.43 Spanish, anyone .... ?

[PJ Hardtack]

Who's shooting a .43 Spanish rifle?

Care to pass on any data for reloading?

[Drydock]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/google.php?cx=partner-pub-6216953551359885%3A1942134700&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=.43+Spanish&sa.x=12&sa.y=13&siteurl=castboolits.gunloads.com%2F&ref=&ss=5076j3561946j12

[Drydock]

https://www.google.com/search?q=shooting+the+43+spanish+rolling+block&oq=Shooting+the+.43+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2.9697j1j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

[Drydock]

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/233/1/BOOK-S43SRB

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I had an Argie roller, but found the freebore ahead of the chamber almost impossible to work with. It now has a Green Mountain 45-70 barrel on it.

I wish you luck!

[PJ Hardtack]

Just found my data on the .43 Spanish, gleaned from a back issue of BPCN. The net was almost useless as a source of reliable data. A little rambling here ....

I had moulds for both the Lyman 375 gr and an NEI 470 gr mould. I sold off the Lyman due to the long throat Sir Charles mentions. Too much of a jump to the rifling.
The long 470 gr NEI bullet is a whopping 1.255" in length, comes out of the mould at .440 and I size to .439, the recommended size for the .43 Spanish. The bullet has two round bottom grease grooves and a long nose that mikes .428 average.

I tapped a bullet into the throat to see at what point the front driving band engaged the rifling and laid it along side a loaded round to see how much of a jump the bullet had to make to engage the rifling.
The loaded round was crimped with the front driving band inside the case. If it is seated with half the driving band exposed, I'd have contact. So my OAL length is just about ideal.

I'd prefer that the grease grooves were square bottomed to hold more lube, but a lubed wad takes care of that. I checked the NEI web site and the only .439/470 gr bullet they now list is a GC design. I'm happy to have mine as a FB.

Don't know why I want to toy with such a ballistic oddity when the 45-70 is so much simpler, especially now since BACO and TOTW won't ship .43 Spanish to across the DMZ. I'll track some down from a Canadian supplier of obsolete brass here.

When I sold off the Lyman mould, I also sold off the expensive Bertram brass I had as well. I was much happier with the reformed .348 Winchester brass I got from BACO, but they don't list it any more.

The specs for a .43 Spanish are:
- bore .431
- groove .436

So, the long nose is pretty close to being a 'bore rider' at .428. Once obturation takes place, it is likely right on. Their a current belief that designs with 'bore riding' noses are the way to go, so Remington was on the money with this one.

I also see in my notes that I had good results using a duplex load consisting of 65 grs FFg and 5 grs SR4759. I'm going to play with that against 100% BP for accuracy and fouling. Greased wads as well.

I did a lot of net surfing them and now and most people are still struggling with short 375 bullets. Even Mike Venturino in his book on BPCR's missed this, a 397 gr bullet being the heaviest he tried. Considering that the 1x20" rate of twist of the .43 Argentino almost cries for a heavier bullet, this is surprising.

[PJ Hardtack]

A little more .43 Spanish info ....

According to COTW, the OAL for a loaded round is 74.04 mm. Mine mike at 76.08 mm. That's a 2.04 mm difference. That is with a bullet that looks to have a front grease groove seated outside the case. Obviously a different bullet than the Lyman 375 gr which would have to have at least two grease grooves outside the case to make that OAL.

In the BPCN article I referred to, the best accuracy the author got was when he seated a 375 gr bullet to an OAL of 3.055". Mike measure 2.995", a difference of .060".

This explains why I got more than acceptable accuracy from my loads.

[PJ Hardtack]

Got a lead on Remington RB carbine in .43 Spanish. Looks as good as my rifle version.

I think I'll acquire it as I can get it for less than half of the cost of a Pedersoli '74 Sharps carbine in 45-70 that I was considering or the cost of a Pietta Smith carbine.
There's something to be said for shooting an original as opposed to a repro.

[PJ Hardtack]

Got the .43 RB carbine!

Paid $675 for it shipped and insured. Why pay up to three times as much or more for a repro when I can shoot an original?

Life is good, very good indeed ..... :>)

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Nice score PJ;  Mine had been shortened to musketoon length and the action drilled, so no loss.

[PJ Hardtack]

I had an Argie roller, but found the freebore ahead of the chamber almost impossible to work with. It now has a Green Mountain 45-70 barrel on it.

I wish you luck!

When you were shooting your Argie as a .43, what bullet were you using? I started out with a short Lyman 375 gr and quickly established that the long throat and 1x20" twist of the .43 Spanish needed a longer bullet like my NEI 470 gr.

One of my reference books reports that a 375 gr works and shoots well if seated out to a length of 3.055" to eliminate the jump to the rifling.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

It was that bullet. BTW, I have some (about 40) converted .348wcf cases if you are interested.

[PJ Hardtack]

It was that bullet. BTW, I have some (about 40) converted .348wcf cases if you are interested.

"Interested", you say .....  I'm positively delirious! I grovel at your feet in rapture.

Is this the stuff from BACO? I have about 20 of those, along with some treasured BELL cases.

Would my left arm suffice as payment?

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

They were converted by the previous owner of my mangled roller. There were a couple of partially converted case included. I am out of town now but will get back to you next week.

[PJ Hardtack]

I've read that it is quite a process to form .43 Sp. from .348 WCF - case stretching, widening and thickening the rim, etc. High rate of attrition as a result.

[Pony Racer]

PJ I load the 43 Spanish myself. I use the bullet available from buffalo arms.

I load mine with 4.3cc of 2F and use the 36 cal wonder wads to make my cookies - that amt of BP puts the wad right in the neck area and it is a perfect diameter for that.

I have been surprised with how flat it shoots for the time period it was designed.

PR

[PJ Hardtack]

What are you using for brass?

I can't relate to cc of anything. Translate that to grains.

I've read that wads in a BN case can be problematic.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

PJ Biscuit;  Here y'ar;

http://www.castpics.net/subsite/Manuals/Dippers.pdf

P.S;  I agree with Blairs comment below. I always weigh each dipper for each powder. AND recheck before, during and after each session.  The pdf seems to be for discussion purposes (And a rough guide when selecting a dipper)

[Blair]

Just looking at the 0.3,
Anybody notice the difference in various powder measures as you go down the list?
This is why I suggest using a scale to cross check just what you are actually getting by grain weight with each powder Manufacture.
My best,
Blair

[PJ Hardtack]

PJ Biscuit;  Here y'ar;

http://www.castpics.net/subsite/Manuals/Dippers.pdf

Thanks, Sir Chuck! I'll print off a copy but only for reference. I don't think at this stage of my life I'll convert to using cc's.