daiute]

Everyone- thanks for the help! I have a copression stem on the way thanks to a forum member.

Happy shooting and thanks again,

Mark