Anyone shooting a 44-77

[elk hunter]

I'm still considering building a 44-77 but am concerned about availability of brass. Anyone here shooting one? If so where did you get brass or what did you make it from. I understand that it's possible to make it from 45-90 but, the base is 0.015" small. I read that in the distant past Remington made some 44-77 with steel heads and brass bodies. The bodies of the brass portion had a solid base that a screw passed thru and fixed the tube to the base. The screw formed the primer pocket. I suppose I could do something along that line but what a lot of work just to have a classic Sharps caliber. I would much rather buy than make the brass. Suggestions? Ideas?

[country gent]

Have your reamer ground to use 45 - 90 brass with the correct case head rim.

[hpbear101]

I use 45-90 in my 43 Mausers which is a very similar cartridge. I used dental rubber bands on the base of the cartridge for the first firing. They expanded out and were well centered. After that I don't size my cases and they should last until I'm gone anyway.

Tom

[Don McDowell]

The 45-90 brass does work but you need to fireform it so the cartridge will actually headspace in the shoulder instead of the rim
Best bet for brass right now is to place an order thru Buffalo Arms for their reformed 50-110 brass
I shoot Jamison brass but finding that nowadays next to impossible
Have heard tha track of the Wolf is manufacturing their own brass now so checking with them might pay off
Be careful if you’re ordering a reamer that it’s a Shiloh copy and not the original 44 as the original rims are much thicker

[Jeff Michel]

I've talked to Dave Gullo at Buffalo Arms a couple times regarding 44-77 and 44-90 brass. I've had both on back order for a couple years. Until Starline makes a run of 50-110 brass, Dave's pretty much out of luck for raw materials. May as well get on their list, the 44-77 is a great round and one of my favorites.

[nuclearcricket]

I am the kind of guy that at times has to prove that something can be done. I wasn't sure about the straight 45 case blowing out to the 77 chamber so I gave it a try. not having any of the 90 brass I used a 45-70 case with the bullet set out to where it would be in a 77 case. My rifle is a rolling block chambered for Jameson cases. 2 things surprised me. The case filled out nicely, and the load was black powder, and It didn't lead up the throat like I thought it might. The .015" difference is only .0075 per side, thats just a little more than the thickness of a sheet of printer paper. With new brass it shouldn't be any problem and may actually give you an extra grain or 2 of capacity. Also keep in mind that your case when it blows out is going to get shorter in the process. Let your cases as long as you can and still chamber and you should be good. The bullet I used was from an Accurate mold that I had the grease groves made a little wider and the first driving band reduced. It does shoot well. Eats a lot of powder but shoots well.
Sam

[Lead pot]

Using .45-90 brass for forming .44-77 or .45-2.6 brass for the .44-90BN you will find that this will be the results quite often. I went this rout before. Find some brass with the proper base diameter or close to it and form it. The rim thickness you can get around that once it's formed. The shoulder taper will hold the head space.
It might be worth doing a search for .3-1/4 44 basic brass. Bertram might still have it but it will come at a cost and it will also be very hard.
I used a lot of Bell basic before Jamison.
I talked to shooters that turned the band off and used the .300 win brass after forming it, but I would think extraction could be a problem.....
324171

[elk hunter]

I thought I might turn a base section out of brass or possibly steel and insert a 300 Win mag case from the rear, loctite it in and fire form. The base would be reusable if the mag case split. Might work, maybe not. I'd still rather buy the correct brass. Maybe I'll just go back to original plan and make it a 405 Win.

I have Bell and Jamison for some of my rifles, good stuff. Wish they were still in business.

Thanks for the input.

[MichaelR]

Buffalo Arms has Bertram 43 Spanish brass in stock. The two cartridges are nearly identical.

[Lead pot]

Right now the .43 Spanish is the best bet. But you have to watch and check the base diameters. some run .550 +- and there is also the.43 Spanish Reformado.
I used some .348 and .50-110 but I had to swage the bases down to get them to fit the Shiloh's.
It's really a shame that the proper fitting brass that is still custom made by a couple shops is so darned expensive.

[Don McDowell]

405 brass is almost as bad or worse in the unobtainable category as the 44-77

[Bent Ramrod]

I wrote up how I made some .44-77 shells from .348 Winchester in the “Case Forming” section here.

