Die set for Lyman 310 Loader

[Fredrick]

Hello to all and thanks for having me.
I work in the bush and stay in camp for a couple weeks at a time here on the North end of Vancouver Island and over on the coastal mainland. We have some cranky critters here and I carry a rifle while out and about. I like one shot kills so I either take the 1886, 45-70 or my 1895, 405WCF.
I have a LEE press that does pack up fairly well for light plane travel but I would love to get a complete set of dies for the old Ideal 310 hand press to reload the 405. I also need the case adapter #10 and the Priming Chamber #17 for the 45-70.
My FB crew suggested I go here for help. I was also told of a guy in TX that will build these dies, but I couldn't find him. ??

[square butte]

Just google up the "310 shop" - Comes up every time for me. The wait for a custom built set for your .405 is likely to be long and pricey. He should be able to set you up with the proper shell adaptor and priming chamber for 45-70 - But if not you can usually find them on ebay. Prices are high right now, but you can find it there with patience.

[trooperdan]

I bet I can help. I have a LOT of 310 dies, handles and parts, even have a seater die with seater plug for .405 Winchester! I often use these 310 dies in the Lee hand press with an adapter as the 310 dies are about 5/8" versus the regular 7/8" die. You'll need a resizer die and an expander die body and expander plug. BTW, the Lyman code for .405 Win dies is 121. A Lee hand priming tool works better than the 310 priming chamber s that was slow and made you handle the primer quite a bit. But you'll need a shellholder for the .405. What boolit size do you load in the .405? I'm off to do some research on the .405 cartridge to see what I have that might be useful.

I'm back, this might be easier than I though! Looks like .405 head size is nearly the same as.30-40 Krag and the muzzle is close to .41 Magnum! I have a .41 Mag decap and resize die that just might work! Spec I saw show the .41 as being about .002 smaller than .405 , these 310 dies are rather soft and you could open the 41 die up a couple of thousands easy! For an expander die you could use a Lyman "M" die in .41 cal and I have one of those also. A .30-40 shellholder should be available for a hand priming tool and you are set in that caliber!

As for .45-70, that was one of the last caliber Lyman made for the 310 dies and new sets are around but run about $70 or more I think, I'm on the hunt for a set right now!

Back again, There is a seller on e@bay that has both the sizer and expander dies in .405 Win, not 310 dies but the normal 7/8" that would fir the Lee hand press without an adapter. I do not know how difficult it would be to neck size the .405 cases only using the Hornady dies and the Lee press but that just might be the best solution to try at least and if it doesn't work, sell them and try another way. BTW, Graf's has 9.3x74R brass that will form into .405 Win for less than a buck a case PPU brand