Smith carbine load info

[hp gregory]

how about you smith shooters telling your loading secrets. mainly interested in skirmish loads for originals. such as bullet type, case type, powder charge. etc. thanks hp

[Frog]

HP, original or reproduction gun? It makes a difference. Oops, I now see you said original in the original post. There was such a wide variation in chamber sizes found in the original Smiths that unless you have a metal (brass or stainless) case made to fit your chamber the best bet is to use the black plastic cases to insure a gas seal. I used 27.5 of fff Goex in mine. The bullet also must be sized to the bore. Again there are wide variations in bore size found in original Smith's. I have one that is .513, my brothers is .518. The Lyman Smith mold is available in .515 or .518. Depending on the powder charge you use you may need to use a filler since the black plastic cases do not have a shoulder to seat the bullet against.

I switched to a Maynard about 18 years ago and have not looked back.

[Lou Lou Lou]

Original smith, 25 gr FFFg Goex, 3 groove Rapine or Moose .515, mcm lube. 35 years no changes

[Phil Spaugy, 3475V]

how about you smith shooters telling your loading secrets. mainly interested in skirmish loads for originals. such as bullet type, case type, powder charge. etc. thanks hp

.520 Moose mold - http://moosemoulds.wix.com/mm2013#!smithmaynard/c1u3i

Black plastic cases - 35 grains of 2F.

Hard lead, SPG.

Works for me.

Phil

[jonk]

From a bench, the Lee 385 over 30 gr of 2f will put 25/25 into a pigeon sized silhouette cut out target.

My issue is, I find the smith a rather hard gun to shoot offhand.

Also, despite a lot of folks having good luck with hard lead in them, mine will only shoot soft worth a darn.

Some like 3f, some like 2. I know one guy using 1.5 Olde E in his.

So, naturally, my best advice is, you have to fool around with it.

What I found in testing everything from the RCBS Hodgdon .520 to the Lee to the Lyman 340 to the Gompf and a few others is, most bullets will have a load where they will do pretty well with the right hardness. One of my teammates found that the Lee ran out of lube for him in his relined original.

[Bob Myers 5238v]

515365 Rapine mold sized to .515 soft lead
Black plastic case
30gr 3F
.7cc Lee Measure COW
SPG Lube

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I shoot a Navy Arms Smith with a Hoyt relined barrel using the .515 six-cavity Lee mold and FFFg GOEX. Here are my results:

http://acwsa.org/images/MiscImages/Navy%20Arms%20Smith%20Large%20Web%20view.jpg

Also: Black plastic cases with brass rivets in the flash holes. No filler. I make my own lube out of bees was and bear grease.

[ms3635v]

I shoot the following load in my original Smith. A Moose .520" (sized to .518") 400 grain bullet (soft lead) with 28 grains of 3F in the black plastic cases with a hollow brass rivet in the flash hole (the rivet prolongs the use of the case). No filler, the bullet is seated directly on the powder charge, the length of the Moose 400 grain bullet takes the top shoulder of the bullet just past the top of the case. This load works really well.

[Rlevin]

I shoot 28.5 gr Swiss 3F in the reduced capacity brass cases and the Lyman .515 bullet in a Hoyt relined barrel. Shoots better than I can. I gave up shooting plastic cases because somtimes they get stuck and I have to pull them out with pliers.

Russ Levin
Company C2 Sharpshooters

[Tom Magno, 9269V]

In my first original Smith, Lyman 518145 (360 grains) sized to .515 (groove dia is .514), 25.5g 3Fg Goex over cream-0-rice (just enough so that top grease groove starts to show - about 0.5cc). This 'head space' configuration 'cams' the bullet into the leade/rifling when I close the carbine. I did not get good groups with any bullet jump. In my second Smith, sized bullet to .516 (grooves are .515), rest the same. Have tried up to 30 grains 3F w/no filler and it shoots fine, but tough on the shoulder after a day's shooting. Best groups are with lighter charges 21.5-28 grains 3Fg, but my guns settled in on 25.5g. I use the same bullet in my Maynard. The Lee .515/.518 6-gang mold is virtually the same bullet. I never tried 2Fg in it - but just might!