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Video - Shooting a .577 British Sporting Rifle


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Those .577 Sniders are a LOT of fun! A friend had four until I talked one out of him. Mine is one of the ones that came out of Nepal courtesy of International Military Antiques. The stock is a little rough and some of the parts have been replaced with handmade parts but it is all complete and shoots nice!

 

With the right loads these shoot very well. With a .595 round ball under a reduced load of BP (I used a 2/1 mix of cream of whest and BP) couple of card wads and a SPG cookie the thing shot almost one hole groups at 25 yards! I was hesitant to use the original load of mini ball (almost 600 grains) due to the age and fear of crackinmg the stock further so this light load works very well. Drawn brass cases are readily available as are dies. Lee dies but you have to use them in a press that takes the larger thread size IE a Rock Chucker. Just take the standard bushing out. I have some turned brass cases but the drawn brass resize and eject much easier becausr those turned hases are hard!

 

You can also make cases from 24 gauge brass shells, magtech makes those and I got a box from Cabelas but haven't gotten around to making any yet. I did experiment with some 24 gauge plastic cases. Cut off to two inches, they fit the chamber and are almost an exact match for the original cardboard/foil cartridges but the 595 round balls are too big with the thick plastic cases to chamber. .577 mini balls worked. Reduced load of BP, card wad, SPG cookie and another card wad on top. THe mini will slide out of the case if it is inverted and shaken but I discovered a simple solution; schoolkid (elmers) glue stick! A little on the base around the skirt and that holds it just enough. I was concerned that the card wad might stick to the bullet but apparently the glue is brittle enough that on firing it comes right off and they all flew true. The cases expand quite a bit and some had small holes burned in them. The 24ga shotgun cases have rims just a tad too little for the extractor to take a bite so the most efficient way was run a rod down the bore and knock them out. (If you skip the ejector over the rim you have to disassemble the breech to get the case out. Not a real PITA but sure delays shooting)

 

If you can find one, the sporting rifles out of Canada are often REAL nice (expensive) IMA does have some of the Nepals left but DON'T get an untouched one; it's likely to have small parts missing and be rusty and such. Pay extra and get one that is complete and shootable.

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I loved those videos. I love all early Black Powder Cartridge rifles. I load for 577, 577/450, 45/70, 50/70, 43 Mauser (11mm) and more. I often feel like I'm alone grasping in the dark. Now I have something to go on.

A .577 Snider is my newest toy and I haven't shot it yet. I formed a bunch of brass Now I will load up some cartidges and see how they go. 85 grains has been working fo you so that is where I will start. Thanks so much.

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My sentiments exactly Bullshead! :wacko:

 

I'm going to get to the range this week with some bigger diameter bullets and see if that situation improves.

 

The bore slugged out at 0.585", and I have some 0.583" hollow-based Minies to try.

 

I've got bullet molds on order for .585" minies and .590 solid base bullets, so eventually I'll get it shooting with bullets as good as it does with round balls.

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