I decided to 'play' with my .577 Snider-B.S.A. (Portuguese Contract) carbine that I have not fired in over 45 years.

I am going the 'Lazy Man' route and got some 24 gauge plastic shotshells (Cheddite - made in France). Cut to just under 2 inches, the plastic shell holds a 'lubed' .58 caliber 'Mine Ball' and chambers well. (No Dies required).

I am making up some initial loads for the carbine with 55 grains of 2FF black powder, some 'filler' (cream of wheat or foam rod), and Lyman #575213 'Mine Ball'.

It is likely, I will get poor performance from the CW - Mine Ball and may have to invest in a new mould(s).

Some Fun Now!

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Probably 12 years back, the guys at our gun club went through a "Snider phase".  Most used the same approach.  Some used the more costly brass cases from Brazil.  Accuracy was never great, although some of the guys really tried.  Pure lead bullets & lots of lube helped.  Also some sort of load compression and a wad.  The most fun part of our matches was "volley fire on command".  And Kipling poetry read aloud by Bob, the instigator, who was also the history teacher at our local high school. 

Bob was also a wine guy.  When he passed away, his long-time lady friend held a wake.  We drank up most of his wine collection and fired a blank salute from our Sniders and similar military rifles. 

Sounds like 'Bob' was my kind of guy!

"When half of your bullets fly wide of the ditch.
    
Don't call your Snider-Enfield (oops, Martini) a cross-eye old bitch.

She's as human as you are.

Just treat her as such.

And she'll fight for the young British soldier".

(with apologies to Mr. Kipling)

p.s. I don't think the British have ever done anything the Easy Way! But then, my 1st car was an 11 year old, 1954 Morris Minor - 1000. It was a hoot to work on. But, Hey, it had leather seats!

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"The snick-snick of the Snider", referred to in other stanzas as "a cripple-stopper".  How's that for PC?

As for PC, the lady friend rented a high-end place that catered to such events, next door to a very pricey B&B, all in an ultra-yuppified part of a snooty community.  She thought that having Bob's friends in semi-inebriated state, drinking good wine on the lawn and firing BP salutes from old military rifles was very much the thing to do.  A pox on the yuppies and their art galleries.

When a collector friend of mine died, and was cremated, his friends blasted his ashes over their shooting range using a small mortar from his collection! A bittersweet, but well-lubricated, time was had - sadly, there were no yuppies to annoy, Ray would have loved that.

Dick Hosmer wrote on Mar 21^st, 2016 at 3:58pm:

When a collector friend of mine died, and was cremated, his friends blasted his ashes over their shooting range using a small mortar from his collection! A bittersweet, but well-lubricated, time was had - sadly, there were no yuppies to annoy, Ray would have loved that.

sorry to hijack this evne further but I have an uncle who is waiting in his urn to be launched from our muskets

Sorry about the loss to your family.

Not meaning any disrespect to your Uncle, but, he is sort of in Limbo ... and has to: 'yearn in the urn for his burn turn'.

Forum members reveal a 'new normal' - R.I.P. = Rest In Pieces

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butlersrangers wrote on Mar 20^th, 2016 at 3:30pm:

I decided to 'play' with my .577 Snider-B.S.A. (Portuguese Contract) carbine that I have not fired in over 45 years. I am going the 'Lazy Man' route and got some 24 gauge plastic shotshells (Cheddite - made in France). Cut to just under 2 inches, the plastic shell holds a 'lubed' .58 caliber 'Mine Ball' and chambers well. (No Dies required). I am making up some initial loads for the carbine with 55 grains of 2FF black powder, some 'filler' (cream of wheat or foam rod), and Lyman #575213 'Mine Ball'. It is likely, I will get poor performance from the CW - Mine Ball and may have to invest in a new mould(s). Some Fun Now!

Hi forum

I made a similar cartridge for my reglementary Mk I* Enfield Snider.

First problem : the greased ball is a little bit loose in the case.
It holds in the case but it comes out when I pull on it.

Second problem :  the round doesn't chamber well. I have to force for chambering the last third of the ammo. Then the extraction is very hard too. Looks like a conical chamber.

Any idea about these problems?

Francois

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