Size of bulletmould to use on Snyder 577 blackpowder breech loader

[Old Canuck]

Would like to know what size bullet mould should use if my breech is .608 and my muzzle is .596. A standard Snyder mould is .578 and just falls through the barrel. A concaved mould is needed to expand on firing

thanks

Information

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[Ridolpho]

Old Canuck: That sounds big at the muzzle- Ordnance Issue Sniders have progressive depth rifling which, I believe, is only 0.005" deep at the muzzle. In any case, you have a few choices. You can either shoot sub-bore bullets (as with the original ammo) that have a base cavity and expand to take the rifling or you can buy moulds for solids up to 0.60" that are forced into the rifling as per modern practice. I play with .575 minies, and .59 and .60 grease groove solids. The big solids seem to be the way modern shooters squeeze (no pun intended) the maximum accuracy from the Snider but they also generally add an additional soft lubricant to the bullet nose before chambering the cartridge. The .60 bullets also may not be held at all by the fire-formed brass and I found .59's required neck sizing to hold the bullet in place. I prefer the small minies as the bullets are firmly held in the neck of the resized brass and they seem to work fine with only the lube carried in the grooves of the bullet (as with the originals). If you're interested I'll post an e-mail address for a guy that sells the .59 and .60 moulds.

Ridolpho

[browningautorifle]

To add one thing, I used to paper patch my bullets. I used simple foolscap and carefully cut it so it went around and the slanted cut came exactly together at the ends. It wrapped around twice and was wet when applied. It came from the top of the grease grooves to below the bullet enough to wrap a pig tail and tuck it up inside. They shot great, and gave no issues... Ridopho has likely shot ten times what I have...in those. Mine did work though.

Although I used a Lee mold, I think they've gone the way of the Dodo. Here's one that might do. LYMAN MOULD Mini Ball .575 dia, 566grs Double Cavity | STROBL.CZ - Ammo reloading, shooting, hunting

[dennis g]

Contact Martyn, xringservices@yahoo.com. He sells a couple different Snider moulds. I have one in .600 from him. Nice guy.

[Ridolpho]

To add one thing, I used to paper patch my bullets. I used simple foolscap and carefully cut it so it went around and the slanted cut came exactly together at the ends. It wrapped around twice and was wet when applied. It came from the top of the grease grooves to below the bullet enough to wrap a pig tail and tuck it up inside. They shot great, and gave no issues...
Although I used a Lee mold, I think they've gone the way of the Dodo. Here's one that might do. LYMAN MOULD Mini Ball .575 dia, 566grs Double Cavity | STROBL.CZ - Ammo reloading, shooting, hunting

BAR: Was that the Lee minie bullet that you paper patched? I still use that old Lee mould you gave me a few years ago- still makes very nice bullets. New versions are available from Lee but they seem to have changed the bullet design a bit (shallower grooves). I've not tried the paper patching route yet but sounds like it's worth a shot. Final comment on the big solid bullets, I have a detached Snider barrel which I chopped up (unshootable due to pitting). I pounded a X-ring .60 through the breech end and the bullet deformation was severe. This is because the 3-groove barrel has very wide .577 lands. I do use the .60 X-ring bullets in 5-groove short rifles as they have a much reduced ratio of land to groove.

Ridolpho

[browningautorifle]

Was that the Lee minie bullet that you paper patched?

That would be the one. I had forgotten just where that one went... Yes, it worked decently with paper patch compared to lube.

[Old Canuck]

Thank you for the info, also looking for Snyder brass not the old stuff but ones you can reload.

[browningautorifle]

ones you can reload

I bought mine from Elwood Epps close to you. The cases had been made by Elwood I guess on a lathe and were $5 each... Don't know now... Shows they still stock but a call would be in order. Brands We Carry - Hunting

[Ridolpho]

Thank you for the info, also looking for Snyder brass not the old stuff but ones you can reload.

Old Canuck: The same fellow referenced above (X-Ring) will also sell you trimmed and formed 24g brass cases for Snider. They seem to work well although they are what you would call "balloon-head" design. I must be on my 7th or 8th use of mine (I have 100). Martyn ships to Canada and the prices are pretty reasonable. You can also find the raw 24g cases for sale in Canada but you'll have to trim them and buy dies to form them. If you plan to use .60 bullets it is a waste to buy the dies just to be able to do the initial fireforming after which you just push in the .60's by hand. A lot of people buy Martyns formed cases and use purchased round balls or .575 minies to fireform. probably the cheapest way to get started shooting Snider.

Ridolpho

[browningautorifle]

24g cases

I also used Fiocchi plastic shotgun cases cut to length. Then I seated bullets by hand and carefully chambered them. But then, we aren't fighting Zulu are we?