Lyman 310 Tool for 40-60 Winchester? Will .40-65 work?

[senormik]

Hi gents,

I'd like to reload for my Chaparral rifle in .40-60 Winchester using an an antique-style hand tool, like the Lyman 310. Could the .40-65 set be made to work? I think it's a bit too long, and if I remember correctly the .40-65 uses a slightly larger diameter bullet. Thanks for any ideas!

Best,
Michael

[Green Frog]

Since the 310 die sets for rifles neck size only, the critical thing is whether the neck diameter is right on the case and on the finished (seated bullet) round. I am using one of the .40-65 sets to load .40-40 Maynard (1873 Model) rounds with great success.

Froggie

[Le Loup Solitaire]

hi, According to my old Lyman handbook that has a section on case conversion, new cases can be made for both the 40-65 and the 40-60 from 45-70 cases. The only difference in case length is that the 40-60 caselength is 1.87" compared to the 45-70 and the 40-65 cases which are 2.10" long; this is a difference of .23"
Translated into the world of the 310 tool this means that you can load the (your)40-60 cases by screwing the 40-65 dies .23 further into the tool handle and it will in fact perform all the same functions ok. If the 40-65 die set has 5 dies, the first will decap, the second die will neck resize the case mouth, the third die is the priming die, the fourth will neck expand and the fifth die will seat and crimp the new bullet. If you have to full length resize the cases then you will have to find some other way to do it as the 310 dies do not full length resize at all. Normally cases fired in one/the same rifle should not require full length resizing as the chamber is always the same and there is no way they could get any bigger. As to bullet size, the same source shows both caliber designations using the same diameter bullet-.406...but different weights. The 40-60 shows a weight of 210 grains and the 40-65 used a weight of 260 grains. In both cases the molds shown are long ago discontinued by Lyman and unless you lucked out and found one somewhere you would have to check with Lyman and RCBS and see if by chance they have something current or check with other mold makers like Buffalo Arms or other custom mold makers that might have what you need.Hope this has helped. LLS

[HORNET]

Check your barrel and see if .41 boolits would work. Buckshot could make a push-through sizer to take them down just a tad if necessary. Easier than finding something that casts .406 (although I recall somebody saying their .40 cal. Lee mold ran .405").