Dave Fox
12-15-2011, 05:41 PM
Best source of .56-56 brass I've found (after I plundered Richard McAuley's modest horde) appears to be Buffalo Arms, and they are back ordered. I've blundered into some techiques which produce beautiful rounds which, for those other eccentrics who shoot this calibre, may be useful.
Peter Schiffer in his book "Civil War Carbines, Myth vs. Reality" found, due perhaps to the rifling pitch, the .56-56 Spencer to be inherently inaccurate. Mine sure is. I've got it off to Hoyt for a relining job in the original calibre. I'm loading rounds in anticipation of more satisfactory shooting.
The Owsiak mould, besides being a thing of beauty, throws a very handsome .56-56 bullet. It appears superior to the Rapine Spencer moulded bullet as it boasts very generous grease grooves, and lubrication is said to be a Spencer weak point. Owsiak's bullet is somewhat boattailed, easing insertion into the case mouth. The Owsiak .56-56 bullet is, of course, heeled, and therein lay a difficulty for me. Running it up into the case crimp/bullet seating die, I found the bullet (the forward portion of which is the same diameter as the outside of the brass case) often stuck in the die and remained there when the supposedly loaded cartridge was lowered from the die. I blundered into a happy solution. I removed the seater plug from the top of the die. Running a case and bullet up into the die partially seated the bullet and removed the flair from the case lip. I then inserted a rod into the now-open top of the die and, while lowering the cartridge, concurrently tapped the rod with a hammer. The bullets come out of the die with their protruding "shelf" firmly and uniformly snugged against the case mouths.
Shall report the results when I get my carbine back from Hoyt's shop.
Peter Schiffer in his book "Civil War Carbines, Myth vs. Reality" found, due perhaps to the rifling pitch, the .56-56 Spencer to be inherently inaccurate. Mine sure is. I've got it off to Hoyt for a relining job in the original calibre. I'm loading rounds in anticipation of more satisfactory shooting.
The Owsiak mould, besides being a thing of beauty, throws a very handsome .56-56 bullet. It appears superior to the Rapine Spencer moulded bullet as it boasts very generous grease grooves, and lubrication is said to be a Spencer weak point. Owsiak's bullet is somewhat boattailed, easing insertion into the case mouth. The Owsiak .56-56 bullet is, of course, heeled, and therein lay a difficulty for me. Running it up into the case crimp/bullet seating die, I found the bullet (the forward portion of which is the same diameter as the outside of the brass case) often stuck in the die and remained there when the supposedly loaded cartridge was lowered from the die. I blundered into a happy solution. I removed the seater plug from the top of the die. Running a case and bullet up into the die partially seated the bullet and removed the flair from the case lip. I then inserted a rod into the now-open top of the die and, while lowering the cartridge, concurrently tapped the rod with a hammer. The bullets come out of the die with their protruding "shelf" firmly and uniformly snugged against the case mouths.
Shall report the results when I get my carbine back from Hoyt's shop.