50-90 sharp straight Rats

[slowfire]

well I was finally getting around to putting together a 50-90 on a roller. I have everything I need to put the rifle together,my go to guy has Starline brass.But I have not been able to get a line on a set of reloading dies "Rats". I have heard of loading ammo by just putting a bullet into a reprimed case and shooting it that way .I have not tried that method. Opinions wanted.
So I am wondering about accuracy and depending on what the reamer cuts( it is a new reamer so it is untried at this point )so i do not know how loose or tight the bullet will be in a fired case. Is there some method folks use to keep the bullet fixed in place if it turns out a bit loose .
Another question would be at some point would I have to full size to get the case into the chamber?
I question whether I should I go ahead with the build or wait until I can come op with a die set?

[Randy Bohannon]

Paper patch bullet will fix it so you can shoot your rifle without dies. Determine your chamber length for your brass trim,prime, load with some powder put wad or three on top fire form the brass. Measure a case mouth and write that number down, this is size you want to end up with. Determine what paper you will use,measure two thickness’ of the paper and deduct that # from the case mouth measurement. That is the size of bullet you will need plus or minus a few .001 th’s. because paper thickness is variable. You will have to determine what mould you want to start with, light express bullets ? or big heavy long range bullets ? or something in between . What powder ? I would lean toward black powder as the cartridge was intended for best results and match bullets to the rifling twist.
It can be done without dies just a bit more rethinking and some new skills.

[Bent Ramrod]

Eventually, you will need to run the shells into (or at least partially into) a FLS die. Even at black powder pressures, shells eventually get sticky after multiple reloadings, and most traditional single shots have little camming and less extraction power.

I generally FLS any of the new brass that comes in bulk bags these days to get the dings out of the mouths that sometimes occur in shipping or handling. The earlier stuff that came in partitioned boxes often didn’t need this treatment, but I did it anyway, just to make sure.

For dies, all I can say is contact CH-4D, and watch the sales and auction sites. People who get .50-90s seem to get unenthused about shooting them a lot as they get older. The dies do turn up, infrequently.

[slowfire]

Thanks for the input guys.
It looks like my guy may have a set of 50-70 dies. So I am thinking they would likely neck size the brass to hold a bullet. I could not find 50-90 on CH-4D' list. BACO has them listed as out of stock, but kind of pricey.

[Randy Bohannon]

The CH4D dies will be about $190.00-$200.00 bought from them , so you have something to compare to and they are two years out if you can even order. They might have some on the shelf, call and ask.
The 50-70 dies would be worth having for what you have indicated and size the majority of the case and keep a eye out for the 50-90 dies.

[Nobade]

The best deal on 50-90 dies is/was Lyman. I have no idea if they are still being made but a few years ago they were available and fairly cheap, around $35.

[Drydock]

Huntington Die specialties may have an Rcbs set.

[Dave T]

Huntington Die specialties may have an Rcbs set.

That's where I got my dies last fall. They also happened to have 2 bags of StarLine brass the day I called them. I took that to mean God wanted me to shoot this rifle, and at 73 with arthritis and back problems I still do. In fact I shot it out in the desert just yesterday. (smile)

Dave

[slowfire]

I found a shooting buddy close to home who said he would loan me a set of 50-70 dies to try out.
so I am thinking I will give that a try. I called Huntington's a couple of days ago and the fellow I spoke with said They one set of 30-06 dies in there shop and said waiting for more dies was like waiting for Christmas"

[Jeff Michel]

I got mine straight from RCBS, they are out of stock currently. Put in a request to notify you when they are available. I only had to wait a couple months before they contacted me. Worked well on two occasions 50-90 and 50-70.

https://www.rcbs.com/dies-and-shell-holders/rifle-dies/3-die-roll-crimp-set---legacy/1000085.html

[Chill Wills]

You may find the 50-70 dies are not small enough to size your case to hold a 0.508" 0.510" bullet. The expander too may be large. That was the experience I had years ago with both RCBS and Lyman dies. They were set up for the larger Govt. bullets and case. Dave Gullo at Buffalo Arms and I worked on that for a few go-rounds and sent back and forth some dies. He has a 50-90 too. His was the first one I shot during an off day at Raton Nationals at Pigs. It was so much fun I had to have one myself. I ended up just slip-fitting GG bullets by hand and that completely eliminated the need for dies.

[semtav]

Paper patch bullet will fix it so you can shoot your rifle without dies.

Isn't restricted to paperpatch. Last few years I shot grease groove, I shot with unsized cases. They shot just as good.
When I switched to paper patch, I literally pulled the GG bullets out of some shells I had loaded up and inserted a PP bullet in it's place. ( I shoot patched to groove).





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