Lead Monger

Pushing the bullet further into the case will reduce the powder space and result in higher pressure. Also when attempting to push a bullet further into a case where it has already been seated and crimped often results in swelling the bullet nose to the point it may not fit in the chamber. I have seen bullets deformed in this manner actually engage the rifling when chambered. Don’t do that!

I had a 66 Trapper in 38 special that was very difficult to load. Turned out the loading gate was making contact with the edge of the link when attempting to insert a cartridge. Filing the edge off the length of the link allowed the gate to open enough to load cartridges without binding.

Iron Monger You did not mention your intended use for a 45-70 lever gun. If you are looking for a easy handling 45-70 camp gun then a 1895 Guide Gun could fill that nitch. I have one in 45-70 and one in 450 Marlin. Both shoot well with 300 or 350 grain bullets and can be brutal with heavier bullets at full velocity. I also have an 1880s manufactured Winchester 86 rifle with 24 octagon barrel. It’s a bit on the heavy side and handles the 45-70 with ease. It also looks every bit a Cowboy rifle. I would have a hard time choosing between a new Winchester or Browning 86. It would come down to features.

I purchased a new Taylor’s Comanchero 73 short rifle a few months ago. The rifle is very smooth with a modest “standard” short stroke. It is not a cut/weld modified action. Everything inside has been smoothed and lightened and timed to the new links. The work looks very fine to me. I replaced the front sight so I can see it and installed a Shotgun Boogie 66 style loading gate to make it easer to load.

I have the mold for the 250g 45 cal Big Lube and have fed thousands of that bullet to to a 66 carbine, 73 brush popper and a 92 rifle with 24” barrel. They are accurate and will run in all three rifles for at least six stages. Given a 35g charge of double F it shoots great in a revolver also but is a bit heavier than needed. My favorite bullet is the MAV 44. Again thousands of them thrown from a 66 carbine in 44 special without a hitch and that 200g pill stuffed in a 44 Russian case is awesome in an open top. I should have purchased the 38 cal mold when they were available.

I just use Cascade dishwasher detergent and sometimes a half oz of lime away when the brass is dull with the pins. Clean and shinny every time.

When I compared GOEX, Schuetzen and Swiss 3F in my Uberti 44 Army’s this is what I found. Using a 25 grain spout on a flask dropped 26.9g of Swiss. 27.2g of Schuetzen and 25.4g of GOEX. The average velocity for 6 shots from a 44 Army using round ball, lubed over toe top was 863 fps for GOEX, 759 fps for Schuetzen and 987 fps for Swiss. Accuracy was generally the same for all shots. The Schuetzen left the most fouling in the chambers and Swiss left the least.

I very much enjoy shooting a pair of Uberti 1861 Navy 36s with 15g of 3F Swiss and an eras gone conical. The 1860 Army 44s offer a more visible impact o steel.

Curiosity plays a big part of it for me. How much interchangeably is there within a frame group. Multiple barrel lengths for a favorite frame would be a common example of parts swapping. Maybe 7.5” and 5.5” barrels for a pair of C Masons or running a favorite pair of 1860 Army frames with 1861 barrels and cylinders just to see how they feel.

When testing a pair of revolvers with swapped cylinders and barrels I found cylinder rotation, indexing, bolt drop and lockup and trigger reset all worked just fine. Cylinder end-play was not a problem either. I have my hammer faces cut back and polished so they do not strike the nipples and both revolvers fired five chambers each without a hiccup. I do not use them mixed in this manner. I like the 51s to be 51s and the 60s to be 60s.

I can take the 36 cal. cylinder and barrel from my Pietta 1851s and mount them on my Pietta 1860 Army 44s. Functions just fine on the pair of revolvers. Of coarse the 44 caliber cylinders will not fit on the 1851 36 caliber frames but the 44 barrels go right on.

I have a Pedersoli Quigley rifle chambered in 45-120 that is very accurate and a blast to shoot once you figure out how to load for it. The 45-120 brass is expensive and difficult to locate so it is hard to recommend this caliber. 45-70 brass is available everywhere.

Pietta base pins work in an Uberti and Belt Mountain pins work great also.

Agree that assistance is always offered for the physically impaired to participate. That is not the case here. This is a political situation.

This happens at my club all the time. An adult is routinely allowed to use a 410 shotgun. The 410 will not reliably knock down the shotgun targets so the targets are brought closer to the firing line. Sometimes in line with the pistol targets at about 7 yards. Now everybody gets sprayed with birdshot. Move the shotgun targets to 10 yards or beyond and the backsplash is greatly reduced or eliminated. Again the 410 shooter is upset because some targets may not go down. Never a problem with 20 gauge or larger.