Making .46 Long Rimfire

[ndnchf]

Edit - I found out this rifle is .44 Long rimfire, see below.


I'm sure very few people are interested in making this cartridge. But I wanted to post it for someone in the future who may have a need for it.. In a nutshell, these are the steps I use.

I use 44 magnum brass. I'll tell you up front, making .46 long reloadable rimfire brass is a lot of work and not for the casual reloader. Here are the steps I've developed to convert the brass to rimfire.

1. Make a brass plug to fill the centerfire primer pocket. Solder this plug in place. Then face it in the lathe flush with the case.

2. Center punch a spot at the edge of the original primer pocket. This will be the where the plug and hole meet.

3. Drill the new primer hole. I start with a small drill fitted to the center punch spot. Then follow with a #2 drill.

4. Ream hole with a .224” chucking reamer for a slight press fit of the empty .22 blank.

5. Use a 9/32” drill bit (or end mill) to make a recess for the .22 blank rim in the new primer pocket. Test fit a .22
blank until the .22 rim is .003” - .005” below the .32 case rim.

6. Mill or file a firing pin relief slot about .016” deep in the case rim. This allows space for the firing pin to crush the .22 blank rim.

7. Clean up burrs and wash.

8. Trim to length. .46 Long is 1.250”

9. Size in a .44 mag die.

10. Anneal the case neck.

[cwtebay]

Great description!!!!

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[Jniedbalski]

Just wondering could you use a regular pistol or rifle primer instead of the blank if you reamed it the correct size? Nice job

[Nueces]

Just wondering could you use a regular pistol or rifle primer instead of the blank if you reamed it the correct size? Nice job

Primers require a more or less center strike to pop. For a rimfire case, the firing pin strike is, wait for it, out on the rim. A look at the above middle photo shows why a centerfire primer can not be seated out far enough.

[Jedman]

I assume a 46 long uses a healed bullet ? Jedman

[cwtebay]

I used a fairly close method for 32 Extra Long. I had to turn mine out of brass stock though.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210412/a95327c2477fb7b81e0983a7f26cfa32.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210412/e1b2404c05c8c2294ed1acd35f2e4ce7.jpg

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[samari46]

I wonder if this process could be used to convert 56-50 spencer centerfire brass to be used in an original 56-50 spencer rimfire Peabody carbine?. Frank

[cwtebay]

I wonder if this process could be used to convert 56-50 spencer centerfire brass to be used in an original 56-50 spencer rimfire Peabody carbine?. FrankIt is definitely possible. I've made 25, various 32's, 41, and 44 Henry successfully. I like the idea of using a preexisting case as the OP has better than using my questionable machining skills to make them!

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[Stephen Cohen]

It never ceases to amaze how much knowledge is in this group, I wish I had seen this before I sold my Remington No 4 in 32 R/F. Regards Stephen

[ndnchf]

As mentioned, I dont think a centerfire primer could work for this. Not to mention, I dont have the tooling to form a CF primer pocket.

It does indeed take a heel bullet. What is shown above is a 400gr .45-70 bullet I shortened at both ends, then cut a heel into the base. It is just a test. The original bullet was about 300gr, this one is 315". But since this rifle is 150 years old, I'm going with a lighter bullet with less stress. Im going to try a Lee 456-220-1R, then cut a heel into it.

The same technique can be used to make almost any rimfire caliber. I have made reloadable .32 long and extra long cases before, this was my first foray into larger sizes. The only specialty tooling I used was the .224" chucking reamer. But that was about $15 on ebay. But I may look into a .22 cal match chamber reamer as an alternative to multiple drill bits and the .224" chucking reamer. That would cut the chamber and rim at one time.

For those with .32 rimfires, Jack Harrison ("tenmile" on Gunbroker) sells ready to use reloadable .32 rimfire cases and heel bullets on Gunbroker. They are very nicely made, better than the ones I made. I recently bought some and cut them down to .32 short length for my 1870s Remington ring trigger pistol. Here is a short video I made shooting it.

https://youtu.be/_25YxdWTUCM

[toot]

I have a JOSLIN RIM FIRE CARBINE. how would I make cases for it, if at all?? I would rely like to fire it.

[toot]

your description should be made a STICKY!!

[ndnchf]

If I recall correctly, the Joslyn is .56-50. If so, you can use the same technique with shortened 50-70 brass.

[ndnchf]

Or you could buy ready to use 56-50.

https://www.rccbrass.com/product/56-50-spencer-rimfire/

[cwtebay]

I think the joslyn was chambered in a few different cartridges - even a propietary one.

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[ndnchf]

My early 1860 period Ballard sporting rifle arrived the other day. It turned out to be .44 Long, not .46 cal. I can't really blame the seller, it has no caliber markings at all. But I'm fine with it. An interesting side note is that these very early Ballards were some of the very first metallic cartridge sporting rifles ever made. So getting this one shooting again is a real treat.

The reloadable cases I made last week will still work after being shortened and sized. But I found cases made from shortened .44-40 are a better fit to the base end of the chamber. So last night I made up 5 rimfire cases from .44-40 brass. For bullets, I'm using a 218gr .44 S&W American mold from Old West Molds. It drops at .435" diameter which is the barrel groove size.

Converting the cases to rimfire is the same procedure as shown above. I hope to get to the range in the next few days and try them out.

[ndnchf]

I took the .44 long rimfire Ballard rifle to the range this afternoon for the first time. I have to admit being just a little nervous shooting a 157 year old rifle for the first time! I made a short video, check it out to see how it went :-)

https://youtu.be/aq3CqFQd36E