Trapdoor Reloading

[bobgar]

Hello

I just bought a model 1877 carbine. I am looking at reloading my own ammo. Does anyone have some recipes for some MILD loads. I do not want to damage my investment.

Thank you

[Major Tom]

The correct bullet would be a soft lead 405 grain bullet. Black powder original load would be 60 grains of ff2 I believe. A fifty grain charge of BP should be mild. Just be sure when loading BP to leave NO air space between bullet and BP by using a filler of some sort where seating the bullet will compress the BP.

[Dick Hosmer]

In the interest of total accuracy, service carbine load was 55gr. Wads were used by Frankford Arsenal to fill the void, which IS an ABSOLUTE must.

Many years ago, Cream of Wheat was a popular alternate filler used by handloaders.

[Major Tom]

After looking over some of my loads using smokeless powder I found:
Pyrodex RS, same as ffg and 2f, 45 grains starting load.
Reloader 7, 35 grains
IMR SR 4759, 12-13 grains for a mild load at 1000 FPS
Again, using BP, I use dacron for a filler.

[11mm]

SR4749 should be good. The "normal" load for the full length rifle is 22.5 gr., so you may want to check that 12-13 grains is OK from various sources. I always use fiber fill stuffing over the powder to keep the powder in place, though that may not be necessary.

[bobgar]

Thanks for the reload information. I have another question the rear sight Buckhorn the ladder does not want to raise up is there some kind of "trick to it"

[Major Tom]

Uh, 4 pound lead mallet? 8-/

[bobgar]

Thanks Uncle Tom, the mallet did the trick.

[DRAGONFLYDF]

Hello

I just bought a model 1877 carbine. I am looking at reloading my own ammo. Does anyone have some recipes for some MILD loads. I do not want to damage my investment.

Thank you

If you don't want to damage your investment, shoot only black powder loads, it is what it was designed for. As Dick said, make sure the case is full and if you use less than a full case of powder, make up the difference with a spacer. Black powder and air space do not play well together.

[blackhawknj]

Black powder only in mine. Something very satisfying about that big cloud of white smoke. The complications of black powder cleaning are "greatly exaggerated". I use magnum rifle primers.

[PowderBurn]

Hello

I just bought a model 1877 carbine. I am looking at reloading my own ammo. Does anyone have some recipes for some MILD loads. I do not want to damage my investment.

Thank you

Here is a very good place to start-Loading Cartridges for the Original .45-70 Springfield Rifle and Carbine by J.S and Pat Wolf, 3rd edition. I bought the digital version from their website: Wolf's Western Traders. Happy Shooting!
Tim

[blackhawknj]

I recall reading-forget the authors of course-that they recommend slightly enlarging the flashholes, saying the originals were larger, and using magnum rifle primers, the originals burned hotter.
Regarding spacers or wadding, would crumpled up paper work ?

[Dick Hosmer]

I would not trust wadded-up paper. The space needs to be completely filled, and the powder should be slightly compressed. Originals used a stack of wads but then they had the facilities to produce same, uniformly and in large quantities. Some of the old-time civilian shooters reportedly used Cream of Wheat as a dense filler!

[Mark Daiute]

my carbine load is 22.5 grains 4759 under a soft 405 grain hollow based bullet.

[free1954]

my carbine load is 22.5 grains 4759 under a soft 405 grain hollow based bullet.

how much of the case does that load fill up?