I really got a bend in my learning curve with this caliber. I already knew about the bigger dies that require a bigger press... which I didn't have.
So I looked through Midway's stuff and see they advertise 2 Lee presses for the bigger dies: the challenger @ $51 and the cast classic @ $85.
Being cheep, I ordered the cheeper press and the Lee dies. Set the press up and guess what? You guessed it - the press wasn't big enough for the large dies. 7/8-14 only. So I called Midway & they said they only used the advertising copy Lee sent them. "Call Lee", the lady sez.
I called Lee who said Midway made a typo when they wrote their own copy. Back to Midway ( and sure glad they have a toll free number!) who said they would gladly take the challenger press back; no harm - no foul. So I ordered the cast classic. Which is the one I should have ordered in the first place.
Meanwhile... back at the ranch... everything is set up and away I go. Basic reloading - just on a bigger scale. And absolutley no data except for the original military load - 70 to 73 grains of Fg black. Which just happens to be the original load for the American 50-70 with a similar sized boolet.
I did a little homework and concluded that 30.0 grains of AA 5744 would get me in the ball park. And it did.
There aren't too many choices for boolet moulds. I went with the Lee ( cheep) 478 grain .578 diameter. Which cast boolets at about 470 grains from the alloy I used = straight wheelweights.
Man, that mold drinks lead like a camel drinks water after a week out in the Sahara!
I didn't want to monkey around breaking the mold in so I fired up my sight blackener which is just a miniature carbide lamp. Coated the interior with pure soot & the 1st boolet was good to go. Oh. I had left the mold on the edge of the lead pot to pre-warm it, too. I realize there is dedicated mold prep stuff, but my carbide is already paid for... and ( dare I say it) I am too cheep to buy the real deal mold prep stuff.
A note I made in my loading journal - "use plenty of bell!" The Jamison cases are $3.63... each!
and I did NOT want to ruin one!I made 10 rounds and went out to the public hunting area for a test fire. I had granular powder residue - 5744 is famous for that - but not to the extent I anticipated. The cases dropped from the chamber when I opened the breech block. No signs of pressure - very little recoil - not loud at all. Shot very close to the sights. Smacked a basketball sized rock 5x5 @ 50M. I am happy.
Since this was just a function test and we had company, no chronograph data or target this time. I'll post that later in the coming week.
I'm not quite done with the rifle, so no pics of it yet, either.
With any luck, this will save someone else a little trouble. The 577 Snider is sure fun to shoot!!
SW
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File comment: A fired case and the 470 grain hollow base boolet. reloading577 005.jpg [ 31.67 KiB | Viewed 20981 times ] |
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File comment: Cartridge size comparison. Left - 7.62x54R. Middle 577/450 Martini. Right-577 Snider reloading577 004.jpg [ 32.14 KiB | Viewed 20981 times ] |
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File comment: Shell holder comparison. Left - 9mm Largo. Middle - 50-90 Sharps or 43 Dutch. Right - 577 Snider. reloading577 003.jpg [ 32.4 KiB | Viewed 20981 times ] |
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File comment: Comparison of the die sizes. The standard 7/8-14 dies is the smaller of the two. reloading577 002.jpg [ 32.96 KiB | Viewed 20981 times ] |
I rummaged around & finally found a ratty old 22 target. I had wondered about bore diameter, but I only had one bullet keyhole. I didn't have a regular range - I put the target on a big piece of cardboard & set it up between 35 & 50 yards. All bullets hit fairly close to piont of aim - I shoot Carcanos & that was a pleasant change! My scanner is acting up & the target doesn't show very well - the keyhole is marked with a K. There are 3 sets of two bullet holes touching. 
SW
oooooooooooopppsss 