43 Spanish Chamber

[steveu]

I have a Argentine 1879 RB with a mint bore. I did a cast from mid-case up to .9" into the barrel. Groove diameter is .441", the neck seems short at .225" and the shoulder length is .150". I did a cast of the Lee sizing die to see what it was and the shoulder length is .220", which from what I have read is the correct length. So the question is, what chamber do I have?
Cheers,
Steve

[Brewer]

Look up and cross check your dimentions between .43 spanish from 1867 or the later Spanish .43 Reformado? There are slight differences between the two although both are ".43 spanish. reformado uses a jacketed bullet as opposed to plain lead.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Measure the diameter at 45mm from the base. For the .43 Spanish Remington this is the top of the clearly visible shoulder, and the neck is about 11.6mm at this level.
A Reformado, on tthe other hand, is almost neckless, and 45mm above the base will still have a diameter of about 12.5mm.
The Reformado only closes up right at the top of the case.

I think that some worn-out rifles in .43 Spanish were quite simply bored out at the top of the chamber to take Reformado, leading to odd in-between dimensions, with the result that the only definite conclusion I have been able to reach up to now is that .43 Spanish will chamber in a Reformado, although the fired case will look rather odd, but a Reformado cartridge will not fit in an original .43 Spanish chamber.

Look them up on municion.org, and you will see what I mean.

[steveu]

I checked the dimensions against what is in the "Handloaders Manual to Cartridge Conversions" and it is a 11.15X58r. I was looking at the dimensions that were online at Load Data and they show what I think is the wrong dimension for the cartridge. They list the cartridge as the "11.5x57R/ .43 Spanish Reformado" and the diagram is labeled 11.15x58R. I am still confused by the Lee die shoulder length. It should not matter, because I am going to be using new brass and neck sizing.

Cheers,
Steve

[browningautorifle]

It should not matter, because I am going to be using new brass and neck sizing.

After all that you shouldn't have problems...doing it this way. Let us know after. Mint bore...that's nice.

[jon_norstog]

Steve, there were a ton of Argentine rolling block rifles and carbines imported and sold during the early '60s. I bought one, my brothers and our dad all bought them. They were all in "arsenal refurbished" condition. I'm thinking the bores must have been broached out because they were all happier shooting a .446 (44-77) bullet than the .439 they were supposed to use. If you can see a shoulder in the chamber you have a .43 Spanish.

It was a good round, higher velocity than the 45-70 and the tapered cartridge made for easier extraction of spent shells. The deep rifling grooves made for a barrel that didn't foul up as fast


jn

[steveu]

Jon,
Thanks for the reply. I am waiting on some hollow base .439 bullets that are supposed to be a copy of the original Remington bullet. The guy that is making them said that he had the mould custom made. I hope they will do the trick. I will post a range report with pictures when I get to shoot them.

Cheers,
Steve

[jon_norstog]

Yeah, Steve! The .439s should work long as you use black powder behind them. Smokeless, maybe a fast-burning powder like Unique might work too - we used to use that when we were kids.

jn