I'm making this post to hopefully gather several different perspectives on loading the 405g style cartridge in a trapdoor with the 1879 style "buckhorn" sights.
Ive been reading his book and aquired many components, however, its been hard to find EXACTLY what he calls for.
According to Wolf, the cartridge has many intricate loading procedures that must be followed to make it shoot well due to its light weight and diameter.
In his book, he calls for the following...
-405g projectile with hollow base @20:1 to prevent bullet slump
- winchester MAGNUM primers
- enlarged flash hole w/ #41 drill bit
- case length @ 2.105
- 70g 2f compressed ~ .665
-OAL 2.54
- a tight crimp over the front driving band.
The problems......
BRASS:
I have alot of 45/70 brass. Most of which is WAY to short for this recipie @ around 2.95- 2.100. Even my new starline brass is short. I do see why this lenght is important to AVOID deformity the front driving band. But will a few thousands short do much to destroy accuracy?
PRIMERS:
.I have large pistol primers and cannot locate magnum primers. Will an enlarged flash hole and large pistol primer be sufficient to brake up the black powder cylinder? Or am I wasting precious powder and shot on this?
ALLOY:
in his book, he calls for a 20:1 for all applications except the carbine load, which can be 30:1. All I have is 30:1. Has anyone used a softer allow successfuly or is the harder stuff non negotiable?
Is it possible to get good accuracy out of a 405g HB bullet without all of these steps? If so, what are you all doing?
Back in the early 90s, components were easier to find I'm guessing ( I was 2 years old when he passed).
I'm hoping to see if there are instances where Wolf's methods have been improved on or proved unnessary. I belive his method is wonderful and very informative, however we live in different times and components difficult to procure. I'd like to find a work around on some of the steps to accurately reflect readily avaliable materials.