Historical Question fer ya...reloading tools

[N40W111]

What would old trailhands (think Kevin Costner in "Open Range", for example) use for reloading out on the trail?  What kind of tools did they have back then for "do-it-yourselfers" or did they just buy ammo at the nearest Wally World in 1877 Tombstone?
They must have had some kind of molds and such...what about cartridge when that came into vogue?
Just curious...I know we got some historians here.

[Old Top]

N40W111,

They had a tool wihich looks a lot like a pair of pliers, it could deprime, prime, bell and seat the bullet.  At the tip of some of them had a bullet mold.  We still have them around it a bit different form, made by Lyman they are called a 310 tool.

Old Top

[St. George]

This question's been addressed in 'The Historical Society Forum'.

Reloading 'was' done - but mostly by buffalo hunters at the end of a day's shooting, and not by trail hands - who were eating, sleeping and riding herd, and had precious little free time.

By the time of the big cattle drives, there was a network of towns and those merchants had goods freighted in - including ammunition.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!