43 spanish

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:41 am

I did a search a bit ago on the above...looks like it is an old topic. However, I was wondering if anyone is shooting this and what the current thoughts are along the line of cases, mould, bullet dia., etc.

Understand that this is ALMOST identical to the 44-77. Also that the cases available a while back were a bit short for the typical chamber (this is for a Remington RB).

Any thoughts, suggestions, good stories (or bad) etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

David

JAGG · Post by **JAGG** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:01 pm

It is a very good hunting rifle with a lot of punch at both ends ! Load it with either 2fg or 1fg to about 1/8 inch into the neck to compress powder ! It will shoot target with a good barrel and the difference between the 43 sp and the 44/77 isn't that much ! JAGG

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:13 pm

If you have an Argentine Remington Pattern Rolling Blok (or anyother rifle of that caliber for the matter). I would strongly advise you to slug the bore & do a chamber cast.

Ony my 1st Argentine RB, I needed to seat the bullet extremely far out to so it would touch rfiling. I since sold that rifle back to its previous owner, who will not part w/ it, even tho his spouse is afetr to clean out the closet....

The Argentine that I have now seems to have a bigger bore than the orginal.

I would also carefully inspect the crown for any damage

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:31 pm

Jagg-

Thanks for the tips. Any thoughts on brass, bullets, mould, etc?

I have the SPG book and Mike's book (Buffalo rifles) but, as with some of the info found here, looks somewhat dated...like bell brass out of business.

Thanks again for your time and comments!

David

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:56 pm

Buffalo Arms has several offerings--inc. BELL, Bertarm, formed & unformed--for the .43 Spanish brass.

http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/2,37.html

But before ordering any brass, do the chamber cast & slug the bore. As w/ all 19th. century firearms, & esp. military rifles, there were variations in the chambers & bores.

I've seen some rifle that will chamber the reformed .348Win to .43 Spanish & others will not Same w/ bullet diameters....

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:06 pm

Ray-

Thanks for the response.

It is indeed a Remington Rolling Block.

I had planned to slug the barrel. What is involved in a chamber cast?

Thanks,

David

ssdave · Post by **ssdave** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:12 pm

If you haven't invested in dies, brass, molds, etc, yet I would give you the following advice:

If you don't have an uncontrollable urge to get one of these working at any cost, don't even start. If you simply want a good blackpowder cartridge rifle to shoot, you have picked one of the most miserable places to start. If you have one of the rare ones with a good bore and appearance, sell it to a collector and buy another to rebarrel.

I have seen a post similar to yours at least a couple of dozen times on the boards. This is followed by advice about long throats, poor fitting brass, strange bores, hard to work up loads, uncontrollable fouling, etc, etc, etc. This is usually folowed by "I'm going to make this work and show you all", followed by either silence or discouraged requests for help while trying to make it work. Usually it is then followed by a "want to sell .43 spanish stuff, decided to rebarrel".

I have seen only a couple of success stories posted, and most of these said it was okay to shoot for fun, but not exactly a tackdriver. If you just want something that goes bang and makes smoke, I would respectfully suggest that you invest in fireworks. Rifles that are fun to shoot need to be accurate. In this game, that's hard enough with a good cartridge and a high quality, perfect barrel.

I work on rolling blocks a bit. When I get a .43, I immediately remove and dispose of the barrel. Most of the barrels are worn anyway, or pitted, or both.

The cost of .43 brass, dies, special molds, etc will pay most of the cost of a rebarrel to a more reasonable cartridge such as 40-65, 45-XX, 38-55, etc. If you do that, you will end up with a consistent, workable performer with reasonable loading component costs.

Wish you the best of luck with this, whatever you decide! If you want to build the rolling block into a good shooter, I can give you a few pointers.

dave

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:31 pm

Cerro chamber casting material available from Brownell’s

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ ... aspx?p=384

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:51 pm

Ray-

Thanks for the chamber cast information.

Not done this before. A pound be enough?

Thanks

David

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:56 pm

carzy Ivan: Yup--more than neough. & you can use it over & over.

I melt Cerrosafe in a double bolier.

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:01 pm

Dave-

Thanks for the information.

I have heard that the bottle neck ctgs are a pain. However, this rifle looks almost new in and out. I have not yet slugged the bore but it is pristine.

I have reloaded 45-70's for years. Then 50-70's, and have spent a lot of time with a 50-90 (2.5). In as much as the 43 spanish is close to the 44-77, thought might as well give it a run. I paid so little for the rifle, I do not mind some experimenting expenses.

Due to the condition of the rifle, I do not want to rebarrel it.

Give me a fun winter project.

Who knows, with the bore and chamber variations, maybe it will be a 44-77 or a 44-90! Just joking.

Thanks again for your help.

David

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:04 pm

Ray-

From the double boiler how do you pour it into the chamber?

What do you use for a bore plug?

Thanks again.

David

Ken Hartlein · Post by **Ken Hartlein** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:11 pm

Personally I think the .43 is a pretty neat rifle, I enjoyed shooting mine. I got the brass from BA and a Lyman mold, I used cartridge grade Goex and I thought it shot pretty good. Croft Barker sells a book specifically for the .43 spanish, he is a big fan of it. If you intend to keep and shoot it it is worth getting the book. He tells you how to field strip it, clean it, and lots of other really good stuff on the rifle. He advertises in the BPCNews.

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:21 pm

Ken-

Thanks for the tip. Did a search for his name. Found his website and printed out his order form.

I also have a 50-70 springfield armory rolling block in real nice shape. Will get his book on that too.

Thanks again.

David

crazeyiven · Post by **crazeyiven** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:24 pm

Ken-

Another question. Hard to come by Goex Ctg here. However, I have a lot of 1F that I use in my 50-90 Sharps. Have some Goex 2F too. Any experience with either of those in the 43 spanish?

David