A fair amount of work, but the results are certifiably Cool. Also, once made, if blackpowder loads are used, they don’t seem to split, crack or wear out.

[elk hunter]

I wrote up how I made some .44-77 shells from .348 Winchester in the “Case Forming” section here.

A fair amount of work, but the results are certifiably Cool. Also, once made, if blackpowder loads are used, they don’t seem to split, crack or wear out.

As usual I tried and no results for the search.

[Don McDowell]

In all honesty the 45-90 cases I fireformed for my first 44-77 while waiting for Jamison to get their production up and running have lasted just fine and were capable of producing some very good groups.
You might get ahold of Kenny Wasserburger a while back he told me he knew someone that had a pretty good batch of the BACO reformed 348's.

[ascast]

Bent Ramrod, I also searched for your piece and found nothing. Any clues?

[ascast]

You might look into 11mm Mauser but the rim thickness must be watched.

[Lead pot]

I have it in my files because it was an interest for me

:D https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?398885-Forming-44-77-Shells

[elk hunter]

405 brass is almost as bad or worse in the unobtainable category as the 44-77

I have a 95 in 405 and enough brass and bullets to last me a while. I recently heard of an original Sharps Business rifle in 40-? caliber for sale locally. I'm trying to run that down and if I do pick it up I wouldn't need another 40 caliber Sharps. Not that I would turn one down.

[Don McDowell]

Nice thing about that Hornady 405 brass it lasts a good long time

[MichaelR]

Track of the Wolf shows that they have 43 Spanish in stock. Suitable brass is out there but get the brass in your hands before ordering a rifle. 44 2 1/4 SBN is a really sweet cartridge.

[Yellowhouse]

43 Spanish by Jameson has too thick rim for my Shiloh 44-77

[John in PA]

Track of the Wolf has brass. https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/139/1/case-43-spanish NOTE DESCRIPTION: rim thickness 0.090" duplicates old production for antique guns. They also offer a shell holder specifically for the thicker rims in case you require one.

#CASE-43-SPANISH is our exact copy of the original antique unfired cartridges in our collection. No SAAMI standards exist for this caliber, but a print from the ammunition manufacturer, ELY BROTHERS, LONDON, has survived. The cartridges in our collection have very slightly larger dimensions than those on the print, which may have been specified smaller intentionally, to allow easy chambering in any brand of gun. Our cases are 2-1/4" (2.25") nominal length, with .090" rim thickness, .633" rim diameter, Case mouth thickness is about .008". These cases chamber perfectly in our antique rifles, but your experience may vary. Same day refund if returned, unfired, unmodified, unmolested. If it does not chamber in your rifle, you may have one of many different similar chamberings. Don't force it!

[Lead pot]

Rim thickness it the easiest to work around with. No Lathe needed for that job. The .44 basic Bell brass I used a lot of had the thickness for the originals but that can be shined using 220 grid emery or wet/dry sand paper laid on a smooth surface and do the figure 8 till you reach the right thickness you need. The Shiloh for the .44-77 or the .44-90BN run .074-.075", Mine do anyway. The C-Sharps use a different thickness.
A lot of the cases I thinned the rims I used a RCBS case prep station and deepened the primer pockets, some I left shallow just for using pistol primers.
The hard part is getting the base down but this can be done with a little work.
I'm glad that I got a good supply of Jamison cases and some of the Bell and Huntington basic for the .44-77 and the .44-90BN to last me. I gave 150 cases to a couple friends that had the .44-90BN on order so they can get to shooting it. The rest will be saved for the rifles for the Kids when I get done with them.
The .44-77 and the .44-90 bn are a great chamberings that I personally like better than the .45 calibers. The .44-90 bn I feel has too much horse power for matches but it gets the job done when the conditions pickup. But the .44-77 and the .44-75 Ballard I think are just right. :D

[ndnchf]

When C. Sharps rebarreled my original Remington #1 sporting rifle, I had them chamber it for Jamison .44-77 brass. The original damaged barrel was chambered for the original .090" thick rims. To get the Jamison brass, I bought 80 rounds of loaded ammunition from a specialty reloader who had bought a quantity of brass. It can be hard to find, but persistence pays off.