Reloaded an original WRA Co. .56-52 cartridge

[ndnchf]

I suppose the purist cartridge collectors would tar & feather me for this, but I did it in the name of science 

A couple days ago I was gifted a handful of old original cartridges. Among them was this .56-52 cartridge made by the WRA Co. I noticed the bullet had what looked like some kind of pliers marks and it was loose. So I pulled it out and found it partially filled with modern black powder that weighed 37.3gr. This is far below the normal 45gr charge.  Since I've recently been reloading other large bore rimfires, I decided to reload this one.

The case was first cleaned in a small ultrasonic tank. Then a very small tool made from a straight pin was used to scrape the old dead priming compound from the rim. Then a bore brush was used on the inside. Then the outside was gently cleaned to give the old soldier a fresh look.

I use the Prime-All kit to reprime all these old rimfires. The powders were mixed and placed in the case. A few drops of acetone were added to make a slurry. It was then packed into the rim recess with a rubber tipped dental too. After drying, any excess compound was dumped out.

The original bullet was rough, but I wanted to save it for posterity.  So for a replacement I used a Smith carbine bullet. In the lathe, the bottom band was turned to .508" to make the heel.  The resulting heel has the same diameter and depth as the original. It weighs 358gr, a little less than the 383.7gr original bullet.

Lastly, it was time to load it. Using a bulk measure, I poured 45gr of Swiss 2F through a 24" drop tube. The weight equivalent was 48.7gr. I didn't have a way to crimp the bullet, so a couple drops of Loctite was applied to the heel. The bullet was seated, compressing the powder maybe .030".

I hope to get to the range this week to test fire it across the chronograph to see how it does. More to follow 

[ndnchf]

My impatience got the better of me. I cut out of work early and went to the range to try it out. I brought my M1871 Springfield Spencer to try it in. Unfortunately, things did not go well. Thus is the life of an experimenter   I tried to fire it multiple times to no avail. But, on the way home I got thinking about the firing pin dents, which were only on the very outer edge. But I then recalled the firing pin dents on my .56-50 Remington split breech carbine cases were further in towards the center. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the split breech to the range. But when I got home, I grabbed it and stepped outside. When the neighbors weren't looking, I test fired the cartridge unto ground. I was rewarded with a wonderful BOOM! 

So I think the problem was that I was not able to spin the case for centrifugal force to get the priming compound to the outer edge of the rim. I normally use a drill press. But this case is too big for the chuck. I need to come up with another way.

So the reloaded original case was a success, but I need to improve the priming process. You can see the multiple Spencer firing pin dents around edge. The hits look light, but they are not. I had to iron them out a bit before the split breech could close properly. The single split breech hit it clearly better.

[Niederlander]

You are having WAY too much fun with this!  Great work, and I'll be interested to see further experiments.

[ndnchf]

You are having WAY too much fun with this!  Great work, and I'll be interested to see further experiments.

Yes I am!  Great fun indeed.

BTW. I just noticed the hole where I fired it into the ground. It goes down nearly 12".  Pretty impressive. Since I live in a city where two major Civil War battles occurred, I wonder what a future archaeologist will think 200 years from now if he finds it 

[Blair]

ndnchf,

I really like what you are doing with this.
The firing pin strikes from you rim fire upper breach block appears to be rather weak or incomplete. This is just a suggestion on my part, but that firing pin maybe warn or somewhat damaged?
I hope this info may be of help.
My best,
Blair 

[ndnchf]

Blair - it does look like that in the photo. But in reality, I had to iron out and flatten the rim after the multiple Spencer firing attempts.  When I first tried it in the split breech, the block would not close all the way because of the rather wavy rim.  So I ran it into an oversize die with a special flat top tool that replaces a shell holder.  This straightened and flattened the rim, allowing it to seat in the split breech.  It lessoned the Spencer firing pin imprint too.

[Coffinmaker]

  ndnchf   

Velly Interestink (Stolen famous TV Line).  Now, what you need, is about 50 fired 44 Henry Flat cartridges in reasonable condition.  Then source up an original Henry or 1866 to really celebrate!!

Play Safe Out There
People are Hazardous to yer Health

[ndnchf]

  ndnchf   

Velly Interestink (Stolen famous TV Line).  Now, what you need, is about 50 fired 44 Henry Flat cartridges in reasonable condition.  Then source up an original Henry or 1866 to really celebrate!!

Play Safe Out There
People are Hazardous to yer Health

That would be nice! But right now I'd settle for a few original .56-50s. I've already done 38 and 41s. I've shot and reloaded these .41 rimfire shorts a couple times. Its all great fun and surprisingly easy.

[Blair]

ndnchf,

PM me your mailing address.
I have 7 original C.D. Leet 56-50 Spencer unfired cartridges that I will send you so that you may continue with your experiments.
I believe what you are doing is valuable! I can not think of a better way to put these cartridges to use. (Much better than setting on a shelve or in a display.)
Should you find this donation helpful? I will be pleased.

My best,
Blair

[ndnchf]

ndnchf,

PM me your mailing address.
I have 7 original C.D. Leet 56-50 Spencer unfired cartridges that I will send you so that you may continue with your experiments.
I believe what you are doing is valuable! I can not think of a better way to put these cartridges to use. (Much better than setting on a shelve or in a display.)
Should you find this donation helpful? I will be pleased.

My best,
Blair

Absolutely - that would be great. Thanks.

[Jim W]

What a cool thread!  I don't ever want to change mine to the centerfire breech block, but it would be a treat to get to fire it just once.

[ndnchf]

Blair - I sent you a PM.
Seve

[ndnchf]

I reprimed the .56-52 case last night.  The slight bottleneck is gone from the firing. I have .56-50 dies, but not .56-52, so I cannot reform the bottleneck. But I did resize the body. It is now essentially a .56-50 short    Rather than cut a .508" heel on the bullet like I did last time, I just left it at about .520" for a snug fit in the case mouth. 

[Blair]

ndnchf,

Saw your PM, and sent you a reply.
My best,
Blair

[ndnchf]

Thanks Blair!

This idea was suggested to me as a simple way to sling the priming compound slurry out into the rim. With the slurry in the case, the case was slid up on the oversize bore brush. The brush holds it firmly in place. I gave it a 20 second high speed ride and it was done. Simple, easy and effective 

[ndnchf]

It is reloaded again with 45gr bulk of Swiss 2F. After it was loaded I found that a 40 Action Express sizing die makes a nice neck sizer    So the slight .56-52 bottleneck is restored. If I had known that before it was loaded, I would have used it after the .56-50 sizer. Oh well, when trying something completely new, each day is a learning experience.

BTW, I don't own a .50 AE, heck I'm not really sure what it is - its waaay to modern for my tastes. But I saw the dies dirt cheap on ebay a couple years ago. So I bought them thinking they might come in handy some day. They finally did 

[nativeshootist]

theres some spencer blanks on gunbroker, I'm not sure if the crimp would screw with it but could try those.

[ndnchf]

theres some spencer blanks on gunbroker, I'm not sure if the crimp would screw with it but could try those.

Thanks.
I've seen the 1870 franford arsenal blanks, but they are shorter than a regular cartridge.

[ndnchf]

I took the reloaded .56-52 to the range today. Here is a short video of the results.

[Dave Fox]

Query: are these rimfire cases either copper or very soft brass and, if so, is the reloaded life span rather limited?