Source for .42 Berdan/.42 Russian brass

[dalek]

So I got a Berdan 2 rifle to which I currently have no ammo. I see I can find the die (rather pricy) and bullets (no mould so far), but no brass. There was a thread on the military rifles (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?198537-10-75x58R) side of the forum (which makes me wonder which forum is best for my question) that mentioned buffaloarms but I can't find the brass there. However, I have been able to find .348 Win brass. So, time to learn how to resize brass?

[Drydock]

Use .44-77 brass. 42 Berdan, 43 Spanish and 44-77 all use the same brass. Just different bullet diameters. .42 Berdan is actually the parent case for all three. Respective bullet diameters are .432 / .439 / .446.

[Drydock]

I use Lee .43 spanish dies, adding a .44 Magnum die to further size the neck.

[fgd135]

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/britishmilitariaforums/42-berdan-cases-t27899.html

[Drydock]

I keep forgetting, you need to file a bevel on the front side of the rim for the extractor to work properly.

[ascast]

Ideal/Lyman made a mold for the Berdan, I have one copy. IN 25 years of ebayt etc it is the only one I have seen. Anything around 432 or bigger will work, especially with black. I think the originals were Paper patched. Bores sizes will vary.
Good luck.

[fgd135]

Ideal/Lyman made a mold for the Berdan...

Lyman 427103, made both as a plain base and a gas check version, casts about 365 grains in pure lead. All three of the molds I own cast slightly different dimensions and wts., from .426" to .429"; the gas check base weighs slightly less. One mold has 2 grease grooves, the other two have three. Watch your bullet diameters and finished rounds as the chambers are very snug. My Berdan II infantry rifles, from all three Russian arsenals, are very consistent in this respect, and in bore diameter. Soft lead bullets were intended to be slugged up by the black powder to fit the bores.
If you resize these bullets to .422", they can be paper patched with 9# paper to about .430-31", shoot quite well, and mimic the original pp military load.

[smkummer]

Ranch dog used to make .432 diameter plus molds for micro groove Marlins.