Longer 56-56 bullet?

[Dave Fox]

I've got an 1863-manufactured M.1860 56-56 Spencer carbine at Larry Romano's. It's a shooter and was neither accurate nor reliable. Been using Starline brass about 1.015" in length. With heeled .81"-length Owsiak .545 Spencer bullet, Larry reports the round is too short for reliable functioning. Can anyone suggest a somewhat longer heeled bullet of about .546" diameter that might work? The easy solution would be to line and chamber for the 56-50, but I'm invested in the brass and reloading dies. Thanks!

[spadegrip]

I have been using a Rapine Spencer mould .546 diameter in several Spencer rifles and carbines with great results. My brass is cut to .915 to accommodate the bullet length and maintain the needed length for reliable feeding. By the way, a case length of .915 is about average for the original case.
i had been using the mould you have with mixed results, but when I tried the Rapine mould, my Spencers would consistently shoot less than 2" groups at 50 yards for 10 shots.

[jim14th]

What type of powder and load /gr. seems to work with ether rifle or carbine ?..thanks

[Carolina Reb]

Owziak bullet, 0.535" (this is the smaller of the two sizes he makes) cast in 50/50 pure lead/wheelweight, which is roughly the same as 20-1 lead-tin
Case Length: 1.025" (Cut down 50-70 cases. Turn rim to 0.65" and neck ream to 0.515" after sizing in a 50-70 die.)
OAL: 1.57"
30 gr. GOEX CTG
Beeswax/olive oil proportioned to be fairly stiff. Lube in both grooves
Thin pasteboard wad between powder and bullet
Win LR primers

Shoots and feeds fine in my rifle.

[spadegrip]

What type of powder and load /gr. seems to work with ether rifle or carbine ?..thanks
I am using 30gr 1 1/2 Swiss, large pistol primers, card wad between powder and bullet, beeswax and tallow lube. After twenty rounds, the action was getting a little sticky. Just tried 3F Swiss this weekend. Seems very promising accuracy wise and much less fouling.

[Cav Trooper]

I also have had trouble trying to reload for a 56 56 Spencer. I've just ordered the Owsiak bullet mould in .535" dia. measured from slugging the bore. I've tried the Rapine 546375 mould and the Rapine 520-350 S with bad results. I could never get anything close to a crimp with either of these using CH4 dies. Brass from Starline 50-70 trimmed down. Never neck reamed. Ended up using RTV sealant to glue the 546375 bullets in. Hoping for better results from Owsiak. Got a lot of $$ tied up in brass and moulds for something that shoots terrible. I don't expect MOA groups just something consistant. Do you guys compress you loads?
I am thinking of making a crimp tool also, just in case. I've read all of the info over on SSS and no seems to do anything the same way. Lube, compress, cardboard wads, case length????
Thanks,
CT

[spadegrip]

I trim my Starline 50-70 brass to .915-.920, I seat the Rapine .535 bullet for an overall length of 1.550". I do not ream or expand the cases when loading. I use 29gr of 3F Swiss, no wad, and Winchester large rifle primers. The bullets are cast fairly hard. I very lightly compress the powder with this load.

with this load, I can and have shot 60 rounds without cleaning without loss of accuracy. The rifle will shoot around 2" or less at 50 yards, and will hit a 10"x10" post cosistantly at 185 yards. These rounds also feed very well. I have been loading for Spencers for over 30 years, and each one needs the load tweaked a little for accuracy and feeding.

let me know if you have any questions.

[Cav Trooper]

Spadegrip,
Thank you, these are the elusive numbers I've been looking for. Which Rapine mold are you using? I have a 546375 and a 520-350, can't get either one to crimp at all. I know you can't crimp much due to design but these are just absolutely loose, that's why I was rtv gluing the 546375 bullets in. I could never figure out how to seat and hold the 520-350-S bullet in even with it's longer length. Most of my brass is trimmed to 1.025 with some trimmed to 1.000 +/- .005. I have the Owsaik mold on order and will trim some to fit OAL with that bullet to try. Sounds like you have your sorted out quite well, thats what I'm looking to do, figure out a formula/method and just shoot for fun. I have plenty of time in the next couple of months, (triple bypass). I can tinker until the doc ok's me to go to the range.

CT