loading for the 43 Mauser/ 11mm Mauser
I have a chance to buy a pristine (almost too pristine to be true) 71/84 Mauser rifle. Don't know anything about reloading for it. I do know it is a BP round and the bore should be 43 cal (+-) will slug. What about brass? can it be formed from 45-70 or some other avalible brass or will I need to buy expensive imported brass to reload. Any help would be useful.
Thank you.
Be wary of Dominion 11.15x60 (.43 Mauser) Brass
I too have a 71/84, with full matching P/Ns throughout, that lost its extractor and had the original stock damaged enough that it needs replacement, due to a failure of a Dominion 11.15x60 case right at the junction of the rim and case body, when handling a relatively light load (60 grains of 777 behind a Lyman cast 370 gr bullet).
So, with regard to the notes from "Trooperdan", "Bigjohn", and "Newfoundlander2", I can confirm problems with Dominion brass failing right ahead of the rim, on relatively light loads. Actually a bit of an upsetting experience, made me very thankful about wearing eye protection, and that I wasn't shooting the smokeless loads I had also worked up for this rifle (which previously had shot cleanly and well, with no indications of any pending failures).
For the brass that failed, this was only the second time these had been reloaded (the original factory loads, then one time through using 46 gr of 4064 behind the 370 gr cast bullet. then finally the 60 grain load of 777 behind that same bullet. No barrel fouling present (the shot actually hit where I placed it). I pulled the bullets from the remaining 9 loads, the deprimed and "autopsied" the cases. Nothing was visible on the outside, but the inside of several cases showed hairline cracks circumferentially above and below the "balooned" portion at the rim. Has made me come to a shuddering halt on using these cases at all. Interestingly, I have a few "Imperial" cases that are fine (not formed the same way as the Dominion cases, no baloon section involved). I too will be going to some completely new cases, probably the Bell ones (had good service with them on my 577/450).
Bottom line, I can recommend staying away from the Dominion cases, or any other case that is formed in the same manner, you simply have no way to tell when it might be ready to let go. And when these fail at the rim like they are prone to do, that gets a whole lot nastier to the shooter than a lengthwise split further into the chamber.
SDM
Concerns about 43 Mauser Brass marked "DOMINION"
Hi All;
Been digging into the cause of the case failures I had experienced, and have discovered something a bit strange/discomforting to say the least. All of the cases in my posession are "head stamped" DOMINION 43 MAUSER.
All in all, aside from the cases I'd "autopsied" where I found internal circumferential cracks along the rim, I found three more cases that had actually failed at the rim, in addition to the one that blew the extractor off and turned the stock into scrap. One case had a small (approx .12" long) circumferential split along the rim/case junction, one that not only had a similar split along the rim, but had a crack that had opened up through the rim and almost all the way in to the primer pocket, and one with, effectively, a pinhole at the rim/case junction.
Now for the "strange" bit. All of the cases that failed, and all of the cases that showed hidden internal circumferential cracks, showed rim and head areas that had been cast (yes, CAST) and then machine turned to give the proper rim diameter (and, in some instances, reducing the body diameter just ahead of the rim). The so called "head stamp" on these particular cases was also cast into the head, NOT stamped. and the composition of the case is of a different brass (somewhat more reddish) than the Dominion cases I had obtained from a known good source (Canadian new in the box stuff from the mid '50s).
Over the years, I had picked up these other "Dominion" cases at various gun shows, and I specifically remember buying one set of 10 of these cases as "new" cases at a show in Plattsburg about 10 years ago. Many of these suspect cases also have a rim that is bevelled at approx 30 degrees, with the bevelled area also showing a characteristic cast finish where machining the rim diameter had not removed the surface. A couple of these cases also show the cast finish circumferentially around the primer pocket (if I can get a decent set of closeups, I'll post them here.)
The cases I can vouch for as being original Dominion cases are clearly formed by an extrusion process that leaves a very characteristic "finish" to the head and rim areas, and the head stamping is clean and properly formed, definately not formed following a casting process. None of these "good" cases show any abberations as seen on the failed cases.
Leaves me wondering if the failure cases were "counterfits". They certainly were not produced by the same process as were the verified original cases. I have seen examples of brass cartridge cases produced in Yemen and Pakistan, and both the colouring of the brass and the inconsistencies on finish lead me to suspect these cases may have been produced in such an environment.
To anyone reading this, take a careful look at any "DOMINION 43 MAUSER" cases you may have in you posession, and look for the kinds of things I've found. I would recommend that if you find cases that exhibit cast surfaces in the rim and head areas, or evidence of machining around the rim/case junction, be suspicious, very suspicious. I keep thanking my Maker that I was shooting a light 777 load at the time, and not the 3031 bases loads I'd worked up.
Morgan,
Might take you up on the offer. I looked into the possibility of using that Lebel brass, or, 9x57R Rubin, both good fits, but couldnt find either, and although the 45-120 case is a really close fit to form into an 11.15x60 case, its rim is only .059 thick versis the .07 rim on the .348 case (don't want to mess with the headspacing).
I'll let you know shortly.
Steve